99 year old scuba tank--tall tale?

[Sam Miller III]

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)

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Your knowledge of diving hsitory is amazing!

Pray tell us more!

when? where? how? why?

SDM

 

[Sam Miller III]

In 1956 I discovered a 1800 PSI 90CF HP cylinder in a junk yard with a hydro (?) date of 1914. I was intrigued so I purchased it for a few dollars, I think I had it hydroed but I do know that I did convert it to a diving tank.

I, and all of us during that pioneering era, used brass plumber's one inch to one half inch reducers which were rated for about 250 PSI. This was of no concern at that time since they were the only ones avalaible -or known to us.
Made a harness of surplus material; webbing, brass harness rivets and ss clamps ( bands.) I have in an old book some where a number of pictures of a very young me wearing it.

Used the unit until about 1963 when I sold it..

I donot recall if it had an ICC number but it must have had one to have been hydroed at least 2 times and filled buy the LDS (Bill Hogan) ..But then again we often as not used the Hawaiian hydros and they were generally accepted by the LDS..

So yes HP cylinders were in service in 1914....I think??

Cheers from California --where it all began...

SDM

 

[H2Andy]

Your knowledge of diving hsitory is amazing!

i would hardly call it amazing. i've just read what's available on the general knowledge books and done a little bit of extra reading.

i have nothing vested in showing i know everything there is to know about diving history (that's somebody else's gig).

if i'm wrong, hey ... great ... another learning experience

 

[captain]

The Pressed Steel Tank company has been in business since 1902 according to their web site. It does not indicate what type of cylinders they were making in 1902 but I believe gas welding was in use in the 1890's

 

[royalediver]

The Pressed Steel Tank company has been in business since 1902 according to their web site. It does not indicate what type of cylinders they were making in 1902 but I believe gas welding was in use in the 1890's

The key word missing is WAS in business

 

[Gilldiver]

well, some people did adapt existing regulators, such as Calor Gas regulators.

but most people had to purchase them from Cousteau or a licensed manufacturer
(the Aqua Lung was marketed commercially in France in 1946, Great Britain 1950, Canada 1951, and the USA 1952)QUOTE]
A bit off, this is from one of the vintage SCUB sites:
1949: The Aqua-Lung was first distributed on the east coast by Spaco Inc. of Burlington, Vermont. The ID plate is rectangular in shape, 1-1/4 by 2 inches, and surface mounted with four rivets. It is not countersunk into the bottom box as later models are. The example I have has raised letters and hand stamped numbers. The plate is non-magnetic, so I assume it's made of brass or copper, with what appears to be a satin platinum type finish. Any evidence of a background color is not evident.

1950-1952: West Coast distribution was secured by René Bussoz. The Aqua-Lung was sold through Rene's Sporting Goods at 1045 Broxton Avenue in Westwood, California. The ID Plate remained 1-1/4 by 2 inches and surface mounted with four rivets. The background color was black with raised chrome lettering.

1953-1954: Several changes occurred in 1953. This was the first year that the Aqua-Lung was manufactured in the United States. The ID plate was still riveted on but now it was counter sunk into the bottom box assembly. We'll call this flush mounted and from this date forward all rectangular ID plates are thus. The now famous 1045 Broxton Ave address is still on the plate but the background color is now blue with raised chrome lettering. Sometime about 1954 a green background plate appeared.

So, modern SCUBA in the US started in Vermont.

But some US soldiers picked it up even earlier. There were a few who learned it in France and Italy after the war. One was a guy named Lee Prettyman who was one of the original East coast instructors out of the Hartford, CT YMCA in the early 50's. He founded my club in 1956 and he was African American.

 

[H2Andy]

living history, man! living history

 

[Gilldiver]

If you really want to see how it was done in the late 40's and early 50's go here:

http://www.vintagedoublehose.com/downloads/index.php

In technical articals click on "Making an Aqualung."

Then shiver.

 

[FoSheZZie23]

i am very sceptical that a 99 year old tank could even close to pass hydro, i doubt tanks made in 1907 could pass hyrdo brand new back then. Did they even have hydro back then? I am not an expert by any means but unless that 99 year old tank was sealed in a vaccum and never used then i would say there is no way it would hold up to hyrdo standards. Maybe there are different standards for non scuba tanks.

Maybe the tank was only rated to 1000 psi..... lots of unanswered questions....

 

[Gilldiver]

i am very sceptical that a 99 year old tank could even close to pass hydro, i doubt tanks made in 1907 could pass hyrdo brand new back then. Did they even have hydro back then? I am not an expert by any means but unless that 99 year old tank was sealed in a vaccum and never used then i would say there is no way it would hold up to hyrdo standards. Maybe there are different standards for non scuba tanks.

Maybe the tank was only rated to 1000 psi..... lots of unanswered questions....

Back then, after 1910 or so, the steel was almost all pure first melt. Not the scrap remelt junk you get now.

Next time you are around a bunch of welding bottles, start checking first hydro dates. You may be very supprised at what you find.