Should I buy an older pony bottle?

[george1098]

Hi all
I am contemplating weather or not to buy an older pony bottle from a club member. I would like to have my own pony for an ice diving course that is coming up. it is a 19 cuft aluminum bottle that was hydro'd in june 07. my only concern is it is only rated to 2015 psi while most new bottles of the same size (so my dive shot owner tells me) are rated to 3000. what do ya'll think?

 

[Jimmer]

Are you sure it's a 19? The only 2015 PSI aluminum cylinders I've seen were all 14 cubic feet. Other than that, do you know what the original hydro date is? If for example the original was 2002, then I wouldn't be worried, but if it was like 1987 then it's a different story.

Jim

 

[george1098]

wow that was fast.. sorry, original hydro was 1997.. not sure what month, but 1997.I was told it was 19cuft, so that's all i have to go off of.

 

[Jimmer]

Well I wouldn't consider that to be all that old really. I have 1 or 2 aluminum tanks from 1996/1997 myself and they're fine. As for the 2015 psi thing, 19cf is 19cf. If you had a 19 @ 3000 PSI or a 19 @ 2015 it's still 19. But check it to be sure it is a 19, the 2015 14cf tanks are the same same roughly as a 3000 psi 19, so he may be confused.

 

[The Chad]

I'd pass just get yourself the 3000psi 19 dosent sound like it is really a tank intended for scuba. Who knows it could be an empty CO2 tank used with a kegorator

 

[Jimmer]

My guess is it's a Luxfer 2015 PSI 14cf scuba tank, that is used a lot for argon.

 

[george1098]

yea went out to his place and had a look and it was indeed a 14 cuft. I think he was a little hard at seeing and couldn't tell the difference between the 4 and a 9.. He didn't want to budge on the price, and I could have gotten a new 14 cuft for about $25 more. I talked to my LDS owner and he's said he'd give me a deal on a 30 cuft tank and a scubapro mk2/r190 reg set.

 

[Jimmer]

That sounds like a much better plan to me, 30 cf is plenty for a real ascent with a nice long safety stop. I'm actually looking to trade my 30 for a 40 one of these days since I'm taking my deco course this summer.

 

[Dirkadiver]

Definitely go w/ the 30 cu. ft. tank. I personally think 19's are not a great choice for bailout. Especially under ice. I personally would go w/ a 40.

 

[george1098]

I was initially considering ergonomics when I wanted to go with the smaller 19, but several people have told me that a pony slung under the arm is hardly noticeable no matter what size it is, so I went with the much more functional 30, which really wasn’t much more expensive.