Tank age and Max # of Hydros

[hbhobby]

I have a tank that was first hydroed in 1950 and I still use it today. I had one shop refuse to fill it and I never went back to that shop again. their reasoning was they didn't like the 1/2 in valve. keep in mind this is the same shop that filled one of my LP steel 72's to 3000 psi because the valve said 3000 psi the "genius" running the compressor didn't know where or what to look for!

 

[Dragon Down]

That was not some accountant blowing smoke up your @$$. If the shop will feed you such BS over a tank's age, how do you know when to trust what they say????

It was a big sports chain, not a small shop. In a big company those policies are typically not made locally. The salesman on the floor does what he's told or finds a new job. The instructor group on the other hand was great when I took my son through their intro class. I try not to judge an entire operation based on a policy I disagree with.

I believe my tanks are safe since they have passed hydro/vis, that is the current standard. I also still have an old horse collar bc that uses CO2 cartridges. This was commonly believed to be safe in ancient times, but I'll bet it would be hard to get a shop to service it now. I'm not saying I think the 10yr tank rule is right, only that standards do change and I'm open to new FACT SUPPORTED changes.

 

[flots am]

I have a couple tanks that are 30+ yrs old.

A couple months after a fresh hydro I took them into a sports chain to get them filled and was told "it is unsafe to fill tanks older than 10 years, but we are having a sale on tanks."

If they were AL, I can't really blame them. If they were steel, you were talking to a tank salesman.

flots.

 

[mksmith713]

I have heard that some shops will refuse to fill a tank simply due to its age regardless if it is in hydro or not. Does this statement have any truth? Thanks..

This statement is absolutely true and I can personally atest to that.
There's a chain of dive shops in S. Fla (won't say any names) buit they sent my 1970's era steel 72's out for hydro, did the vis and passed them with flying colors but.......they won't fill them because of age.
There's isn't another dive shop in my area that does this with steelies but these guys do.
If I had known these guys were going to backdoor me like that, I would have given my $$$$ to one of the other shops who will fill them.
I guess they don't need the fill business.

 

[9supratt4]

All this talk about special permits/exemptions...is there somewhere to find more information on that.

A dive shop I don't usually use told me yesterday that next year I may not be able to get my 2 HP Steel 100's hydro'd as the company that made them, made them under a special permit, but has since went out of business so they are not renewing the permit.

So this is true? How do I find out more info on this?

 

[Chugwhump]

I am pretty sure you are talking about Pressed Steel Manufacturing.
I have done a bunch of reading on this board, and I am pretty certain that the exemption letter will be forthcoming when the time comes.
Hopefully someone will chime in with a link to the long discussion(s) on this board.

Chug
Owns 2 PST Tanks.

 

[Doc Harry]

I have heard that some shops will refuse to fill a tank simply due to its age regardless if it is in hydro or not.

I wonder if he's talking about the old 6351 aluminum alloys. Most dive shops won't fill the older aluminum cylinders because of the problems with that alloy.

 

[duckbill]

...given the pictures of exploded dive shops that show up here now and then, I can't really blame them.

Flots.

So, the questions that need to be answered are were any of those cylinders within hydro and passed the last annual visual, and if so, were they subjected to abuse that would have caused even a modern tank to fail??????? Pictures prove nothing without the facts.

 

[9supratt4]

I am pretty sure you are talking about Pressed Steel Manufacturing.
I have done a bunch of reading on this board, and I am pretty certain that the exemption letter will be forthcoming when the time comes.
Hopefully someone will chime in with a link to the long discussion(s) on this board.

Chug
Owns 2 PST Tanks.

I'm talking about my Steel PST 100's. I started another thread here:

http://www.scubaboard.com/forums/tanks-valves-bands/341904-pst-e9791.html

 

[tomfcrist]

I wonder if he's talking about the old 6351 aluminum alloys. Most dive shops won't fill the older aluminum cylinders because of the problems with that alloy.

6351 tanks are more prone to sustained load cracking in the neck, but they can still be filled by dive operators. They were made prior to 1990, and require an eddy current NDI inspection yearly.....I've only seen a few of these fail, and have never heard of a failure in the newer 6061 alloy. Most dive shops will still fill these, its only the uninformed that have a problem with it.