99 year old scuba tank--tall tale?

[Matt S.]

I was chatting with my LDS guy while renting a tank and he mentioned that a nintety nine year old tank just passed hydro at the shop.

I don't see why a steel tank could not last that long if well cared for, but I was having a hard time figuring out what such a tank would have been made for 100 years ago, well before scuba was invented. And how could the threads have been compatible with a modern valve assembly? Can you rethread a cylinder?

If it's true, what a conversation piece that diver has.

 

[H2Andy]

if we assume 99 years is not an exageration, the tank was made in 1907 or so.

the first self-contained diving rig (using oxygen) was invented by Henry Fleuss in 1876. he used a copper tank. it is possible this tank was improved upon, and by 1907 or so might have been made out of steel?

also, he co-invented the Fleuss-Davis SCUBA unit, consisiting of two 10 cubic foot tanks, one each for compressed air and oxygen. i ca'nt find exactly when this was invented, but it was some time before 1914.

so ... there were tanks around that period (say 1907 to 1914) used for scuba, but how hardy they were, how well made, and whether they would pass hydro today ...

dunno...

(btw, what Cousteau and Gagnan did in 1943 was add a demand valve to the existing rigs, not invent them from scratch)

 

[Matt S.]

I guess I need to brush up on my scuba history. That will give me something to do this afternoon at work.

 

[pir8]

Could he have possibly meant a tank made in 1999

 

[Matt S.]

No, he was very clear that it was a tank made in 1907. We were talking about the lifespan of steel tanks, that's how it came up.

 

[Luis H]

It is most likely a tank that has been converted for SCUBA. Many tanks originally made for other applications were converted into Scuba tanks in the late 40’s all the way into the 60’s.

Carbon steel tanks have been around since the very early 1900’s. I vaguely remember seen at least one welding oxygen tank from that era. I don’t know when they started using the 3A designation (as opposed to 3AA which designates Chrome-molybdenum steel, and was introduced around or after WW-II). There is no reason why an old tank would not pass hydro (if it is not excessively corroded).

Tanks have been converted from fire extinguishers, oxygen, and a number of other applications.

The valve thread was most likely a tapered pipe thread like most commercial steel tanks use today.
Bushings were often required from the 1" tapered thread to the 1/2" tapered NPT thread.

 

[Wildcard]

I saw a recently hydroed O2 tank for welding that had its first Hydro in 1923 I think. It was this old guys grandfathers welding tank. Same guy who wanted new prices for a pair of LP72s that were 25 years out of hydro because 'they would be as good as new" with a hydro....

 

[dannobee]

I don't know about a "real" scuba tank, but our shop uses a lot of tanks, and I'm frequently looking at the hydro dates just for chits and giggles. The earliest one that I've personally come across was 1909. Had subsequent hydro stamps all over the neck.

 

[H2Andy]

yeah, like Luis H says, people who got into scuba in the late 40's and 50's had these tanks lying around from other uses, and basically started using them for scuba purposes

makes a lot of sense

 

[superstar]

A few months ago I changed an oxygen cylinder at work that had a 1907 hydro date. I read an article in a welding publication about cylinders and that type of cylinder began production in 1905.