Anyone have any experience using argon to transfer hydrocarbons from bigger 100lb source tanks to smaller 50lb operating tanks ? Is cooling the smaller tank, which is being filled, jacketed w/chiller or in trash bin s/Dry Ice And vac pulled on tank&transfer hose a better/easier option ?
You can use heat/cold and a assist gas or recovery pump. If you use an assist gas you need to bleed it out afterwards. Start with chilling the receiving tank. Connect the assist gas to the gas port on the tank with a regulator. Set the psi to just above the pressure in the tank, connect the diptube to the diptube on the second tank. Pull a hard vacuum on the tank to be filled through the gas port. Put the tank to be filled on an ac recovery scale. Open the tank to be filled, then open the main tank. If the liquid flow stops burp the filling tank. After the tank is filled to 80% capacity it needs to be cooled down and the assist gas pressure bled.
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I would use nitrogen, it’s cheaper. The argon is best used in the lab, or at the vacuum ovens.
Gotcha. Would this work to top off an existing tank as well ? You wouldn’t be able to pull vac on receiving tank because will still have some gas in it but will cooling it and pressure assist gas in source tank be enough to fill with small amount of remaining gas? Thanks for help
Do you have a recovery pump? If you do i would use it instead of gas. But yes heat one tank, cool the other, the thermodynamics do its thing.
Ya Haskel pneumatic recovery. Was going to flood empty system with the bigger source tank then recover back into the smaller tank to fill it if there wasn’t an easier/faster way
That’s how I do mine. I put a charge into my system, then send it to a storage tank. That way you can distill the gas before you incorperate it into your clean tank. I thought you were strictly taking about a tank to tank transfer with minimal equipment.
I was originally. Due to laws, might not be able to have the option of bringing larger source tank inside to use machine for assist. Thanks for advice
You could trolly mount your recovery pump, then roll the thing outside, fill the tank, then roll the cart back inside.
My gas supplier suggested a hard line from the tank outside into the C1D1 space would get past the regulatory inspectors.