Chris, Good question and good thinking!
Make sure it is cool, and not standing out in the sun building up pressure. If the drum is left outdoors in direct sunlight it can heat up and the internal pressure can get dangerously high. If the top is bowed outwards it may be under pressure, if the lid is concave or if you can flex the lid by putting your body weight on it (try pushing down on it with your hands) then it is probably OK, or at least not under a lot of pressure. If it is under pressure (just be safe and assume it is!) you need to loosen the bung (one of the threaded plugs on top) very slowly until you hear some gas venting. While you are loosening it stay out of the way just in case the plug blows out (usually straight up) from the internal pressure. The pressure will relieve itself through the loose threads. It may take a while (several minutes) to relieve all the pressure, just take it slow and easy. Be safe, Mike McGinness Chris Tan wrote: > Greetings Everyone, > > Do any of you know just how to safely open a sealed 55gal steel drum > full of methanol? It's my first time. > > Thanks, > Chris > > _______________________________________________ > Biofuel mailing list > Biofuel@sustainablelists.org > http://sustainablelists.org/mailman/listinfo/biofuel_sustainablelists.org > > Biofuel at Journey to Forever: > http://journeytoforever.org/biofuel.html > > Search the combined Biofuel and Biofuels-biz list archives (50,000 messages): > http://www.mail-archive.com/biofuel@sustainablelists.org/ _______________________________________________ Biofuel mailing list Biofuel@sustainablelists.org http://sustainablelists.org/mailman/listinfo/biofuel_sustainablelists.org Biofuel at Journey to Forever: http://journeytoforever.org/biofuel.html Search the combined Biofuel and Biofuels-biz list archives (50,000 messages): http://www.mail-archive.com/biofuel@sustainablelists.org/
