Steel scubapro 95 question

[tbone1004]

@kelemvor $300 each or for a pair? $300 each is way out of the question for used tanks.

@Jondjames if it has failed hydro they will condemn the cylinder. This is done by x-ing out the original hydro stamps. It is extremely rare for steel bottles to fail hydro. About the only thing that can/will kill them is water getting inside them that causes pitting. This is inspected for by the hydro shops though so if it passes the DOT visual inspection prior to going into the hydro vat, it should pass scuba hydros. It may not pass the oxygen clean testing for VIP without tumbling, but that's another can of worms

 

[kelemvor]

@kelemvor $300 each or for a pair? $300 each is way out of the question for used tanks.

I guess I didn't post clearly. I meant that it is what they cost new. I was just trying to give him an idea of just how good the $60 price is. Heck I don't need any more tanks but if I could get lp95's for $60 I'd buy as many as I could come up with the cash for.

 

[halocline]

So is the born on date not a worry that I should be concerned about?

As long as they look good inside is it safe to assume that they will pass hydro?


How hard is it to unscrew the valve? How small is the hole?

For steel tanks, the age is not an issue. Properly cared for they last several decades at a minimum. If there is no visible corrosion inside, the chances are very very high that they will pass hydro. The 3AA 2400 PSI tanks almost never fail hydro. In fact, in cave diving country (ctrl FL) they are often filled to 3600 PSI and still pass hydro routinely. So it's a very safe bet.

Usually it's easy to get the valves off empty tanks. (It's impossible, as you might expect, if there is any pressure in them) Occasionally they can be sticky enough to require a strap to hold the tank and a big wrench to turn the valve, but usually they come off pretty easily. To look inside, you need a light that can fit down in the tank; just shining a light in the hole won't work. A string of small christmas lights works well. Just look inside, if you see obvious big chunks or spots of rust then that's all she wrote, but if you see only a layer of surface rust the tank can be cleaned.

Honestly, if LP95s are good for you weight and trim-wise, I would just get them and risk it. $60 is a really low price, that's more like what people pay for LP72s, which are much older and smaller tanks.

 

[tbone1004]

@halocline 3600? try 4000!

the only concern for hydro is with PST and Worthington tanks that are hydro'd to the 3aa standard instead of their exemption. Those get hydro'd to 3/2's working pressure instead of 5/3's working pressure which the FX series from Faber require as well, but they also require a rounding out procedure prior to hydro. For this they pressurize it to 90%, let it relax, then hydro it. If they don't do that, they are almost guaranteed to fail.

 

[Jondjames]

Anything I should look for as far as the valve goes?

 

[tbone1004]

Anything I should look for as far as the valve goes?

valves are cheap to replace. Brand new pro valves are $40 from Dive Gear Express, so if they're not something you like, just replace them

 

[Jondjames]

Ok sweet. I just got back from picking them up. It was an older gentlemen who I bought them from who no longer dives due to health conditions which he's been hoping would improve over the last decade. Certified dive master, tanks look good on the outside. About 600 lbs in each tank.

So my next step is to empty the tanks and unscrew the valve to have a look inside? I'm checking for signs of rust or corrosion right? I'll use some Christmas lights to see inside like siggeste. I don't want to take them to the dive shop for hydro if they don't look clean inside. I'd hate to be out any more money if the tanks are a blow. And I'm sure you must pay for the hydro pass or fail lol

 

[tbone1004]

I wouldn't bother taking them apart. Take them straight to the hydro shop itself if you can and get them hydro'd. My guy charges $13/tank. Pretty cheap insurance and they won't hydro it if it fails their vip.

 

[Jondjames]

So is the hydro and visual inspection one charge?? Should I skip the local dive shop and find a hydro facility near me?

Also I noticed that both tanka have a + stamp on them near the original stamped born date but the hydro stamps don't have + marks would that make a difference any?

 

[halocline]

A good dive shop will look inside them before sending them to hydro and if they look bad, try to clean them by tumbling with abrasive media, or sometimes for surface rust they use a sandpaper whip.

But you have to find a dive shop that knows how to handle steel tanks, maybe one that specializes in technical diving. Or you can use the lights, if everything looks good to you, bring them directly to a hydro test shop. Make sure its a place that will give you the plus rating. This can be a bit of a challenge.

For example, the LDS around me has no freaking idea that plus ratings even exist past the initial five years, and many of the hydro shops around here simply will not give a tank the plus rating. Ignorance surrounding steel scuba tanks abounds...

Look on the tanks, and find some markings that say REE then a number, like REE 87 or something like that. Then spend a bit of time researching (on this forum) threads that talk about the REE number and plus rating. There are lots of threads. This way you can tell the hydro test or dive shop exactly where to find the REE number, which they need to qualify the tank for the plus rating.

These are faber tanks, they are not hot dipped galvanized, so the stuff that t-bone was talking about with the round-out doesn't matter to you at all.

In all likelihood you got a great deal on really desirable tanks.