Just bought my first tank

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Moby Dickins

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Messages
38
Reaction score
12
Location
SoCal
# of dives
25 - 49
Just bought a steel HP 100 from Faber, and now realize I don't know a single thing about tank ownership. I'm guessing I should keep some spare o-rings around and that hook tool to take them out?

Storage in a cool dark room should be fine? Also removing the boot the rinse off the saltwater? These are all thoughts just entering my head now that I am responsible for my own air cylinder.

In any case, feels good owning my own tank. I feel like there is nothing standing in the way of me going on a dive.
 
Now that you have a cylinder of your own, take advantage of that and get two-for-one with your rinses. Get a tub or bin big enough to fill with water and put the whole cylinder in with your regs connected, and soak them under pressure after salt water dives - good for the regs and the cylinder (no need to remove the boot really).

Know when you're due for hydro and vip, so there's no surprises when you go in for a fill. While there's nothing wrong with storing in a cold dark room (just don't trip over it in the dark!) there's really nothing that's going to wear out if you store them out in a garage, or even leave them in your vehicle (the math for what "closed vehicle in hot sun" does to temps works out that you are not in danger of any sort of overpressure in that situation.)

Most valve rebuilds are pretty cheap and easy - if the valve doesn't operate smoothly and seal reliably, get your LDS to service the valve. Consider doing it proactively at Hydro time.

Biggest downside is that now that once you feel the convenience of owning your own, you're going to want to own more. I mean, do you only do one dive per trip? It takes the same time and gas money to go fill several as it does to fill one, and if you have enough to do multiple dives then you don't need to make a trip for a fill as often. It's a slippery slope for sure.... :)
 
Now that you have a cylinder of your own, take advantage of that and get two-for-one with your rinses. Get a tub or bin big enough to fill with water and put the whole cylinder in with your regs connected, and soak them under pressure after salt water dives - good for the regs and the cylinder (no need to remove the boot really).

This is a really good idea
 
Now that you have a cylinder of your own, take advantage of that and get two-for-one with your rinses. Get a tub or bin big enough to fill with water and put the whole cylinder in with your regs connected, and soak them under pressure after salt water dives - good for the regs and the cylinder (no need to remove the boot really).

Know when you're due for hydro and vip, so there's no surprises when you go in for a fill. While there's nothing wrong with storing in a cold dark room (just don't trip over it in the dark!) there's really nothing that's going to wear out if you store them out in a garage, or even leave them in your vehicle (the math for what "closed vehicle in hot sun" does to temps works out that you are not in danger of any sort of overpressure in that situation.)

Most valve rebuilds are pretty cheap and easy - if the valve doesn't operate smoothly and seal reliably, get your LDS to service the valve. Consider doing it proactively at Hydro time.

Biggest downside is that now that once you feel the convenience of owning your own, you're going to want to own more. I mean, do you only do one dive per trip? It takes the same time and gas money to go fill several as it does to fill one, and if you have enough to do multiple dives then you don't need to make a trip for a fill as often. It's a slippery slope for sure.... :)

I soak mine as well. Whether just rinsing or soaking or both, the key thing is to get all of the salt off after salt water use.

Storage is really irrelevant to the life of the tank. I have always stored mine in the garage. When I lived up in the Midwest, the garage would get hot in the summer and very cold in the winter. Now I live in Florida and the garage is pretty hot year round. It’s really irrelevant to the life of the pack.

As suggested you also definitely want to track your VIP and Hydro. Easy to do with one tank but when you get more, it’s helpful to create some sort of a spreadsheet or document where you can keep tabs on when VIP and hydros are due.
 
Just bought a steel HP 100 from Faber, and now realize I don't know a single thing about tank ownership. I'm guessing I should keep some spare o-rings around and that hook tool to take them out?

Storage in a cool dark room should be fine? Also removing the boot the rinse off the saltwater? These are all thoughts just entering my head now that I am responsible for my own air cylinder.

In any case, feels good owning my own tank. I feel like there is nothing standing in the way of me going on a dive.
Pressure vessels require regular inspections.

There are two types of inspections:
  1. visual inspections (someone certified looks into the cylinder)
  2. hydrostatic pressure tests to see if the cylinder has kept its elasticity; if it stretches and does not revert to original dimensions, there is a problem
These inspections typically need to be done every X years. X varies from 2 to 10, depending on jurisdiction (referreing to european standards here).

I have never had to replace a cylinder o-ring. Those o-ring failures tend to happen at the 1st and 2nd stage instead.

Steel cylinders are painted, all of mine are. They are resistant to rust. It would nonetheless be prudent to store them dry and to wash off salt water.

My steels do not have boots. I cannot comment much on "boot maintenance", but entrapped salt water is not good, ok?
 

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