HELP ME ID THESE TANKS

[Diver0001]

Those are 232 bar steel 12L tanks. They are very common in Europe and these tanks are also painted according to the European standard for breathing gas (air).

Virtually all rental tanks in Europe are similar to these but the smaller 10L volume ones. The volume of gas they will hold at their working pressure is equivalent to an AL 98 but in a more compact form. Most technical divers in Europe twin these tanks to use for back gas. They are very negative and therefore useless as stages. Individually or in a twin, however, they're excellent tanks that give good buoyancy characteristics with a thicker wetsuit or a drysuit.

I'm not familiar with the stamping. They are not stamped like European tanks. My impression at first glance is that the manufacturer is probably Pressed Steel. They are definitely not Faber tanks.

R..

 

[Hickdive]

It is a "dumpy" 12 litre. 12 litre steel cylinders are fairly ubiquitous in Europe, almost as common as the AL80 in the Americas. The are normally "tall" with a 7" diameter but this is the short version with an 8" (approx) diameter which is preferred by people of shorter stature.

SCUBAPRO = Brand the cylinder is sold under
M25 D = cylinder neck thread*
ecs = manufacturer
YON126 UT = manufacturer's serial code
PS232 = service pressure (i.e. what it is filled to)
PT348BAR = test pressure (i.e. what a hydraulic test should be run at)
16.2kg = the empty weight of the cylinder excluding valve
12L = the internal volume of the cylinder
4.7mm = the thickness of the cylinder walls on the parallel sides.

Manufacture date 6/2010 = June 2010. There are still a variety of test/inspection periods in the EU. However, if this cylinder was in the UK it would have required a visual inspection by the end of December 2012 and a hydraulic test by the end of June 2015. I would be suspicious of that visual inspection sticker. When cylinders are visually inspected in the EU the neck thread must be checked with a calibrated go/no-go thread gauge and the valve thread must be checked with a go/no-go ring gauge. I think it is unlikely that a Fort Lauderdale cylinder inspector has calibrated M25 gauges. In addition, a visual inspection in the UK is evidenced by stamping the cylinder shoulder with the date of inspection and a "v" to indicate "visual".

ECS cylinders are popular throughout Europe, particularly the tall 12l as they trim out flat whereas Fabers tend to be neck heavy. The are also invariably heavier than the Faber equivalents, which is useful for drysuit diving. ECS cylinders are also slightly taller than Fabers but have a marginally smaller capacity. A Faber "12" is actually 12.2 litres whilst ECS are 12.0 litres.

*DO NOT INSTALL A THERMO VALVE IN THIS CYLINDER* The neck thread on this cylinder is metric M25, as far as I know (and no doubt someone will correct me) Thermo only makes cylinder valves in 3/4" NPSM thread. A 3/4" valve will appear to screw to in to an M25 neck with a little resistance on the last couple of turns but in reality it will only be held by the bottom two threads. Eventually this will cause a catastrophic failure that can be fatal. The only valves that can be safely installed in this cylinder are M25 threaded. Modern European cylinders and European valves MUST have the neck thread size marked on them and you can see this M25 on the existing cylinder valve (which is DIN/Yoke convertible already).

 

[Diver0001]

Yeah, now that you mention it, we call these tanks "12L bombs".

The ones we twin up are longer, as you mentioned. Nevertheless, the buoyancy characteristics are oke as singles.

R..

 

[Deep South Divers]

Y'all are awesome.

Hickdive, your info probably just saved my life. If I'd purchased them I'd have probably tried a Thermo valve, and seeing that it fit, I'd have stuck with it. Boom. Damn, you'd think that they'd have thought that through a little better.

I heard back from Euro Cylinder Systems today:


"Hi,


the diameter is 8.03“. The length is 21.06” without valve and boot. The drawing is attached.



Best regards,

eurocylinder systems AG


Hänsch pp. Dr. Wellendorf"

A later inquiry about the buoyancy characteristics got a response that he didn't have that information, which was kinda the point.

Yeah, I was wondering if these were the "dumpy" tanks that I'd read about.

What a shame that I'm looking for new steel tanks and can't take these. He jumped on me suggesting $500 for his set of eight of them. He might even take less.

 

[halocline]

It's very likely that you would have never gotten to the point of putting an unsafe valve on them because the hydro shop would have caught the issue when trying to test the tanks with a 3/4" testing valve.

But, if you can find a a shop with an adapter and buy valves from Europe (how difficult could that be) you might be able to get some use out of them.

 

[Hickdive]

Y'all are awesome.

Hickdive, your info probably just saved my life. If I'd purchased them I'd have probably tried a Thermo valve, and seeing that it fit, I'd have stuck with it. Boom. Damn, you'd think that they'd have thought that through a little better.

Jorge Betancor was killed on Gran Canaria in July 2015 by a cylinder valve mismatch.

Someone had installed a 3/4" BSP* valve in an M25 cylinder. It was forceably ejected whilst he was filling the cylinder and hit him in the face causing massive brain injuries.

*another point to bear in mind is that older UK valves are 3/4" BSP which are not compatible with 3/4" NPSM cylinders and valves used in America and neighbouring countries. The thread pitch and form is different. Don't attempt to install valves unless you are absolutely certain of compatability. The only way to be sure is if both cylinder and valve are clearly marked with the thread size or if you can physically check both threads with calibrated ring and and plug gauges. You should, ideally check both anyway when installing even a new valve into a new cylinder as manufacturing faults are not unheard of.