Million Gallon Water Tank Explodes (From Welding ??? WTF???)

The only plausible cause would be gas buildup in the tank. What could cause that then? I guess anyone's guess is as good as mine but here are a few: Pollution in the water, inside the tank causing methane gas to form.

Methane in the ground from where the gas is pumped.

Hydrogen gas forming in the tank. This is a known phenomenon in hot water systems that have gone unused for a long time. It happens when the water is stagnant and metals in the system react with eachother and the hot water.

I guess it's theoretically possible in a large water container if it's full enough that the amount of gas needed to be produced isn't huge, and maybe if the weather is unusually warm so that the water warms up a bit.

Like I said, guesses.
 
Astral Traveler said:
The only plausible cause would be gas buildup in the tank. What could cause that then? I guess anyone's guess is as good as mine but here are a few: Pollution in the water, inside the tank causing methane gas to form.

Methane in the ground from where the gas is pumped.

Hydrogen gas forming in the tank. This is a known phenomenon in hot water systems that have gone unused for a long time. It happens when the water is stagnant and metals in the system react with eachother and the hot water.

I guess it's theoretically possible in a large water container if it's full enough that the amount of gas needed to be produced isn't huge, and maybe if the weather is unusually warm so that the water warms up a bit.

Like I said, guesses.
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That sounds entirely plausible, especially the build up pressure. Gas water heaters are infamous for it in homes if the arent periodically bled off from the pressure relief valve and the water has remained stagnant for excessive periods without usage. Nowadays, expansion tanks are being put in to capture the changes in pressure to help prevent this.

In this setting, its obviously a much larger tank and probably did have expansion tanks bleeding off from it, due to its size and volatility. What's hard to figure though, is why that tank wasn't drained and evacuated if someone was going to be working on it. Im sure it was a case of " Oh we cant afford the down time of draining and refilling it! It will cost too much time and money, so just be careful when you work on it!" Now, its a catastrophic failure that's going to cost far more than just a drain and refilling: they'll be an investigation from OSHA and most likely fines and lawsuits
 
Man that's just awful.

One of the commenters on youtube suspects it could be a protective coating inside the tank that burns off when it's welded from the outside and creates a flammable gas. I don't know about that, seems like you'd have to weld quite a bit to cause enough vapours from that to blow the whole thing up.

I, too, suspect a build-up of some gas or vapour. If the tank was freshly coated from the inside it could be gas buildup from the paint / coating drying...

I don't fully understand the way things are done in the US but can't but wonder: what business did a union carpenter have welding a tank in the first place??

EDIT: oh, I didn't realize the tank was full of water! Of course, in that case you need a smaller amount of gas to generate the right mixture to blow things up in the remaining air space.
 
Amp Mad Scientist said:
OK can somebody explain how a water tank explodes from welding?
I am completely baffled by this, and a water tank has been launched into orbit.
OK so I won't try any welding on a water tank, that much I learned.
But what? what? what?

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Happened close enough to my Son's pad that it rattled his windows....
 
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aon said:
Man that's just awful.

One of the commenters on youtube suspects it could be a protective coating inside the tank that burns off when it's welded from the outside and creates a flammable gas. I don't know about that, seems like you'd have to weld quite a bit to cause enough vapours from that to blow the whole thing up.

I, too, suspect a build-up of some gas or vapour. If the tank was freshly coated from the inside it could be gas buildup from the paint / coating drying...

I don't fully understand the way things are done in the US but can't but wonder: what business did a union carpenter have welding a tank in the first place??

EDIT: oh, I didn't realize the tank was full of water! Of course, in that case you need a smaller amount of gas to generate the right mixture to blow things up in the remaining air space.
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Yeah theres another added factor: United Brotherhood of Carpenters are gonna be asking questions, since that fell into United Alliance/ Pipefitters work. Basically, he wasn't even qualified to begin with and tragically died as a result like @iblive pointed out.

The fact there was a massive accident on site will usher in Occupational Safety Hazard Administration ( OSHA) but a fatality will bring on a full blown investigation as the entire facility will be shut down during the process. You can expect massive lawsuits, fines and possibly even the shuttering of that company that approved the carpenter to work on the tank. If they did so knowing he wasn't qualified, that leads to criminal charges of negligent homicide potentially.
 
Lemoore is located in California's Central Valley. It's predominantly a farming area and it has legendary levels of police and political corruption and I can guarantee there is a clandestine cover up.

Tulare, Kings and Fresno Counties have legendary political gerrymandering and corruption. Generally, city managers in those small towns have failed in the larger cities, with most fired for quasi-criminal behaviors, and these leaches prey upon the small towns, desperately seeking qualified leadership.

In the 1980's, in Visalia - the county seat of Tulare County - a district attorney (Ron Couillard) and a prosecutor (Phil Cline) sought the death penalty for Mark Soderston for the murder of a Visalia woman.

Soderston spent 20 years in nearby Corcoran Prison, until a courthouse worker, moving out Cline's old desk, found interview tapes that were hidden, tapes which ultimately exonerated Soderston - 3 days after he died in prison.

"Phil Cline, intentionally withheld an extremely exculpatory audiotape of a witness interview. The tape was so exculpatory that the judge who heard it decades later (after it was uncovered) wrote that “an innocent man might be convicted.” Tragically, Mr. Soderston had already passed away in prison. Cline was not only absolutely immune from suit for failing to turn over the tape, he was even never disciplined and was elected District Attorney in 1992. He won reelection even after the court opinion. The other prosecutor in Soderston’s case (Ron Coulliard) went on to become a Tulare County Superior Court Judge - and both are still serving in that capacity.

