Home oxygen tank

[eandiver]

I have a Luxfer home use O2 tank that a relative gave to me. It is out of hydro but in good condition and still contains about 1000psi of O2.

Can the tank be hydroed, visually inspected, bead blasted to remove the green paint and MADA 400 AL sticker and have a valve installed for use as a scuba tank? It's about 16 1/2 " tall so that would make it a be 19 cuft bottle?

 

[dmdalton]

I'm not sure the valve it takes but for the work and money involved it is not worth the effort. Just go buy what you want. Sell that on Ebay.

Dave D

 

[Uncle Pug]

...what Dave said.

 

[omar]

You might want to consider getting it hydro'd and using it for an emergency bottle of oxygen (surface emergency). You will need an appropriate reg for this.

For diving it is a poor choice. People on e-bay end up paying about the same price as new for one of these.

omar

 

[FredT]

CGA 870 valves are not available with a thread to match a scuba bottle, so any aluminim tank with an 870 installed will not accept a modern scuba valve.

DO get the thing hydroed, or just take it to a gas supply shop and trade it in on a full in date bottle. As a rule the gas shops deal with the hydros on a "swap" bottle as a cost of doing business. Then find a suitable reg to use it for surface emergency O2.

As a rule if you ask for an emergency O2 scrip from you MD, and your MD knows you dive, one will be forthcoming "for emergency use only." This will eliminate the hassles of getting an O2 rig filled with a "medical" post valve on it at a shop that doesn't know you.

FT

 

[eandiver]

Initially after getting the tank I figured on keeping it for a surface emergency but due to the answers I was getting from the medical supply people, gas suppliers and others I thought about using it for a dive tank.

I would prefer to have it a a backup O2 supply as my dive buddy has his DAN O2 certification and his own emergency bottle.

I'll get it hydroed and then call my PCP for the script.

Thanks everyone

 

[eandiver]

BTW the bottle has a mfg date of 84 and the last hydro was in 89....

 

[roakey]

With the local gas supply place and see if they'll fill it with ABO (Aviator's Breathing Oxygen). Typically cheaper and you don't need a perscription. Like Medical O2 they'll vacuum the cylinder before filling, since it's for breathing.

Roak

 

[oxyhacker]

No, get the script then take it to the gas supplier and see what their policy is about filling. Odds are they don't fill but swap, and won't even look at the hydro date. so you'll lose any money you spend on a hydro the minute you turn it in.

Or forget the script and send your buddy with the DAN card in with the bottle, a lot of times you can get emergency O2 with just that, if they check at all, as long as you act like you know what you are doing.

It's always worth calling first to see what their policy is, just so you don't get some idiot tank-nazi trying to confiscate your tank on some nutty grounds. Tell them you bought an old O2 set for dive emergency use, and want to get it filled, and want to know what it will cost. If they say they only swap, tell them its out of hydro and see what they say. If they say you'll have to pay for a hydro, try another shop, or bring it in a week or two later and just don't say anything and see if they notice.

When you swap tanks, the fill charge includes a reserve for hydros, since the company takes care of it not the tank owner so it doesn't really matter to them, but some shops will try to charge you extra for the hydro just for the hell of it.

BTW, putting aviator's O2 into a medical tank constitutes unauthorized manufacture of a prescription drug in the eyes of the FDA, so most suppliers won't do it unless you remove the medical O2 labels, and often not even then. And many suppliers these days charge extra for filling your own tank. Far easier to find a shop that will swap it out as a med tank.

Oh, and if its an alu tank, don't let them swap if for a steel one

I'll get it hydroed and then call my PCP for the script.

Thanks everyone [/B]