Tank identifying tools... websites?

[marcbeaudry]

Are there any sites that facilitate tank identification ? i've got a line on a Scubapro steel tank and i'd like to be able to identify it without having to harass the forum - any suggestions ?
just in case- here's whats all stamped into the tank
Scubapro
Made in italy
01 A (could be an A or a small triangle)99 + 2400

M8303 99-8503- 138
TC- 3aam-184-dot-3aa 2400 ree62

there's a sticker on it
0ctobre 2002
indicating it's last hydro i suspect ?
i tried looking for a scubapro tank identifier...no luck
direction would be greatly appreciated.
thanks
marc

[couv]

Hello Marc,

Try this site: Dive Shop (http://www.scubatanks.us/index1.html)

couv

[mike_s]

Are there any sites that facilitate tank identification ? i've got a line on a Scubapro steel tank and i'd like to be able to identify it without having to harass the forum - any suggestions ?
just in case- here's whats all stamped into the tank
Scubapro
Made in italy
01 A (could be an A or a small triangle)99 + 2400

M8303 99-8503- 138
TC- 3aam-184-dot-3aa 2400 ree62

there's a sticker on it
0ctobre 2002
indicating it's last hydro i suspect ?
i tried looking for a scubapro tank identifier...no luck
direction would be greatly appreciated.
thanks
marc


Made in Italy most likely means it's a Faber.

Scuba Pro didn't make tanks... they just re-brand ones made by other companies.

2400 is likely the service PSI
TC = transport Canada (the DOT equivalent in the US)
M80303 is Faber
DOT = Department of Transporation stamp (US).
3aac = 3AAM is Chrome Molybedebum Steel metric I think
+ = "Plus rating". meaning you can overfill it by 10% to 2640psi

ree62 is the "rejected elastic expansion"... this is used by the hydro facility to help determine if it passes "+" rating a second time around.

01^99 is the tank manufacturer date. January 1999. this is the initial hydro date.

faber didn't always stamp the tank "volume" (size in CF) on the tank.

but basically you've got a Faber LP steel tank.



The sticker is the VISUAL INSPECTION sticker. A hydro date won't be a sticker. it'll be stamped in the metal. Likely the last time the tank was visual'd was either in Oct 2001 expiring in Oct2002, or in Oct 2002 expiring one year later.

[CompuDude]

Courtesy of Mike S, who dug these up somewhere on the net at some point. ;)

http://i70.photobucket.com/albums/i114/mikes2006/tanks/tank_read_steel_tank.gif

http://i70.photobucket.com/albums/i114/mikes2006/tanks/tank_read_alum_tank.gif

http://i70.photobucket.com/albums/i114/mikes2006/tanks/TankmarkingsWeb.gif

(I've seen them elsewhere, but these links he provided are the first I stumbled across)

[rjack321]

TC- 3aam-184-dot-3aa 2400 ree62

TC - Transport Canada approved
3aam - 3AA chrome moly steel standard, metric
184 bar service pressure
DOT - US dept of transportation approved
3AA - 3AA chrome moly steel standard
2400 psi service pressure
relative elastic expansion limit (for hydro testing) 62 mL

Canada does not use plus ratings so their service pressure in bar = US service pressure including the plus (184 bar = 2668.7psi rounding to 2640psi)

[NorthWoodsDiver]

to determine what size tank you have you will need to take some actual measurements and reference a chart like they have at Tech Diving Limited, a subsidiary of Scuba Training and Technology Inc. (http://www.techdivinglimited.com) in the cylinder section.

[DA Aquamaster]

As posted above, Faber made the tanks marketed by scubapro.

M8303 is a Faber model number. Bascially an 8" diameter tank and the 303 denotes it is an LP 95.

As stated above the service pressure is 2400 psi.

There will be a 2 digit number followed by a stylized A - actually an A with a T inside it forming the cross bart on the A - followed by another 2 digit numer in the 80, 90 or 00 range that denotes an initial hydro test by Authorized Testing and the date in month and year format. Ex: 07 A 88+ would be a born on date of July 1988 with a + indicating approval for a 10% overfill.

In your case it denotes Faber LP 95 made in January of 1999.

This chart provides good general size, weight, pressure and volume information on a number of tanks.



http://www.huronscuba.com/equipment/scubaCylinderSpecification.html

[rigdiver]

Trivia question time. You see 3AA and 3AL. We know the AA is steel and the AL is aluminum. So exactly what does the 3 stand for?:crafty:

[SparticleBrane]

M8303 is a Faber model number. Bascially an 8" diameter tank and the 303 denotes it is an LP 95.
I was under the impression that "M8303" is the DOT designation for Faber, just like "M4002" is the DOT issued number for Catalina...

All the Faber LP95s I've ever seen were REE 73 or REE 75 (with the large majority being REE 75; I've only ever seen one REE 73). I've never seen a Faber LP95 with REE 62. I would bet that this is an LP85. 7" diameter, ~26" tall.


Here is a Faber tank spec chart for reference:
http://www4.ncsu.edu/~chfranci/faberspecs.jpg

[Scared Silly]

M8303 99-8503-138

SB is correct in the M8303 is the mfg id. The last part is the serial number.

99 == year of mfg
8503 == batch number
138 == sequence number

If this is a scuba pro cylinder more than likely it is a LP80

[captain]

3A is normal strength carbon steel. Cylinders made if this steel usually have rated working pressures of 2015 psi and lower. 3AA is 4130 high strength chrome molybdenum steel and is used for pressures above 2015 psi.

[DA Aquamaster]

Sorry my bad...I knew the Faber mgf id thing - but I should not post late at night.

The low REE does imply a small diameter tank - either a 75.8 or perhaps their slim line 72.

[marcbeaudry]

My thanks goes out to all -
a great list of information , sites and charts for future use .
there does seem to be alot of the information that some of you 'just seem to know'
vs. making reference to the multitude of data sources -
i appreciate all the time and effort - thanks
marc

[SparticleBrane]

there does seem to be alot of the information that some of you 'just seem to know'
Tanks are pretty neat pieces of engineering, and over a few years I've become appreciative of their nuances. After working in a dive shop and with a university program, you start to get good at cylinder recognition. The only frustrations are ones that don't have any identifying marks that tell you cylinder size ("LP108" or "FX117" or S080", etc stamped on the neck), such as some Faber and PST cylinders. Maybe it's just me, but I would think that if you are manufacturing a product, writing what the product is on the product itself would seem like common sense. :shocked2:

But then it wouldn't be fun if the answers were just given away, would it? :D



As to the low REE number, I was guessing something in the 80-85cf range based off my PST LP80s, which are REE 66.3 (and the general idea that smaller volume cylinders usually have proportionally smaller REE numbers).

[rjack321]

there does seem to be alot of the information that some of you 'just seem to know'
vs. making reference to the multitude of data sources -


Its just a language you get accustomed to :)
It helps ALOT if the codes are read off left to right as individual lines like they are "supposed" to be read.