Is there a hydro requirement on bank cylinders?

[rhwestfall]

It is all fine until it isn't, and the lawyers get involved....

Plenty of reasons to do it right.

 

[bletso]

As mentioned already. DOT is concerned with cylinders being filled out of test and then offered up for transportation. Bank cylinders, filled as a bank, whether 10 yr or not would require being test every 5 years.

There can be other considerations for testing every 5 years; contamination. The picture attached is for a paint ball company and it had been 10 years since last tested. (5 yr cyls) Yes, the sheen is compressor oil which floated out when we filled with water for hydro

. We have seen this on a couple occasions from fire station banks.

 

[Wookie]

Seems to me the star allowing the 10 year interval requires a hammer test at each filling. I was never sure how to reconcile the requirement for a hammer test on a cylinder affixed to a bulkhead that was filled 5 dives a day onboard a vessel (a conveyance)

So we just hydro’d them every 5 years.

 

[rjack321]

And I don't know why people think DOT cares, they wrote the spec they are not the tank police. OSHA are the ones who will get all bent out of shape if you are failing to follow a standard. Although statistically these days you are only likely to see an OSHA inspector if you really screwed up.

Exactly. Stop agonizing over if someone is going to "write you up" for having out of test cylinders chained to the wall. Maintain your stuff to industry standards so your employees don't die like this poor man.
NIOSH LODD Report: Ohio Firefighter Dies after Being Struck by SCUBA Cylinder | FirefighterNation

If you don't know how, then hire someone who does or get trained by a competent organization.

Having those bank cylinders hydroed every 5 years is: 1) the right thing to do, 2) cost effective for the community compared to the potential death & injury claims, 3) ensures they are clean inside, 4) if god forbid one were to fail and hurt someone at least you would have some solace in knowing you had actually made the effort to maintain them reasonably.

Imagine the guilt you'd feel to a surviving spouse having to admit "Yeah we could have hydroed that bank for $250 every 5 years, but we were too cheap and lazy to do that and one of them exploded, sorry for your loss"

 

[rob.mwpropane]

Question to those that know much more than me; I'm looking @ getting 4 6000psi tanks for a bank. I found a good deal ($800 with all the fittings and a regulator to adjust final pressure) but don't really see me needing to fill to 6000, just to maybe 4500. What would you do in that case? Still hydro every 5 years?

I want to be safe, but in the same sense these won't get moved and will be working well under rated pressure chained to a wall.

Not trying to hijack, just seems lots of knowledgeable people are gathered in here at once. Thanks.

 

[Akimbo]

I don't see any reason to hydro more often than the ICC requires, which I believe is every 10 years for 6000 PSI K-bottles.

 

[Wookie]

But why buy 6000 psi bottles? They hold less gas than 4500 psi bottles ( at 4500 psi). $800 each or for 4?

and, get them star stamped. Boom! 10 year hydro.

 

[AfterDark]

I was always under the impression hydro testing is required only for transportation. As far as I know if the tank stays in one place you can do what you want.
If a tank is transported empty sans valve is hydro testing required?

I think for those us that fill our own tanks the risk in not getting hydro testing done would be in a car accident that somehow resulted in a broken valve and someone got hurt. If some smart accident investigator checked pieces for the last hydro date and it wasn't current then there might be a problem.

I make sure I transport only current tanks largely due to the fact I position the valves forward so in a rear end accident if a valve should break the tank goes out the back of my car.

 

[Akimbo]

I was always under the impression hydro testing is required only for transportation. As far as I know if the tank stays in one place you can do what you want.

True. However, that does not mean they are safe, that your insurance company won't deny claims, or you have any defense if you get sued when one fails.

 

[rx7diver]

Question to those that know much more than me; I'm looking @ getting 4 6000psi tanks for a bank. I found a good deal ($800 with all the fittings and a regulator to adjust final pressure) but don't really see me needing to fill to 6000, just to maybe 4500. What would you do in that case? Still hydro every 5 years?

I want to be safe, but in the same sense these won't get moved and will be working well under rated pressure chained to a wall.

Not trying to hijack, just seems lots of knowledgeable people are gathered in here at once. Thanks.

@rob.mwpropane,

We had an on-site scuba compressor and a simple cascade system having five or six 3,500 psig 3AA cascade cylinders at the university where I took my open water training. Out of an abundance of caution, the cascade cylinders were routinely filled to 2,250 psig max (IIRC), and the cascade cylinders were sent out for hydro more frequently than even every five years.

I don't think this hydro schedule was mandated or required; I think my instructor was extremely cautious (because students and teaching assistants were in close proximity to the fill station, and the fill station was used for filling scuba cylinders that were used for pool sessions and for open water training).

FWIW,

rx7diver