Buying used tanks - is it worth it?
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Yep, a lot of folks just don't want to deal with them. An eddy current testing device is also not cheap, so that may factor into the decision.
But to clarify, the issue is with 6351 alloy, which is NOT stamped on the cylinder. You need to compare manufacturer name and date to a list. All Walter Kidde are old alloy, none of Catalina are. Vast majority are Luxfer, including cobranded Dacor and US Divers. Luxfer transitioned different sizes on different dates, so you need to have that list. June of 1988 is the first month that ALL sizes had transitioned. Luxfer also says CIG cylinders in Australia used 6351 through 1990, they don't specify a month. I recommend staying away from that alloy, maybe even if the tank is free. But if you are using one now with no issues, including service of cylinder valve, no reason to dump it. I still have a dozen or so in my fleet, but I have also condemned several of my own over the last few years.
Actually I think tanks are one of the less risky things to buy 2nd hand provided they have been inspected and hydro'ed recently.
Less than 1/2 of the tanks I've ever owned have been new. Obviously all of the ones I've ever sold have been used and I've never needed to wait more than a couple of days for someone to offer what I wanted for them. They're the easiest bit of dive-gear to buy or sell second hand.
I'm hoping that my latest purchase will be from a shop that I know is going out of business soon (not yet public knowledge). They have a couple of used Aluminium 7l rental tanks and a couple of new AL80's that have been for sale so long that they are out of hydro but have never been used. I've been eyeing the whole lot of them because I know the shop wants to be rid of it and I'm thinking if I buy them all that I can sell what I don't want for about what I spend and keep 1 or 2 tanks for basically free, even after hydro.
I did this with a harness, wing and backplate last year. I kept the wing and sold the harness and backplate for about what I spent on the whole thing. Ended up with wing that had been used on one dive trip (maybe 20 dives) for €10. Sold my old wing for €20 and basically upgraded my kit for a profit.
Point is that you need to have a good eye for stuff like this but trading in 2nd hand gear is actually a decent way to keep costs down. Another example was a regulator that I bought and used for 4 or 5 years for giving lessons and then sold again for the same price I bought it. Same with a BCD I bought for the same purposes. In fact, after 4 years I made a small profit on the BCD. It's all very easy if you trade in decent gear that's not too old.
R..
Less than 1/2 of the tanks I've ever owned have been new. Obviously all of the ones I've ever sold have been used and I've never needed to wait more than a couple of days for someone to offer what I wanted for them. They're the easiest bit of dive-gear to buy or sell second hand.
I'm hoping that my latest purchase will be from a shop that I know is going out of business soon (not yet public knowledge). They have a couple of used Aluminium 7l rental tanks and a couple of new AL80's that have been for sale so long that they are out of hydro but have never been used. I've been eyeing the whole lot of them because I know the shop wants to be rid of it and I'm thinking if I buy them all that I can sell what I don't want for about what I spend and keep 1 or 2 tanks for basically free, even after hydro.
I did this with a harness, wing and backplate last year. I kept the wing and sold the harness and backplate for about what I spent on the whole thing. Ended up with wing that had been used on one dive trip (maybe 20 dives) for €10. Sold my old wing for €20 and basically upgraded my kit for a profit.
Point is that you need to have a good eye for stuff like this but trading in 2nd hand gear is actually a decent way to keep costs down. Another example was a regulator that I bought and used for 4 or 5 years for giving lessons and then sold again for the same price I bought it. Same with a BCD I bought for the same purposes. In fact, after 4 years I made a small profit on the BCD. It's all very easy if you trade in decent gear that's not too old.
R..
three new to me LP 72 steel (two Norris, 1 PST) all in hydro (3 or more years remaining) for $100 total... I'd think used is okay, if you know what you are looking at....
JamesBon92007
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Another "yes" vote here.
The only new tanks I ever bought were AL80s when they first came out and they are now destined to become mailboxes, bells, etc. Two I condemned myself after I reading how to inspect them. The other one I got a visual eddy test on and it came back OK, but I just keep 500 psi in it to test for maximum buoyancy with a new wetsuit etc. I do my own VIPs on my steel tanks, get hydros for $20 ea (if the guy feels like charging me that day--sometimes it's free), and service my own valves. I also have my own compressor. You need to factor in all the extraneous expenses if you buy a used tank, especially if it's out of hydro, and compare that to what it would cost to keep and maintain a new tank. So far I've only had one, old steel tank fail hydro and I'm not certain that the test was done properly.
