Shed Find - Alu 67

[milbournosphere]

I was home this weekend and dug a 67cu ft tank out of the shed while looking for some fins. Crown is as follows:

DOT-3AL3000 S67 M4002 A7571

It's got a US Divers J valve on it (Im pretty sure this tank came along for the ride when my dad bought his US Divers Sport reg that eventually became mine) and an original hydro date from late '86. It looks like it was last hydro'd in June of 2000, with regular hydros before that. It's been stored with about 1000psi in the tank.

I guess the question is, what should I do with it? I don't really anticipate diving with it as I have plenty of ALU 80s lying around and plan to get up to steel 100s here in the future. Would it be worth my time trying to sell it or is nobody really into this tank size anymore?

 

[spectrum]

I'm not seeing S67 on any common charts so I can't say where it falls on 6351 alloy risk. If you can come back with a description or better yet picture of the hydro symbol we may be able to pin a brand name on it.

Any sound cylinder is usable to someone somehow. If it proves to be 6351 then it will need elevated testing and messing with it becomes less desirable. There are also shops that blackball aluminum cylnders when they reach 20 years old so this one is over the hill. For this you need to understand your shop's policy.

Since the size is contrary to your needs it's either a keepsake, Craiglist sale or scrap.

Pete

 

[Fishpie]

I like the Catalina 67's....never made of 6351.
They're 4 or 5 pounds heavier in the water than standard 80's.

 

[Scared Silly]

Fishpie is correct that the M4002 is Catalina marking and that they never used AL6351 for their cylinders. So in terms of alloy it is fine. Practically, filling may be an issue. But I would hope that being in SD shops are knowledgable given it was made up the road. I would say get it hydro'd and sell it if you do not want it. Makes a fine cylinder for kids.


Crown Markings of a SCUBA Cylinder

 

[milbournosphere]

I don't think I'd have an issue getting it hydro'd. My shop hydro'd my '87 Luxfer ALU80 last year without complaint or any hemming/hawing. The question is whether or not it'd be worth it to hydro before selling. I'll get, what, $50 out of this tank max without hydro? I don't imagine I'd be able to do much better once it's current on VIP and hydro. What would you do?

 

[Scared Silly]

Offer it for $50 locally with the guarantee that is will pass hydro or their money back.

 

[milbournosphere]

Thanks for the advice, Silly. I took some photos and put it up on CL. We'll see what happens.

Off-topic question: how late were J-valves manufactured? I was somewhat surprised to see that the tank had an '86 date on it; most of the tanks I've seen with J-valves on them were manufactured in the 70s.

 

[Scared Silly]

If it sells I want 10% or a beer .

As foe the J valves I remember seeing them for sale into the 80s.

 

[milbournosphere]

Don't drink that beer yet, Mr. Silly. No bites on the ad.

I was using some of the air in it for airbrushing, and it started to run low. I took it down to le dive shop and it passed a hydro with flying colors. Gonna post it back up with the hydro and full air pressure (and a revised price), and see if there are any bites on the ad this time. My LDS also mentioned that they get petite women and shorter teens looking for them occasionally, so I might see if they know anybody who's looking.

 

[dumpsterDiver]

My kids used that tank for several years until they were over about 115 lbs and then moved on to 80's. To be honest, the tank may be more valuable than an 80 which are so common.. to the right person. I would think $35 or $40 is fair since it needs hydro and a valve.. J-valves introduce unneeded failure points and can shut off the air at the end of the dive when it is needed.