Nevertheless, a three-judge panel of the 5th District Court of Appeals concluded that the tapes were wrongly withheld and found that failure “carried with it grave risk of convicting an innocent man.”

"The integrity of the system was compromised by the conduct of the very people (Cline & Couillard) who are sworn to uphold the system, and who are charged with seeing that justice is done,” wrote presiding Justice James A. Ardaiz.

This case is one of several in my book that I'm writing, covering my 20 years in law enforcement. The title is "The Devil's Valley - A History Of Political & Police Corruption in California's Central Valley..."

Another topic is the murder of a 16 year old police volunteer named Alice Cordero, by police officer Fernie Velez in 1981, before Cordero could accuse Velez of serial involvementwith her juvenile friend, this according to the victim's family.

The Fresno County Sheriff conducted a botched investigation and did everything they could to make the problem go away.

Velez was found guilty of manslaughter and received probation and 180 days in jail.

Velez now sells insurance in Clovis, California.
 
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Aside from my duties as chief of police, I served a few months as interim public works director. There were always warnings issued about water obtained from The California Aqueduct with regard to samples that contained volatile fatty acids. In some of the liquid samples, off-gassing of flammable methane and hydrogen sulfide was detected and this had to be neutralized chemically before the water could continue in the purification process.

But in the Central Valley, there is a "Good Old Boy Culture" where rules are constantly bent and people who report corruption are ostracized.

The level of dishonesty and corruption in municipal government up there is almost indescribable.
 
Robert Herndon said:
Aside from my duties as chief of police, I served a few months as interim public works director. There were always warnings issued about water obtained from The California Aqueduct with regard to samples that contained volatile fatty acids. In some of the liquid samples, off-gassing of flammable methane and hydrogen sulfide was detected and this had to be neutralized chemically before the water could continue in the purification process.

But in the Central Valley, there is a "Good Old Boy Culture" where rules are constantly bent and people who report corruption are ostracized.

The level of dishonesty and corruption in municipal government up there is almost indescribable.
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Heh. I've learned that in the US you can google "<town> water quality" to get a report on whether you can drink the tap water without getting the shits...


I've seen better... of course, according to stickers on stuff that I buy, everything causes cancer in California anyway....

1625584640734.png
 
Clockworkmike said:
Yeah theres another added factor: United Brotherhood of Carpenters are gonna be asking questions, since that fell into United Alliance/ Pipefitters work. Basically, he wasn't even qualified to begin with and tragically died as a result like @iblive pointed out.

The fact there was a massive accident on site will usher in Occupational Safety Hazard Administration ( OSHA) but a fatality will bring on a full blown investigation as the entire facility will be shut down during the process. You can expect massive lawsuits, fines and possibly even the shuttering of that company that approved the carpenter to work on the tank. If they did so knowing he wasn't qualified, that leads to criminal charges of negligent homicide potentially.
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True--OSHA never really does anything until somebody dies, or there is significant damage.
The maximum fine is $70,000.00.

And so, the carpenter should have used a nail gun instead.
 
Robert Herndon said:
Aside from my duties as chief of police, I served a few months as interim public works director. There were always warnings issued about water obtained from The California Aqueduct with regard to samples that contained volatile fatty acids. In some of the liquid samples, off-gassing of flammable methane and hydrogen sulfide was detected and this had to be neutralized chemically before the water could continue in the purification process.

But in the Central Valley, there is a "Good Old Boy Culture" where rules are constantly bent and people who report corruption are ostracized.

The level of dishonesty and corruption in municipal government up there is almost indescribable.
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So it was methane or hydrogen that built up in the top of the sealed tank? I think so too.
There must have been gas trapped in the tank above the waterline.
In the video:
First the top of the tank expands like a balloon, into a mushroomed shape...

00.png

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Next the tank lifts off / reaches escape velocity, but the top of the tank is still intact.

2.png

Then (just after the tank becomes airborne) there is a quick flash of flame being released from the inside of the tank, which to me indicates there was indeed gas ignition expansion inside the tank.

3.png
 
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Amp Mad Scientist said:
I suppose water does contain hydrogen...and oxygen, just like rocket fuel. But I never realized a water tank would explode that's a new one.
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What I remember from my HS chemistry class, you would need some form of electrolysis to separate the hydrogen and oxygen. In class we performed that experiment… with a small generator bottle and a test tube to catch the hydrogen. Only took a few volts DC if memory serves. On a million gallons….. voltage needed would be huge.

Chemistry/Physics majors….. please feel free to correct or add to my comments. I took HS chemistry in 1971. We’ve flipped a few calendars since then. :pound-hand:
 
iblive said:
What I remember from my HS chemistry class, you would need some form of electrolysis to separate the hydrogen and oxygen. In class we performed that experiment… with a small generator bottle and a test tube to catch the hydrogen. Only took a few volts DC if memory serves. On a million gallons….. voltage needed would be huge.

Chemistry/Physics majors….. please feel free to correct or add to my comments. I took HS chemistry in 1971. We’ve flipped a few calendars since then. :pound-hand:
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And added an element or 2 to the table
 
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