CONDEMNED/CONFISCATED- liner in steel 72

[james croft]

I have a tumbler and you can get out the liner like Keven said but it is a laborious process. Of course you should hydro after a good tumbling but the guy should not have scrapped your cylinder. I also had a tank drilled by a hydro facility for failing the visual on an aluminum 80, which was BS as it was for a very tiny scratch that was okay. I am certified to do visuals and would not pass a tank with a liner if it could not be removed for a proper inspection. Guy owes you a tank. Was the valve in it ? Nice 72 tanks in that condition are getting harder to come by and I hate that that happened to you.

 

[garyfotodiver]

I also like steel 72s and have had my share of problems getting hydros and VIPs.

However, now that Worthington makes a steel LP 77, I see no reason to keep using the older tanks.

 

[captndale]

It is difficult but not impossible to get the ceramic pellets in and out of 1/2" valves. The bigger problem is removing the interior epoxy coating. I have tumbled these tanks 24 hrs a day for a week and not gotten it completely out. The work is not worth the value of the tank.

 

[JEScholz]

As stated earlier, the hydro guy owes you a tank. I would press the issue with him and if he doesn't return the tank, file a police report.

 

[barrmust]

if i read you post correctly you dropped the tank off at the dive shop and they handled getting it hydroed from there. it seems to me that you should only have to deal with the dive shop. you did not take the tank to that particular hydro shop, they made that decision. so it is the lds responsibilty to handle any problems that arise. you took the tank to them, not someone else. i would ask for my tank back from the dive shop and documentation showing it failed. if they cant give you your tank and paperwork it is their responsibility to remedy the situation. they should provide you with your tank or supply you with a new one. if they dont i would inform them you are filing a police report and filing charges for theft. i would imagine a police officer showing up with an arrest warrant will go a long way to resolving the situation. they should not be trying to pass the buck to the hydro shop. you gave it to the lds and that is who you should have to deal with only.

as far as failing hydro, did it really? if they cant perform the test becuse of a liner that they cant remove then no test was performed and nothing failed. you should have been given the oportunity to take it to someone that could remove the liner and then have a test performed. just becuse that particular hydro facality does not have the ability to remove it does not mean another shop cant.


Russ

 

[Scared Silly]

I never stated that I would relinquish ownership of the cylinder for any reason, nor did I sign any waiver.

Quite simple - no signy, no takey, owes a new tanky, otherwise off small claimy courty.

 

[duckbill]

According to this guy, no one can remove liners through a 1/2" opening. The impression I'm getting here is that it is possible, just not a job that one would normally want to tackle. Again, does anyone have first-hand experience with having a liner tumbled out of a 1/2"-valved tank, as opposed to a 3/4"-valved one?

He was saying that he might be able to find the tank if it didn't already go out for scrap. I'll give him the chance to find it (hopefully), so I can find someone more ambitious, or tumble the thing myself. I don't have 50 tanks lined up with impatient customers waiting for me to tumble theirs, so I don't mind letting it run for a month if need be. The cylinder is pristine. There was no reason to condemn it. BTW, it wasn't condemned due to hydro failure, but by visual failure. What I'm trying to determine here is whether the presence of a liner is covered as a cause for failure, or a cause for rejection (until the lining is removed).

One respondent made a good point- deal with the LDS. I'm glad the hydro guy called me, actually, because it saved what may prove to be valuable time in locating my tank before scrapping, and avoided communications gaps.

The concensus seems to be that there is no ground here for confiscation. My other main question is whether a visual could legally be started before the liner was removed. If not, then the visual could not have "failed", since the visual had not even yet begun. If "yes", then the liner needed to be removed before proceeding to the "failure" point of an inspection, and the cylinder should have been returned to me as-is. Is this logical? This is where the CGA C-6 pamphlet might come into play.
I did mention to him that it wasn't my problem that he couldn't (wouldn't?) tumble the liner out. That was when he said that no one else would do it either. That seemed like a hard statement to prove, but it could be disproved. Any true stories (1/2" valves only)?

 

[Jim Lapenta]

Confiscating the tank is bull! What if you wanted to make a lamp or something out of it. It was your tank whether it could pass or not. Call the cops and file a report. If nothing else scrap metal prices are high. He had no right to do anything with the tank. He's a thief IMO.
And on another note our hydro place today told us that they will no longer do aluminum tanks before 1990 regardless of manufacturer or alloy. Even if they pass an eddy current before hand ( they don't do eddys another shop would have to) they will no longer hydro them. In fact it sounded like what they are going to do is not hydro any aluminum tanks older than 15 years. No problem with steels thank God. Otherwise my two 72's from 1958 and 59 would need to be retired.

 

[wreckedinri]

It is difficult but not impossible to get the ceramic pellets in and out of 1/2" valves. The bigger problem is removing the interior epoxy coating. I have tumbled these tanks 24 hrs a day for a week and not gotten it completely out. The work is not worth the value of the tank.

Probably the most salient statement in this thread.

The other good piece of advice was to deal with the Dive Shop that was given the cylinder. I would bet dollars to donuts that they will get the cylinder back for you . . . but don't be surprised if you get charged for the hydro.

As for filing police reports and talk of stolen property . . . PLEASE, let's all just take a breath. It's common practice for the recertifier to simply scrap a cylinder that fails or cannot be hydroed. Nothing sinister about it. BUT, the LDS should have informed you (the customer) that the cylinder should be taken out of service. At that point the customer usually says they don't want the tank and in the scrap it goes. As someone who has been inspecting cylinders for the better part of a dozen years, I can tell you that I always have a pile of them out behind my place. I have never had anyone say that they want their tank back. I offer it back to them but they decline it. I do not charge for failed inspections and the FEW bucks that I get for scrap defrays some of the cost of my time that I spend on them. If anyone wants to make a lamp or a bell, swing by my place and I'll give you a tank.

FWIW, I pesonally will not inspect (not saying that some of these cannot be inspected but I will not take the risk): round bottom AL, pre 1990 AL, non-galv steel that has been painted, steel that is lined or coated. Too many variables and lawyers to risk my family's future on inspecting old cylinders.

Be Safe,
Capt. Dennis St Germain

 

[mike_s]

Funny you should make that analogy; The hydro guy likened cylinder ownership to vehicle ownership too. He implied that as the DMV licenses and can confiscate your car, the DOT can confiscate your tank (and I don't mean M-1 Abrams ).
(Maybe I misheard or misunderstood what he said)

.

Since when does some "tank monkey" self certify himself as having the ability to claim he's the DOT and can confiscate your tank.


I hope to heck you didn't pay him for his services.