Aluminum 80's made during the 70's

[deepstops]

Never-the-less, some shops refuse to fill the old aluminum tanks. Scubatoys refused to fill my Catalina AL80 so I don't take my aluminum tanks to them for fills. My other shop fills them with no problem. The other shop has problems filling my HP steels to their proper service pressure so I take them to Scubatoys. I'm lucky I have two good shops so close.

Ultimately, it's up to the shop and what they feel comfortable with.

I disagree, you do NOT have two good shops nearby. You have one that's ignorant about AL tanks and another that can't fill to 3500. As Spectrum stated, it's about fear, ignorance, and greed.

My LDS fills 6351s based on the following criteria: Fill Express -- FAQ About Filling Aluminum 6351-T6 SCUBA Cylinders

And while they do, I don't understand why anyone would insist on keeping a 6351 in service.

 

[Joe.DIRt]

Luxfer tanks made from the 1972 through June 1988 as well as all Walter Kidde tanks were made with 6351 T-6 Aluminum and this alloy is implicated in numerous instances of fatique cracks in the neck and shoulder area and there have been a few explosions. An additional eddy current inspection is required with tanks using this alloy, but the tanks are still approved for service. Kidde tanks have heavier walls than Luxfer tanks and expand a bit less during hydro tests. I can't see that a hydro test facility would refuse to test one~ Directional Toast aka DA Aquaman

 

[adm3745]

WIth the VIP + the 6351 tanks are fine. I recently acquired 4 of them for a grand total of $20. Hydrod and VIP for $23 and I have perfectly useable $28 tanks. Now the reason I got them this cheap is the guy in vero could not find any shops in his area to fill them. I have no such problem 30 miles north.

 

[KY_BOB]

I have seen more than one sign in FL dive shops stating "No aluminum tanks made prior to 1990 will be filled" On my last trip, a friend that I was traveling with had a shop to refuse to fill one made in 1986.

I know that all pre-1990 AL tanks aren't bad. I think it's just easier to set a rule than train the people of which are safe and which are. If fact my buddy's was a Catalina, so it was not made with 6351 alloy. They still said no. It was in hydo but needed a vis. They refused to vis it, of course they pointed out that they had some new ones for sale

 

[john1bl]

Sell them for scrap metal, they are not worth investing in. New aluminum 80s are cheap, get a couple.

In Florida it is pretty much any older tank including steels. I run into this down there all the time with several steel tanks I have. I have a couple of new Faber 85s that I put vintage decals on and the dive shop "guy" was refusing to fill those "old" tanks because they are "dangerous" etc.

The aluminums are not worth the effort, scrap them.

N

The scary Part of this is that the shop owners Don't have the Gumption to really know about a safety hazard and the willingness to train there staff. What else are they painting with a large brush. If learning the truth about Al tanks and training the staff to too much, I have to wander about there training program for new divers.

 

[deepstops]

WIth the VIP + the 6351 tanks are fine. I recently acquired 4 of them for a grand total of $20. Hydrod and VIP for $23 and I have perfectly useable $28 tanks. Now the reason I got them this cheap is the guy in vero could not find any shops in his area to fill them. I have no such problem 30 miles north.

That's because Deep Six in Vero has to teach their employees about surfboards and skateboards too

I'm guessing you're dealing with Sea Level in Melbourne or Sea Dragons in Rockledge or at least a shop that is exclusively selling scuba.

 

[scubafanatic]

+1 for the vote to ditch the 6351 alloy tanks......anyone who wants to waste their time 'fighting city hall' on this issue has way too much time/$ on their hands, give it up! Life is just way too short to screw with it.....the image of Dox Quixote 'tilting at windmills' comes to mind here.

 

[Kern]

+1 for the vote to ditch the 6351 alloy tanks......anyone who wants to waste their time 'fighting city hall' on this issue has way too much time/$ on their hands, give it up! Life is just way too short to screw with it.....the image of Dox Quixote 'tilting at windmills' comes to mind here.

Actually, for me, the image of Murray, without a hand or a leg comes to mind.

 

[tomfcrist]

To the OP, some old tanks are good and some must be condemned.

6351 tanks are absolutly fine, but are suseptable to sustained lod cracking in the neck area. they need to have an eddy current inspection done every year during the VIP.
To correct this problem the 6061 alloy was produced in the 90's and after 19 milliom eddy current inspections there hasnt been a single failure.

Now on to the meaty part: tanks marked with SP6576 or SP6688 shouldnt be around anymore. They lost their DOT approval in 1979. Luxfer started using SP or E 6498 or 7042 around that time. When tose DOT permits expired DOT allowed hydro facilitys to overstamp the tanks 3AL and they can still be used today with 2 exeptions: Kaiser and Norris cylinders werenot approved by DOT and could not be overstamped. Therefore they are to be removed from service and condemned.

Bottom line, Any cylinder bearing the 6576, 6688 are to be condemned. Any cylinders with 6498, 7042 that were manufactured by Kaiser or Norris are to be condemned.

These are the facts as stated by DOT, if you are in another country the rules are probably slightly different.

Hope this helps.

 

[Scared Silly]

The phoenix rises to beat the dead horse.

These are the affected cylinders:
http://www.ctcseminars.com/Files/Technical/3al_advisory.pdf

And these are the federal laws regarding requal:

Hazardous Materials: Aluminum Cylinders Manufactured of Aluminum Alloy 6351-T6 Used in SCUBA, SCBA, and Oxygen Services--Revised Requalification and Use Criteria | Federal Register Environmental Documents | USEPA

My advise, check your local shops and where you might schlep them and see what their policies are. As mentioned it could well be more of a hassle than it is worth.

Oh, and when I find shops that will not fill any cylinder over 20 years old I see what cylinders they are selling and then call the mfg and the distributors and complain about the shop's practice. For one shop both the mfg and distributor while agreeing that the shop can make up their own rules were none too happy.