Tell me if I'm nuts.

[Peter_C]

We have a "Gut Feeling" for a reason. Make a yard bell out of it.

I am with Doubler. Make some kind of art project out of it.

I have thought you were crazy since the first time I met you, of course it takes one to know one :grinjester: :cool3:

 

[duckbill]

I wonder what the ATF boys would have to say about a civilian deliberately exploding a SCUBA tank?

BATFE
Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms, and Explosives

Air isn't Alcohol. Air isn't Tobacco. Air is not used in firearms. Air is not an explosive.

"air guns, because they use compressed air and not an explosive to expel a projectile, do not constitute firearms under Federal law"
ATF Online - Firearms - Frequently Asked Questions - Firearms Technology

They'd probably have a heck of a lot to say though..........with no authority.

Now, the LOCAL authorities, on the other hand.............

 

[lowviz]

I saw your title and was hoping to say nuts.

Aww come on, give the guy a thrill...

Never drink and post, that's what I found out when I re-read my post about what to do with it.
I'd like to stay out of jail.

I think instead I'll plasma cut a series of holes in it and start my octopuss condo in a certain cove I have in mind

I agree with DaleC. But remember that creativity doesn't come from policy wonks, it comes, mostly, from, well, nuts...

PM me if you ever get serious about making another one of those top-quality slick minimalist backplates...

 

[Mike Lev]

:cool2:You guys are correct a felon can own a speargun unless it uses a bullet cartridge.I only know of a few that do.Most are older ones.Didn't you guys see the episode of myth busters on shooting a scuba tank?The myth was busted!It did fly around like a rocket when a hole was shot in the bottom of one.

 

[John C. Ratliff]

I've got this 72 that a guy gave me about 8 years ago.
I took it in for hydro and the technician told me it passed fine but that there were a few deep pits in the bottom that required them to bead blast all the rust out before they could hydro it.
He said that on the 1 to 4 scale the pits were a 3 when they calipered the wall thickness and if they were a four they wouldn't have risked the hydro and the tank would have been condemned.

After that hydro I used the tank for the five years and kept an eye on the pits and the rust never really set in again.
I cleaned the inside with a brush because it had formed a little reddish haze but there were no new pits.
I took the tank in again for hydro and it passed again.

I don't really like that tank anymore, just a feeling.
The part about being a 3 out of 4 kind of got me thinking; how much more steel was left to keep it from becoming a #4 pit.

Even though the tank passed hydro no problem It still makes me nervous.
It's sitting right now needing a VIP but I'm not so sure I want to waste a sticker on it. It's also going to need another light brushing to brighten it before I will pass it for VIP.

Do you guys think I'm nuts and should quit worrying about it and just use it, or should I follow my gut and scrap it?
I'm not comfortable giving it away to someone unless they are up on doing their own inspections every few fills to keep an eye on the pits.

ZKY,

Ever since my buddy and I watched the surf for about half an hour trying to decide to dive or not on December 8, 1974, decided to dive, had the surf come up from 4-8 feet to 15-20 feet while we were out, got rolled, stayed outside the surf, and four hours later were picked up by the USCG (our girl friends called them), I've decided to go with my gut. If my mind is saying something, I now heed these warning feelings even if I don't understand them. Everything else is a rationalization.

SeaRat

 

[Eric Sedletzky]

Well, I decided to cut apart the tank. I would have never been comfortable filling it or using it and it was free anyway, so I euthanized it.
What I found as far as the pitting is concerned was maybe more than I thought but maybe not as bad or as deep as I though.
Looking in a tank with a light and cutting the bottom off and actually really looking at the pits are two differnt things.
First, the original pits that were calipered didn't seem that bad. What I did find that I didn't realize were as bad as what I saw with the light was a series of new pits that were smaller but deeper. These I think were the result of using a portable compressor for a time several years ago. Banked air has a chance to cool off and any moisture will condense in the bank tanks and not in the cylinder being filled.
I calipered the bottom of the tank and it's the exact same thickness as the sides from what I can tell. The wall thickness is just shy of 1/4".
So if those pits are say 1/16" deep then in reality the tank is only 3/16" thick at those spots.
Those pits were probably only 3/32" or less and it did pass hydro so I probably ruined a perfectly usable tank but oh well.
Now I know how bad pitting really is that looks twice as bad with a light.
A sacrificial experiment.

 

[Paladin]

ZKY,
How many steel 72s do you own, anyway?

 

[Eric Sedletzky]

ZKY,
How many steel 72s do you own, anyway?

I have 7 now.

 

[Brendon]

I have a 72 from 11 0f 64 that Harry from lighthouse diving damaged threads, cause they can not get tight. yes a clamp is all that was needed. I payed for tumble and hydro. he proved to be an idiot for so many years in the dive business. I should have tumbled myself, but harry wanted the work as he was doing some other stuff for me.

What the hell is wrong with you? Why the need to call Harry out on this site when he is not here to defend himself... As I worked for Harry for a while I would not disagree with your statement, yet I find it very distasteful here and now.

 

[Paladin]

I have nine at the moment, with the oldest two being from 1964 and 1965.