Tamas:
It's not that sever.....it's mere surface rust. Look at the pics and you shall see.
Famous last words! "not severe"
The rust on the left tank IS severe!
Are you a trained inspector.
In the image that shows the rust patch on the inside next to the lower band, it has a very dark coloration in the center indicating that it is NOT surface rust. When this rust is removed you will find that there is pitting under it and pitting is a no no on a high pressure vessel of any kind. Also notice that the bottom half of the tank has been repainted with what appears to be primer and it covers thicker flaking coats underneath. OMS cyclinders (made by Faber) are epoxy coated and spray galvinized, most of this coating has come off of the bottom half of the tank. That is bad as this coating does not flake that much(in my experiance) unless there is significant rust. The primer is a bad attempt to cover that rust. That is why the primer looks rough, because there is rust under it. Also the rough patch and rust on the bottom shoulder where it has been dragged appears to have some deep gouges. Very bad.
Put in simple terms if you brought the tank to me for inspection I would most likely condem it and drill a hole in it!!!
If you just bought this tank recently in this condition you have been had!
My question to you is: Were the inspection stickers current when you bought them or did you have them inspected. If they were current when you bought them then it was part of the scam and I would definately not trust that they were O2 clean. If you had them inspected then they did not do a proper job by removing the rust and checking the depth of the pitting.
Do yourself, and others, a favor and have it properly inspected by a trained and authorized tank inspector. Not the same one who put the stickers that are on it now either. Have it looked at before stripping it, it could save you some money by not stripping a useless tank.
On a good note the other tank looks good. Nice uniform coating. That is the differance in the two tanks, the white epoxy coating and galvanizing is not pealing. I would advise that you have a professional examine it closely though to be certain there are not problems under the coating. If not, DO NOT strip it as that would be the worst thing you could do.
This problem with rust and the thick epoxy coating, spray galvinizing and it's ability to hide problems is the reason why PST is the prefered tank. PST is hot dipped galvinized and no paint to hide problems.
Myself, I own PST's, Fabers, Asahi and Luxfer.
If taken care of a tank will last a long time. If abused, like yours, the life of the tank is greatly reduced.
CF
