Supplies for O2 cleaning a steel tank?

[pescador775]

Marbles, soap, rust inhibiter, driers, tumblers, toothbrushes ugh. I pour in a quart of ENSOLV oxygen safe solvent, slosh and drain. Then, one minute air dry the interior with a hose connected to a scuba tank. ENSOLV will cut silicone and hydrocarbons almost instantly, so the threads and interior are clean. No worries about "surface tension" of oil, LOL. Residual solvent can be used for general cleaning like preparing rubber to be glued or cleaning various parts. A five minute soak in ENSOLV will clean the tiniest valve parts (no thermoplastics, please). Once, I soaked an EBay valve and after the solvent evaporated there was enough silicone in the bottom ot the can to lubricate a hundred O rings, chuckle.

 

[Jimmer]

Pescador, where do you get Ensolv? I can't seem to find much info about it.

 

[pescador775]

Pescador, where do you get Ensolv? I can't seem to find much info about it.

What, a master villain can't find ENSOLV?

ENVIRO Tech · Products Overview

First product listed is ENSOLV solvent, recommended for oxygen safe degreasing.

Give their sales guy a call. A little expensive and maybe more so now. I haven't ordered in a while. However, only a little is required to clean a tank so the cost per tank is competitive against what dive shops charge. No muss, no rust.

 

[crpntr133]

OK, newb on the tank cleaning.

Do you not rinse with Ensolv? If not sounds like it would take away the flash rust possibility on steel tanks.

 

[pescador775]

Ensolv is also a rust inhibiter. Absolutely, no water involved at any time. Residual liquid evaporates completely. Blast a little compressed air to remove any remaining odor.

Those tech diving "agencies" don't know everything. I would never put water into a steel SCUBA tank unless it involved hydro testing. No choice there.

 

[Jimmer]

Well I got a response from them, it seems I can only order it directly from them, so I'll request a quote and find out what it might cost.

P.S. don't let everyone in on my status as a master villian, I'm attempting to remain inconspicuous.

 

[Divin'Papaw]

I use Crystal Simple Green because I like the smell of it, but I did notice that Innovative Scuba is selling Blue Gold.

I don't use any rust inhibitors- just a hot water rinse and dry with scuba air.

And you don't end up with flash rust?

 

[Divin'Papaw]

Ensolv is also a rust inhibiter. Absolutely, no water involved at any time. Residual liquid evaporates completely. Blast a little compressed air to remove any remaining odor.

Those tech diving "agencies" don't know everything. I would never put water into a steel SCUBA tank unless it involved hydro testing. No choice there.

Interesting. Never encountered your approach before in the various threads I've read. So it leaves no residue or fumes to breath? How do you dispose of the used solvent?

 

[pescador775]

Hoosier, about the word "dispose", is that a green thing? Geez, well, ENSOLV is benign in the sense that it does not produce "greenhouse" gas and any fumes are non toxic. I reuse the solvent for general cleaning purposes, like degreasing parts in a compressor rebuild. Ultimately, it evaporates or can be disposed of in the usual ways. I suppose a garage would take it for recycling.

You've never heard of it in spite of the fact that the Navy preferred solvent for tank cleaning. I am not surprised. Sport Diver "agencies" who normally ape the practices of the military and NOAA were leary of it due to the toxicity and odor of some of the chemicals used. Possibly, they felt that the public were too stupid to use them safely. More likely, use of these chemicals would be too easy for the public as it does not require special equipment. Lastly, these cert groups are hide bound and conservative and will only venture forth when profit outweighs caution. At a later point in time, regulators began to restrict the use of some chemical solvents. Due to these environmental regulations, industry users of solvent had to find a formula which would comply with the regs and retain the capabilities of substances like trichloroethane. ENSOLV is one such product.

 

[JBRES1]

Here is the price I was quoted for Ensolv

Container Size Fill Weight Price/lb. Total Price

1 Gallon 11 lbs. $6.00 $66.00

5 Gallons 55 lbs. $4.10 $225.50

30 Gallons 326 lbs. $3.73 $1,215.98

55 Gallons 600 lbs. $3.33 $1,998.00

FOB: Melrose Park, IL


Jim Breslin