Where to look for tanks?

[Tracy]

Guessing I take the set apart when I bring them to the hydro shop? Valves already out when I take them there? Tape over the top? Or leave valves in to keep the interior safe?

Ask the shop where you are taking them. My customers normally bring them in assembled. Some shops want bare tanks.

Manifold should probably be fully serviced right? Not sure the make of the manifold. But valves will have to come out to have a full manifold rebuild right? Will send the manifold off likely. So maybe take the tanks apart and put some standard valves in until i get the manifold back?

Yes, service the manifold, the shop will most likely be able to do that for you.

Also need to take the boots off and make sure they have holes in them/drill holes if needed right?

Tanks the boots off and leave them off. OMS used painted fabers, they are horrible about rusting under the boots. Plus, you said fundies was in your plans, you won't use boots on your doubles for that.

 

[CT-Rich]

I picked up a pair of steel 120s off Craig’s List for $250 , still in hydro and the guy tossEd in a bunch of loose gear to boot (drysuit fins, masks etc).

I would check with your LDS, they may be interested in getting rid of rental tanks that are not needed and taking up space. Steel tanks, properly cared for will last forever. I believe I am the third owner of my 120s, since they were born in the late 1980s.

As others have said, avoid old aluminum tanks. Even if they aren’t the bad ones, some shops have blanket policies with arbitrary cut offs. Steel tanks are just nicer to dive anyway.

 

[Cthippo]

Whatever happened to the one you got from me?

It's in my pile of "Get hydro'd when you have an extra $50". I scraped all the rubber off and the galvanization underneath was pristine. That surface rust was from the cam bands, there was none on the tank itself. I also need to source another DIN valve for that one, but it is NOT forgotten!

 

[Eric Sedletzky]

Tanks the boots off and leave them off. OMS used painted fabers, they are horrible about rusting under the boots. Plus, you said fundies was in your plans, you won't use boots on your doubles for that.

I got one of those boot rusted Fabers, it was an LP85 (OMS). A freebie!
Sand blasted the outside, used an epoxy primer and Polyurethane top coat (Awl Grip system) and it got hydro’d and now is back in service.
I cut down the boot so it slides off easy. I only use the boot to stand it up, but normally it’s off. Those boots are not meant to drain, the hole in the bottom is for air to go in so you can get it off not really for draining.
E

 

[davecampbell]

let other non-diving friends know you're looking for old tanks. My wife's friend came across a couple steel 72s, with harnesses and plastic backpacks, and a couple weight belts with 40 lbs of lead. our cost = $0. last vis was in May 1979, but both tanks, with j valves, were holding pressure. All this stuff was headed for the trash, but knowing we're divers, they offered it to us.... sweet deal.

 

[Cthippo]

Somebody had a couple of tanks for free on CraigsList the other day for yard art. All tanks kind of look the same, but these looked big, like 130s. I thought about getting them just because they might pass hydro andnof not would be great bells, but I don't need anything else to store until I get around to

 

[CT-Rich]

Somebody had a couple of tanks for free on CraigsList the other day for yard art. All tanks kind of look the same, but these looked big, like 130s. I thought about getting them just because they might pass hydro andnof not would be great bells, but I don't need anything else to store until I get around to

Steel 130s are expensive and hard to come by. If they had no obvious defects, they might be worth the trouble if just to flip for a couple of hundred bucks (after passing hydro)