Aluminum tanks hydros

To day I picked up 3 tanks, 1 catalina and 2 lux. I got a smoking deal on the, $50 for all 3. The hydros and vis are out of date where is the best place to get the seviced and check out or rebuild the valves? The 2 lux's last hydro was in 03 and the other has no stamp anywhere but does have a vis sticker from 95.

You can take the cylinders to Thunderbird Cylinder on University. They hydro only and eddy current test the aluminums, so after that you would have to take them to a scuba shop to get the the vis sticker. It will cost around $25 a tank for the hydro andy eddy current test.

I am not familiar with the dive shops in your area but you might just want to call around and drop the tanks off to a shop that provides that service. Shops usually outsource the hydro to Thunderbird Cylinder anyway, but then the shop can re-build the valve and do the vis after the hydro.

Karen

El Mar is probably about equally close - in Mesa: El Mar Diving Center - Hydrostatic Cylinder Testing

I would start by showing them to the dive shop you trade at for air fills. They may be black-balled for fiilling regardless of test results. If the shop is willing to fill them then go ahead with the local testers as suggested. It's getting common for shops to black ball 20+ year old cylinders. Luxfers that are ~pre 1988 also have a tough time due to the 6351 alloy used.

Pete

I took them to saguaro in mesa. I asked them if I was wasting my money with them, they said if they pass the test there good. So I sent them off. The catalina was from 1993 but the other two where from 1983. Those are the bad ones that explode, right? The did'nt say they wont fill them so I guess if they test good there ok. Would you use a al tank from 1983? With the hydro and rebuild plus the tank cost it will be 50$ If I use it for awile it not that bad of a deal. As long as it dont blow me out of the water.

krispykritter:

I took them to saguaro in mesa. I asked them if I was wasting my money with them, they said if they pass the test there good. So I sent them off. The catalina was from 1993 but the other two where from 1983. Those are the bad ones that explode, right? The did'nt say they wont fill them so I guess if they test good there ok. Would you use a al tank from 1983? With the hydro and rebuild plus the tank cost it will be 50$ If I use it for awile it not that bad of a deal. As long as it dont blow me out of the water.

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Saguaro replaces the orings and replaces the burst disk and does a vis. Thunderbird doesn't do any of that. By the time you've ran your tanks all over town; taking them to T-bird and dropping them off for the hydro, returning to pick them up, then it's off to the dive shop where hopefully they'll do all the stuff Saguaro will do. The point is, Saguaro does all that running around for you. It's a good value. They can even have the tanks painted while they're out for hydro. I like yellow.

If the cylinder passes the hydro they will fill it no problem. The free air fills more than offset the cost of having Saguaro take care of the hydro. Based on what others charge for fills, you will cover the cost of the hydro pretty quickly. Which for a scuba junkie like me takes about a month. After that the hydro is essentially free.
I have a couple of tanks that fall into the "bad aluminum" time frame. They passed the hydro, Saguaro fills them and I dive with them. No worries. When they fail the hydro I'll make bells out of them.
See you at the lake.
Steve.

ScubaSteve makes some good points but I think his logic has some flaws.
First off Saguaro Sports offers 2 free tank fills per day to all non professional divers. It's a great motivation to get divers returning in their shop if it is nearby but because the fills are free to anyone considering future fills as part of your Hydro doesn't make sense. It just isn't part of the equation.

The rest of his logic is sound if you have no other means to get a VIP except for one point that is often missed. This is that a VIP is not required on new tanks and those that are in the first year after passing a Hydrotest. Many shops do however want to see the VIP sticker regardless.(it's their shop but you may find a shop that isn't going t try and make that extra $15 on you) As for servicing of the valve assembly... Why mess with something that is working? If the tank doesn't leak during storage and opens when you want to use it, that I'd call working. As for replacing the burst disk again why? If it bursts it dumps a tank of air and you can service it then if it holds the pressure without bursting again it is doing it's job. I would service the valve assembly if it shows any wear or if the tank requires any cleaning service. Do replace the valve/tanks neck seal if it shows any crush, wear or is dried out.

One more point is that you can take a class and become a certified VIP inspector as I have. This may pay for itself if you have enough tanks to offset the cost of the class and materials you'll need to do it yourself. In the case of using or inspecting the older type aluminum tanks it requires an eddicurrent test which is why many shops will just refuse instead of investing in the equipment to do the test. I myself don't own any older type aluminum tanks and as a result will not invest in the equipment or inspect those tanks. Tanks are not difficult to inspect and or service with proper training and some simple tools it's a great way for a DIYer to be sure their tanks are up to snuff.

Unless you only plan to use a tank only once the cost of fills is certainly a component of the care and feeding of your scuba tanks. Say I only had four tanks. I would end up spending over $100 per tank per year on fills alone at $5.00 a fill. That's over $400 a year to feed the tanks if I had to pay for fills. That being the case I don't mind paying pros who I trust to make sure my tanks are in top shape. And for the record I can bring all my tanks in (a lot more than four) for fills at the same time. No problem.

ScubaSteve2000:

Unless you only plan to use a tank only once the cost of fills is certainly a component of the care and feeding of your scuba tanks. Say I only had four tanks. I would end up spending over $100 per tank per year on fills alone at $5.00 a fill. That's over $400 a year to feed the tanks if I had to pay for fills. That being the case I don't mind paying pros who I trust to make sure my tanks are in top shape. And for the record I can bring all my tanks in (a lot more than four) for fills at the same time. No problem.

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The point was that anyone can bring 2 tanks daily in to that shop and get them filled at no cost. There is no reason to figure in free fills to the price of hydrotesting when any Joe can walk in and get their tanks filled free without having been a customer or having had their tanks hydrotested by Sagauro Sports. Many of us bring in more than 2 and the staff is kind enough to fill them without charge but the posted policy is more than 2 requires a donation which I am more than willing to make and have done so. As for "paying pros" once you take the course and are certified to do the inspections the only difference between pros and doing it yourself is cost and who really cares more about doing it correctly. If you think about that, you are more likely to want your tanks to be in top condition than a pro who is more concerned with making money and the value of their time.
Also when considering dive pros it is best to consider beyond just the discount available but the quality of the services. In the case of tanks it isn't a difficult or demanding procedure however for more demanding services Saguaro would not be my first choice.

KrispyKritter, I'm sorry. Rascally Rabbit seems to have hijacked your thread. I apologize for my part in the hijacking. I didn't realize I was mud wrestling with a pig. You got a great deal on your tanks. Saguaro willl do a great job for you. They are a fine dive shop. I've used them for many years with no complaints. As far as what you do with your tanks in the future, do what ever you feel comfortable doing. Like I said in my earlier post if the tanks pass hydro they're good to go.