drilling holes in old tanks?

[wedivebc]

I just ran a quick Google on taking failed tanks out of service immediately and many shops make them unusable one way or another.
Example: "At ASK Water Sports we do FAIL tanks! This is not always due to one major defect. Sometimes it is due to an uneasy feeling due to several marginal issues with a tank. We normally destroy a failed tank by damaging the threads so the tank can not be restored to use. This is done only after a thorough, professional inspection."

from
http://www.visualplus.net/Tank Safety and Professional Inspection.htm

So glad the automotive industry doesn't take that approach.
"I'm sorry sir we had to destroy your Lexus, one of the tires had low air pressure and the radio was all staticky. It gave us an uneasy feeling"

 

[PerroneFord]

So glad the automotive industry doesn't take that approach.
"I'm sorry sir we had to destroy your Ford Explorer , one of the tires had low air pressure. It gave us an uneasy feeling"

Might have saved some lives...

 

[Gil57usa]

If the tank had a defect severe enough to take it out of service, before anything was done, you should have been notified. No one has the authority to damage personal property that belongs to another. The shop could fail the hydro or fail the visual, but they have no right to drill the tank or dispose of it without your permission. I do have some experience in this area. I am Asst. Chief of a Fire Dept. and over see the SCBA equipment and also the SCUBA equipment. As far as i'm concerned, the shop just bought you some new tanks. Persue it!

 

[jerryfreak]

yes, they were fiberglass-wound cylinders, 15 year shelf life as per mfr.

you learn something new every day!

we are looking into replacing them with aluminum cylinders

 

[royalediver]

I beleive they were composite.

That would make sense.

Do you have a link to those requirements?

here is your link;
http://hazmat.dot.gov/sp_app/special_permits/docs/07000/SP07235.pdf

under my PSI course instructor owner permission is required to destroy a tank.

 

[Jchoby]

apparently they literally refused to return them until they had time to drill them. it took us months to get them back.

the tank may have been old, but it was probably filled once or twice in its lifetime and looked perfect. I am 99% sure it would have passed a hydrostatic test with flying colors

Man, that's messed up.... I'd be drilling the owner a new one.

 

[in_cavediver]

here is your link;
http://hazmat.dot.gov/sp_app/special_permits/docs/07000/SP07235.pdf

under my PSI course instructor owner permission is required to destroy a tank.

The one variable is a licensed hydro shop. They do have the authority when testing tanks to remove from service a tank. If the DS was the licensed hydro shop - OK. Otherwise, they really overstepped thier bounds without your permission.

 

[royalediver]

the DOT requirement, according to my PSI instructor, means to obliterate the tank markings making the tank functional but illeagal to fill. The owner has his tank back undamaged but not proper to fill under DOT rules.

 

[james croft]

Composite tanks that are out of date need to be trashed. They cannot be legally filled and I doubt they have any scrap value. The advantage of them is that they are lighter than aluminum SCBA cylinders. You can use aluminum indefinitely but the trade off is the weight issue.

 

[PerroneFord]

You can use aluminum indefinitely but the trade off is the weight issue.

I'd suspect you'd also lose the fast/hot fill capability that you get with composite too. Probably not a big deal to some...