As for your examples of other used gear, the one thing I've seen that is most likely to NOT be any good (or repairable) would be a BC.
The only new tanks I ever bought were AL80s when they first came out and they are now destined to become mailboxes, bells, etc. Two I condemned myself after I reading how to inspect them. The other one I got a visual eddy test on and it came back OK, but I just keep 500 psi in it to test for maximum buoyancy with a new wetsuit etc. I do my own VIPs on my steel tanks, get hydros for $20 ea (if the guy feels like charging me that day--sometimes it's free), and service my own valves. I also have my own compressor. You need to factor in all the extraneous expenses if you buy a used tank, especially if it's out of hydro, and compare that to what it would cost to keep and maintain a new tank. So far I've only had one, old steel tank fail hydro and I'm not certain that the test was done properly.
As for your examples of other used gear, the one thing I've seen that is most likely to NOT be any good (or repairable) would be a BC.
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wouldn't be diving without second hand
Just picked up 3 more tanks yesterday.
1 AL40 and 2 HP130 at ~$100 a piece. Add another $19ea for hydro, find some bands and manifold and sell them off for 4x the initial purchase (130's) .... or just keep em, use em and then sell em....
_R
1 AL40 and 2 HP130 at ~$100 a piece. Add another $19ea for hydro, find some bands and manifold and sell them off for 4x the initial purchase (130's) .... or just keep em, use em and then sell em....
_R
Barnaby'sDad
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Yup. I picked up a couple AL80’s from a small local shop with recent hydro (6/18) and vis (10/18) for $90 each.
They came filled too, with the promise that when I need them refilled...he’d be happy to hook me up even with short notice.
As for whether or not it’s worth it for someone to have their own tanks....I think it depends on the kind of diving you want to do and how close you are to your dive shop. Ex. I wanted to dive a local river today. I grabbed my tanks, put them in the truck, and met my buddy.
It would have tacked on an additional hour to my day for me to ge to my dive shop, rent tanks, and get over to the dive site. That’s an hour requirement tacked onto a planned one hour dive.
For local dives...from a convenience standpoint...it makes sense for me to keep a couple tanks on hand.
They came filled too, with the promise that when I need them refilled...he’d be happy to hook me up even with short notice.
As for whether or not it’s worth it for someone to have their own tanks....I think it depends on the kind of diving you want to do and how close you are to your dive shop. Ex. I wanted to dive a local river today. I grabbed my tanks, put them in the truck, and met my buddy.
It would have tacked on an additional hour to my day for me to ge to my dive shop, rent tanks, and get over to the dive site. That’s an hour requirement tacked onto a planned one hour dive.
For local dives...from a convenience standpoint...it makes sense for me to keep a couple tanks on hand.
W W Meixner
Banned
From someone who has had considerable experience as a dive shop tech...and having serviced hundreds of tanks...my answer would be no...
Shipping...re-hydro...annual visual inspection...O2 cleaning...valve servicing is expensive...do the math and you'll realize the cost of these five items will pay for ''some'' new tanks...
There is the 6351-T6 alloy issue...with 1980's era AL tanks...some of our Canadian shops will no longer fill AL tanks older than 1989...regardless of visual condition...inspection stickers or re-hydro dates...
With steel tanks there's the issue of rust pitting which is deeper than allowable limits...most dive shops will ad an extra service charge to medium tumble steel tanks to remove ''flash'' rust and check for pitting...
There's also the issue with worn valves that have spent their life in salt water and have reached ''end of life''...
You may get lucky and get a good tank...or you may end up buying expensive scrap...
In comparison to a lot of other items in your dive locker...tanks are cheap...
There's lots of info on-line regarding defects commonly found while inspecting pressure vessels...including tanks used for scuba diving...
Proceed with caution...and contrary to popular belief...the diver with the most tanks...doesn't win...
Unless you're tank inspection/re-hydro certified...with O2 cleaning included...you're looking on average of $50. per year...per tank for annual servicing...double that when re-hydro time comes around...
Dive Safe...
Warren
Over my 56 years of diving I have never purchased a tank new (except for my ponies) and have never had a problem with any of them that was related to their being used. However, it is highly advisable to only purchase tanks in current hydro and vis if possible (all mine were).
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