Do new tanks need Hydrostatic testing?

[tonka97]

ALL tanks are tested before they leave the factory. They stamp the manufacturing date on the side of the tank, which is the first hydro date.

this will explain how scuba tanks are made and show the initial hydro done at the factory

Thank you for the post; illuminating!

 

[Gil57usa]

Hello,

I'm a newbie and hope this question wasn't just asked yesterday...

I was in the new local Gander Mountain store and was looking at their scuba tanks. The clerk told me that their brand new tanks had to be hydrostatically tested before they could be filled. Is this true? It seems to me that the factory would test the tanks before sending them out.

Thanks for your time!

Geoffrey

New tanks do not require a Hydro. I would however reccommend a visual inspection before the first fill. Even though a visual is supposed to be part of a Hydro, most shops won't fill the tank without a sticker showing a current visual.

 

[Buoyant1]

Nice video! Thanks!

I'm thnking that the whole Gander Mountain thing is going to be like ordering off the internet, but being able to actually GO to the store, ans see the stuff before you buy it. (and have no qualified people on hand to tell you what you are actually puchasing)


Next thing you know Wal-Mart and Sams will be selling gear!

 

[mike_s]

New tanks do not require a Hydro. I would however reccommend a visual inspection before the first fill. Even though a visual is supposed to be part of a Hydro, most shops won't fill the tank without a sticker showing a current visual.

Any "new" tank should be visualed before using.

I've bought brand new tanks before that were supposed to be O2 cleaned from the factory, so you'd figure they would be free of any residue/dirt/grease on the inside, only to find 'powder residue' inside the tank and grease in the neck threads during the visual.

So... moral of the story is that don't trust others, including the manufacturer if they say the tank doesn't need visualing.

Tanks often sit at the factory without valves installed, so all kinds of crap can get in them, including bugs.

 

[ClayJar]

Next thing you know Wal-Mart and Sams will be selling gear!

I get my defog (J&J baby shampoo), wetsuit wash, shore diving shower (one of those pump-pressurized garden sprayer things), zipties, ziptie cutters (flat-faced toenail clippers), and all sorts of other gear from Walmart. It's only a matter of time.

 

[O2BBubbleFree]

I'm thnking that the whole Gander Mountain thing is going to be like ordering off the internet, but being able to actually GO to the store, ans see the stuff before you buy it. (and have no qualified people on hand to tell you what you are actually puchasing)


Next thing you know Wal-Mart and Sams will be selling gear!

Beware, though. Local attitudes could affect you adversely.

When I got certified I got a really good deal on a top-of-the-line Beuchat reg set from the LDS. I really loved that reg...

A few years later I moved to CO and couldn't get my regs serviced. Beuchat had started selling scuba gear through a sporting goods chain (Jumbo Sports), and all of the LDSs got pissed and refused to service them. Didn't matter that I had proof I had bought them from a dive shop. Of course, Jumbo Sports just sold the stuff, and didn't service it.

I eventually found a guy about 100 miles away that was servicing Beuchat gear out of his garage. Later I eBayed the Beuchat set and bought a used ScubaPro set (off of eBay), just so it would be easier to get it serviced.

 

[O2BBubbleFree]

I get my defog (J&J baby shampoo), wetsuit wash, shore diving shower (one of those pump-pressurized garden sprayer things), zipties, ziptie cutters (flat-faced toenail clippers), and all sorts of other gear from Walmart. It's only a matter of time.

I've been using their 3mm neoprene 'fishing' gloves for over 10 years, even when diving the relatively cold waters of Monterey. ~ $6.00 / pair.

 

[mike_s]

Next thing you know Wal-Mart and Sams will be selling gear!

They already sell US DIVERS mask/fins/snorkels in their sporting goods department.

 

[Walter]

but not hydro'd if they are new.

New SCUBA tanks do not need a hydrostatic inspection

Whether a new tank will need a hydro or not will depend on the date of manufacture.

The only way it would need a hydro is if it had been 5 years since it was manufactured.

What the shop is telling you is inaccurate unless they keep a stock of tanks older than five years.

New tanks do not require a Hydro.

You are all victims of a common misconception. New tanks do need to be hydrostatically tested. They don't need to be tested again after purchase until 5 years after the original test. The correct answer was given quite early in this thread:

All new tanks are required to be hydrostatically tested. They are all tested before they are shipped. No tank is ever shipped from the manufacturer without being hydrostatically tested. That is what that date stamp on the tank is for. It is the verification of the original hydro test at the time it is manufactured.

 

[SparticleBrane]

You are all victims of a common misconception. New tanks do need to be hydrostatically tested. They don't need to be tested again after purchase until 5 years after the original test. The correct answer was given quite early in this thread:

Walter while I agree with you on most other points I disagree on this one.
Assuming that the tank is already at the dive shop, it's already been hydrostatically tested. Thus why I said "new tanks don't need a hydro"...because they were hydro'd before they were sent out.

It's all semantics.