Neck cracks in 1982 Luxfer Alum. 80's?

[B White]

I was in a local dive shop and they had 6 1982 Luxfer alum. 80's with neck cracks on them. All of them were rental tanks that have been well maintained by the shop and never over filled. Six in one place must mean there are a lot of others out there. Does anyone know of a recall on the 1982 batch or has anyone else seen the same problem? Maybe a recall in warranted on these?

 

[Warhammer]

They were recalled a while back. you can read all about it at http://hazmat.dot.gov/rules/not99_11.htm and at http://hazmat.dot.gov/rules/not94_7.htm

 

[scubasam35]

all divers and firemen on this board should be aware
of aluminum tanks made from 1972 to 1988 manufactured by,
walter kidde and luxfer, they are made of t-6351 aluminum and are susceptible to this neck cracking from the constant pressure. not only are scuba tanks susceptible but so are SCBA bottles used by fire departments around the world. they can explode violently and cause massive injury or death. also be advised that EDDY CURRENT testing is not advised for aluminum tanks that are manufactured after 1988 the eddy current was developed to help find the cracks in the noted tanks. eddy current can give a false reading and render a good tank useless. this information came from LUXFER and NOAA'S diving manual under the diver support chapter. there is a lot more info on luxfers web site. some of it is good reading and some sleepy reading, but interesting all the same. so, do your self a favor and have your annual inspection a real visual and save the VISUAL PLUS inspection to the susceptible tanks. hope this helps
sam

 

[devjr]

That was a bad year for Kidde aluminum tanks as well as Luxfer. Maybe the aluminum billets they were using had a bad mix. Lead distribution in the alloy is believed to be the cause.