Cardboard boxes for shipping/checking tanks

[guruboy]

looking for suggestions on what kind of cardboard boxes (and where to get them) I can use to pack and check two HP100 tanks as luggage on a plane

I figure the boxes a tank ships in from online retailers would be sufficient but not sure how to get some without ordering a tank.

If it helps, the boxes are needed in the Rockville, MD area.

 

[guruboy]

I tried calling a few local shops but they didn't have any lying around at the time.

 

[claymore]

TSA will open the boxes any way to inspect the tanks to make sure they are empty. The general opinion is remove the valve and tape over the opening when shipping by air.

 

[guruboy]

I need to find the boxes.

I know how to pack them.

 

[KDAD]

At work we ship similar size tanks (not scuba) in 8x8x30 boxes. Company name on the box is Heritage Container, Mira Loma, CA. You can also check U-Line.

Might be a minimum quantity such as 5 though.

We don't have any extra boxes otherwise I would send you some. (We get the tanks shipped to us and use them for the return shipping ).

 

[Scared Silly]

My suggestion is to build the boxes yourself. I have done something similar in the past. A couple of suggestions. Solidly tape any contact info to the cylinder so that if the TSA does open the box and fail to reseal it the cylinder has the finial destination and contact info. Otherwise as for a box I would check at a shipping store.

 

[Rred]

You can usually order "lamp" boxes from anyplace that sells shipping cartons. Regular corrugated cardboard boxes that may be 8" or 10" in diameter and four to six feet long, so just find the size that is closest and cut it down to length.

For repeated use, you can buy heavy "cardboard" tubes in a hardware store, that are used to pour cement footings and pillars. These are 8-12 feet (feet) long in various diameters, very hard "cardboard". Or for repeated use, there's always PVC pipe, with proper caps available. Duct tape or packing tape to seal it is recommended.

I haven't flown with a tank but have shipped them. Simply wrapped in corrugated cardboard, no formal "box" or tube involved. UPS and FedEx are both happy with that, so if you are flying within the US, that's a different shipping option, cuts out the TSA crap about opening the tank as well.

Remember, if you are going outside the US, your US DOT certified tank may not be accepted for fills. And if the tank was oxygen clean (i.e. nitrox) technically, it now should be recleaned because you have no idea if the TSA literally got oily fingerprints inside the neck.

 

[guruboy]

Thanks for the inputs.

I might try just "wrapping" them in cardboard.

 

[WarrenZ]

Make sure that the valves are removed (TSA Requirement Also) I have a nice DIN Thermo valve that is now only good for decoration after it got dropped during shipping while still in a tank neck.

 

[KeithG]

Thanks for the inputs.

I might try just "wrapping" them in cardboard.

Makes sense - not sure why you even want a cardboard box. Is it to protect the metal tank? How much abuse will cardboard take compared to metal?

May be easiest to duct tape on a thin layer of bubble wrap.

The last time I saw tanks shipped they were totally exposed on a small pallet that held the bottom foot or so of the tanks. It was a square pallet of 25 or 36 tanks, I do not remember the exact number.