Proper disposal of SCUBA tanks?

[TxHockeyGuy]

I, or rather my father, has an old al80 that is the 6351 aluminum. He also has another tank I belive he called an al72 or al78 that is a 2475 psi tank. Since it is even older than the 6351 al80 I assume it to be bad as well. I want to know what is the proper way to dispose of these tanks?

 

[SteFord]

I, or rather my father, has an old al80 that is the 6351 aluminum. He also has another tank I belive he called an al72 or al78 that is a 2475 psi tank. Since it is even older than the 6351 al80 I assume it to be bad as well. I want to know what is the proper way to dispose of these tanks?

They should be rendered unusable for dive purposes and disposed of as scrap metal. You could drill the tanks, usually a 3/8" or 1/2" drill bit applied in a couple of places does the trick. Another method is to destroy the threads where the valve screws in. A simple cold chisel would do that job nicely.A better method is to use a band saw and remove the bottom of the tank, install a clapper and give it to someone as a really nice bell. I'd like to have another one of those!

 

[divinginn]

how about another shooting the tank thread?

 

[SteFord]

Just another thought - you might be able to find someone who teaches the VIP or Cylinder inspection class - they're usually on the lookout for some of those obsolete tanks to use in their classes.

 

[CD_in_Chitown]

They'd make nice wind chimes

 

[mike_s]

how about another shooting the tank thread?

Darn! yiou beat me to it!

 

[ItsBruce]

One word: EBAY

 

[ItsBruce]

Better yet: Sell raffle tickets at $10 each. You should be able to sell a whole pile at that price. Then, pick the winner. Send the winner the tanks and a refund of the ticket price with a letter of apology explaining that you discovered that the tanks are no good. Not only will you be rid of the tanks, you could even turn a little profit

 

[TxHockeyGuy]

Just another thought - you might be able to find someone who teaches the VIP or Cylinder inspection class - they're usually on the lookout for some of those obsolete tanks to use in their classes.

Now that's a great idea. I'll look around for LDS's that do such things and offer them up to them. Although, chances are neither probably have a problem.

 

[mike_s]

Actually ebay might not be a bad idea.

Some people still use the AL 6351 tanks and many people still use steel 72's.

You typically won't find a problem with getting a Steel 72 filled as long as it's in hydro and visual. Some shops however won't fill the 6351 tanks. However, some will. I used 6351 tanks for years and never had a problem (with proper inspections also).