Content Labeling Doubles

[Akimbo]

About a month ago, this thread reminded me how dissatisfied I am with labeling cylinder contents. The old duct tape and Sharpie trick was never large enough when placed near the neck, accumulated goo, doesn’t hold up all that well, and basically gets up my nose.

We were watching TV a few nights later while my wife was removing nail polish. She had these disposable gauze pads that she squired the remover on. That led me to wonder about just writing the content data on the stainless bands with a sharpie and erasing it with solvent. I liked it and here is what I have learned so far:

1. Tons of solvents work, but the best for the money I have found is Lacquer Thinner.
2. My wife’s nail polish remover pads work great and I have a convenient supply!
3. The handiest container I’ve found so far is a flip-top lighter fluid can for cigarette lighters. Naphtha-based lighter fluid doesn’t work as well as other solvents so make sure it has a cap that unscrews so you can refill it with something better.
4. I had to be careful to write on areas of the bands that didn’t get rubbed off in handling. It also was not as obvious as I would like

I was fooling around in the shop today and stuck a piece of scrap 22 gauge x 2½" wide x 14" long stainless between the two band as shown in the photo. I liked it. The “content slate” is protected from handling damage, is out of the way, and has plenty of space to write in letters big enough that even a geezer like me can read.

It would be even better if I had the stainless rolled before shearing — something any HVAC/sheet metal shop can do. It would be best to roll it about 20% smaller in diameter than the cylinder so the edges stay down better. In an ideal world, electro-etched labels and boxes would be there for O2, N2, He, MOD, and analyzed O2 with date and initial.

Unfortunately, this isn’t a viable solution for singles. Hopefully the collective imagination of Scubaboard can come up with improvements or even an entirely different way that works even better.

 

[Doc Harry]

Dang! Look at those nice shiny white tanks. Do you ever use em?

I hate tape residue, too. I use something like this to label my tanks:

 

[Gilldiver]

Sharpie uses an alcohol based ink, try denatured alcohol, not isopropal or rubbing alcohol. Nail polish remover is usually acetone.

But what I use to mark all tanks is cheap packaging tags, the type with the string and mark the % gasses, pressure when tested, and date of testing. So, If I don't end up using a tank for a while, I can take a pressure check and know if any gas has leaked out.

 

[Akimbo]

Dang! Look at those nice shiny white tanks. Do you ever use em? …

They are new, which is the reason I was fooling around with them today! Unless I can steal a better idea from contributions to this thread, I’ll be slipping a strip of scrap stainless into the other bands.

Serious note, have you found a hang tag that holds up. Customers complain that the labeling quickly wears off on all the ones I have found. Also, what do you write on them with and how do you erase it?

 

[Akimbo]

Sharpie uses an alcohol based ink, try denatured alcohol, not isopropal or rubbing alcohol. Nail polish remover is usually acetone...

I tried denatured, but it left ghosting. Acetone works as well as the lacquer thinner, but is more expensive and smells worse. A lot of the nail polish removers are “acetone free” now and the brand my wife had didn’t work worth spit.

…But what I use to mark all tanks is cheap packaging tags, the type with the string and mark the % gasses, pressure when tested, and date of testing. So, If I don't end up using a tank for a while, I can take a pressure check and know if any gas has leaked out.

Gas leakage problems have pretty well ceased with me since I started using full pressure brass and stainless DIN plugs. I always know when the valve leaked or got accidently cracked open because I need to get the big wrench out to get the plug out. I like to add the end-of-dive pressure because it makes it easier to modify the mix.

Do the packaging tags hold up underwater? I like to know the old mix, especially if it is not close to empty.

 

[Doc Harry]

I don't use the Trident tags, I have another brand (can't remember which). They're plastic and durable and I attach them to the valve with cave line. I use a pencil to record the data on the tags, and a large eraser to clear the data.

The only two problems:

1. It takes a fair amount of rubbing with a clean eraser to clear off the writing

2. When you're moving the tanks in your vehicle it is sometimes easy to catch the tag and rip them off (the cave line tears through the plastic)

 

[DuboisP]

orange duct tape for general purpose
can be removed without damaging painting

 

[Doc Harry]

orange duct tape for general purpose
can be removed without damaging painting

If you leave duct tape on the tank for a long time, it leaves a sticky residue and is difficult to clean off.

That is the the point of this thread - a way to make tanks long-term without having to deal with sticky tape residue, etc.

 

[DuboisP]

If you leave duct tape on the tank for a long time, it leaves a sticky residue and is difficult to clean off.

That is the the point of this thread - a way to make tanks long-term without having to deal with sticky tape residue, etc.

alcohol, white spirit, acetone, trichloroethylene

 

[TSandM]

The one thing I don't like about what you have done (which is clever, btw) is that if you have any issues in the water, your buddy can't check your contents label to see if gas has anything to do with it. The one advantage to some kind of labelling on the shoulder of the tank is that other people can easily check it.