pre '88 al80 hydro in Ohio

[wedivebc]

You may find the same problem with the LDS, if they refuse to hydro/vis them they may also refuse to fill them.

 

[flashover604]

Thanks for all the replies. I got a hold of Chris over at COVCI in Columbus. Great guy to do business with. Hopefully the tank's still good. If not, at least I KNOW. The LDS that refused the hydro is the same one that charged me to Vis Eddy my newer tank, a '97, that is made of the newer alloy that the Vis Eddy machines aren't calibrated for, four years ago. Maybe they didn't know. If you have a tank that you need done, give Chris a call. He posted on the first page. I know who'll do my fills from now on... Thank again everyone, this is a GREAT site..

 

[DA Aquamaster]

I've often suggested going directly to a hydro shop when one has a lot of tanks, or when a good dive shop is not handy, but recently I've begun to have some reservations about how wise this is with old bad alloy aluminum tanks.

The problem is, many hydro shop employees have inadequate or only informal training. While the hydro is supposed to include a visual, this is often just a quick peek inside to look for obvious problems rather than a full visual inspection to scuba standards. I was surprised last fall, when I took a couple old alu tanks to our local hydro shop, to find that they had never heard of the neck cracking problem, and were doing nothing to inspect for neck cracks!

This doesn't mean one shouldn't take 6351 tanks directly to a hydro shop, just that if one does, one should have clear understanding of whether the shop is aware of the problem, and whether they will be checking for it. If they aren't, one should be sure after they hydro to either inspect the tanks oneself, if one is qualified to do so, or take them to a good diveshop for a proper visual.

This is, I should make clear, mostly a problem with small hydro shops that do very little scuba business.

6351 alloy was used on more than just scuba tanks. It was used in Luxfer medical O2 tanks, CO2 tanks and SCBA tanks so whether a hydro company does a lot of scuba tanks or not should not be an issue. If a hydro test facility is not aware of the potential for sustained load cracks, it is truly scarey.

 

[oxyhacker]

Scary indeed. Worse yet, as I was explaining to him about neck cracks, I didn't really feel he was listening very hard, or going to do anything differently as a result.
This shop, to judge by what I see there, does almost nothing but fire extinguishers, 1800 to 2400 steels, so maybe that's their excuse - I think the kid actually made some comment after doing the 80's that he'd hadn't known the machine would go that high!

But the lesson to be learned is that there are some little hydroshops out there that have been operating by rote for years and years, and making no effort to keep up with the times, so that if you are going to deal directly with a hydro shop, you really got to know what questions to ask.

If a hydro test facility is not aware of the potential for sustained load cracks, it is truly scarey.

 

[TxWingnut]

Interesting post, I just had 2 6351 tanks, hydro, eddy current tested and vized by a shop when the local LDS would not even touch them. I also learned that even if I had current stickers and testing they still will not fill them because they considered them recalled. Just food for thought.

 

[Tom Winters]

TXWingnut - I gotta tell you what those tanks look like from the perspective of the guy filling them. Yes they passed hydro, eddy current and viz - and cosmetically, they may be even be beautiful, but it's still a 6351-alloy tank.
Although your particular tanks might be good for another 10,000 cycles, in the back of anyone's mind who is filling those things to 3000spi are the images of exploded aluminums in shop accidents. What always spooked me was the fact that none of the few survivors ever seemed to have legs after that.
Now I'm not saying this is fair or rational, but Luxfer did offer to buy back all those tanks and they're not in business to give money away.
In Dade county down here, shops won't fill any older aluminum tanks. In Broward and Palm Beach counties, a lot of the guys I talk to won't pump a 6351. And if I was still running a dive shop, I wouldn't pump them either.
They're old, they had their life, Luxfer had the buyback deal for a pretty long time, and you want new tanks anyway.

 

[babar]

I was under the impression that AL tanks only had a lifespan of 15 years, and wouldn't be serviced beyond that. Is that wrong? Or is that lifespan just kind of stated as average?

Babar

 

[oxyhacker]

It's composites and certain oddball aviation steels that are limited to 15 years, though some newer composites are supposed to be good for longer. Alu tanks can be used as long as they continue to pass the required testing.

You will hear a lot of numbers casually thrown about, for how long alu tanks might or should last, but there's no calender limit in the CFRs (federal regs that govern such things).

 

[Desa]

I was under the impression that AL tanks only had a lifespan of 15 years, and wouldn't be serviced beyond that. Is that wrong? Or is that lifespan just kind of stated as average?

Babar

Two of my alum-80' tanks I purchased new in 1979. They just passed Hydro again. Due to their age, most shops will only fill them to 2500-2750 psi. Which is fine. I usually use them for dives where I would not miss the 500psi anyway. Like most things, how long they last is relative to the care they recieve during their life.

 

[TxWingnut]

Tom, Thanks for the input. When I picked up the tanks from my brother who stopped diving for medical reasons 12 years ago he gave me the tanks that had only been in the water 3 times and only had 4 fills on them. I understand that at one time some tanks did rupture, but I was looking at the DOT safety sheet and it was not a recall only a safety notice, the sheet also only mentioned 12 issues with that series of tanks with over 100,000 made.

Thanks,
Bruce