Propane tanks for dock floatation?

Yukon Mike

Yukon Mike

Well-known member
ANyone tried it? I don't want to use foam billets because they only last a few seasons and are really expensive. Plastic barrels would be best but hard to find. I can't find any info on it, but I would think an empty 20lb tank would float 40lbs or so? I doubt if ice could damage them either.

Mike
 
I would think it's about 40lbs buoyancy, minus the weight of the tank itself.
I don't see an issue with that..........and there must be a HUGE supply of old (expired) tanks around. I just got mine filled for the last time (it's about to expire), and there were about 40 old tanks there....just rusting away. I guess they're eventually recycled..........eventually.
 
I'm not sure how well they will work. The tanks weigh about 18-19 lbs and have 47 lbs of flotation. So with 29 lbs per tank it is going to take quite a few. If you can find the 30 lb tanks they have 71 lbs of flotation and weigh about 25 lbs. About 2.9 lbs of flotation per pound of tank as opposed to about 2.5 lbs per pound of tank, a little better. I do believe there is a way to take off the valve and you could cap the hole and save a little more weight.
A park nearby used them to mark brushpiles on a lake, they do last a long time.

Tim
 
What about steel bung top drums? They last quite a while and provide float depth/height adjustability by partial filling.
 
Around here plastic drums are surplussed from the food processing plants--Peppridge Farms and several cheese plants. Bummer that the shipping to Whitehorse would be prohibitive..
 
2part pour urethane added to something might help too Mike. That might be cost prohibitive for what you're planning to do, but just a thought. The 2lb foam is somewhere around 60lb per cubic foot positive flotation.
 
Mike,

As a side note; My understanding of my local regs, is that if empty barrels are used (either steel or plastic) they have to be foam filled. I think too many that weren't foam filled were ending up at the bottom and being washed on downstream.

I have no idea what your regs may require.
 
Thanks guys,

I think I can get metal barrels too, but I thought the propane tanks would be easier to manage hauling to the beach and tougher to dent by the ice. Plus they are free.

I doubt if anything about my dock will be legal so that's nice that I don't have to worry about regs. : )

MIke
 
If you have enough paint them black and white....Long line them...It would make one hell of a diver rig.... :)

LOL,

Special K
 
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