Free tanks worth it?

[Elonna]

Hi everyone...please forgive me if this is a stupid question.

I work with a lady who says she has two diving tanks that a friend gave her like 5 years ago. She doesn't dive and was going to sell them. I have no idea about any particulars of the tanks...size, composition, etc. But she said she'd give them to me if I wanted them. My first instinct was sure, why not? But I know they'd have to be tested and certified to see if they're even any good (don't know how they've been stored or anything either).

My question is, since I don't know a thing about tanks and won't be able to tell anything myself unless they're all rusty and corroded looking, is it worth the price of getting them looked at if they end up being crap?

What I mean is, the cost of having two tanks inspected that may not be any good vs. buying one new.

Thanks for any advice
E

 

[contender]

Hi everyone...please forgive me if this is a stupid question.

I work with a lady who says she has two diving tanks that a friend gave her like 5 years ago. She doesn't dive and was going to sell them. I have no idea about any particulars of the tanks...size, composition, etc. But she said she'd give them to me if I wanted them. My first instinct was sure, why not? But I know they'd have to be tested and certified to see if they're even any good (don't know how they've been stored or anything either).

My question is, since I don't know a thing about tanks and won't be able to tell anything myself unless they're all rusty and corroded looking, is it worth the price of getting them looked at if they end up being crap?

What I mean is, the cost of having two tanks inspected that may not be any good vs. buying one new.

Thanks for any advice
E

Take the tanks, once you get them take them to a dive shop for examination. Any shop that is worth their salt will be able to tell you if they are worth getting a hydro and vis before you spend your money.
Note: I would be careful of any aluminum tank with an original hydro date before about 1990.

 

[diverdoug1]

Take tham and get them VIP. If they pass great. If they need Hydro (most likely), get them eddy checked first, before you pay for hydro.

 

[Elonna]

Thanks contender and diverdoug...what in the who-hey is an eddy check? We didn't learn that in OW lol

 

[Wayward Son]

an eddy current test only applies to older (pre- 1989) aluminum tanks.

you can take them, have a dive shop eyeball them & tell you if they think they're worth the expense to service. if not, you can sell them for scrap, either Al or steel.

 

[Wreck Diver 57]

Hi everyone...please forgive me if this is a stupid question.

I work with a lady who says she has two diving tanks that a friend gave her like 5 years ago. She doesn't dive and was going to sell them. I have no idea about any particulars of the tanks...size, composition, etc. But she said she'd give them to me if I wanted them. My first instinct was sure, why not? But I know they'd have to be tested and certified to see if they're even any good (don't know how they've been stored or anything either).

My question is, since I don't know a thing about tanks and won't be able to tell anything myself unless they're all rusty and corroded looking, is it worth the price of getting them looked at if they end up being crap?

What I mean is, the cost of having two tanks inspected that may not be any good vs. buying one new.

Thanks for any advice
E

It might be worth it but it will cost about $75 per tank to find out. It also depends on what kind of valve is on the tanks. Many of the older tanks have old J valves on them that should be replaced. i have found with Scuba gear new gear is the best choice because I don't have to worry about it's history and when it will fail. New tanks are about $200.

 

[LeadTurn_SD]

I'll offer a counterpoint.

I'm diving my original steel 72 tank, original hydo 1976. Still has it's original valve. If the oceans have not dried up, my grandchildren will be able to still use this tank

I also dive a 1978 aluminum 80, with J-Valve. There is absolutely nothing wrong with the older J-valves as long as they are in good shape. Also nothing wrong with the older Al80's, as long as they pass hydro and inspection... but some shops (wrongly, I believe) will not fill older Al80's regardless of hydro and inspection results, so you need to find out what shops in your area are doing.

As others have said, an honest dive shop should be able to take a quick look (for free) and tell you if it is worth spending the money for a full visual and hydro inspection.

Tanks, if properly stored, will last for years and years.

Good luck and have fun with your tanks, and best wishes!

 

[Slonda828]

I'll offer a counterpoint.

I'm diving my original steel 72 tank, original hydo 1976. Still has it's original valve. If the oceans have not dried up, my grandchildren will be able to still use this tank

I also dive a 1978 aluminum 80, with J-Valve. There is absolutely nothing wrong with the older J-valves as long as they are in good shape. Also nothing wrong with the older Al80's, as long as they pass hydro and inspection... but some shops (wrongly, I believe) will not fill older Al80's regardless of hydro and inspection results, so you need to find out what shops in your area are doing.

As others have said, an honest dive shop should be able to take a quick look (for free) and tell you if it is worth spending the money for a full visual and hydro inspection.

Tanks, if properly stored, will last for years and years.

Good luck and have fun with your tanks, and best wishes!

Same here. Pretty much any non 6351 alloy (a bad alloy of aluminum tanks) tanks are fine if they pass VIP and hydro. I have several J valves on mine, and they all work fine. They use the same teflon washers and such as a K valve, so provided you tell the dive shop you want them O2 cleaned, you can even use them for nitrox or oxygen as they can use standard size Viton O-rings when they rebuild your tank valve. I have two J valve tanks, one aluminum 80 and one steel 72. They are both oxygen clean and suitable for nitrox service. I also concur with Lead and others, any good tech can tell you if a tank if garbage or not before you spend money in servicing it. When you consider that most shops in the southeast charge around 12 bucks a day for renting a tank, buying one for under 100 beans is a pretty darn good deal if you dive often. Plus then you can use your tank for things like filling your tires on your car, blowing the leaves out of your gutter, and pissing off your neighbors late at night

Off to the fridge for some more bourbon...

 

[herman]

It might be worth it but it will cost about $75 per tank to find out. It also depends on what kind of valve is on the tanks. Many of the older tanks have old J valves on them that should be replaced. i have found with Scuba gear new gear is the best choice because I don't have to worry about it's history and when it will fail. New tanks are about $200.

$75 should almost cover a hydro, vip and fill on both of them. If they are steel (look on the tank for 3AAxxxx) then odds are they are fine, steel tanks have an almost unlimited life in scuba service as long as they are not abused. Tanks from the 50 and 60 are still in service. A quick look inside by a good tech can tell you for free. They would still need hydro but steels rarely fail. If they are aluminum (look for 3ALxxxx ) then take them anyway. If they pass vip and hydro then you can dive them. If they are the older material they can still be dove but I doubt I would have them put back in service due to the BS you get with some dive shops. In any case take them, AL's are worth $25-30 each in scrap metal or $50 twards other gear.
As for the J valves, there is not reason at all not to use them. Like Leadturn and Slonda I have several that I dive often. Just leave the reserve knob in the down position if you don't want the reserve feature.

 

[diver 85]

(since you've gone this far).........Take (close up---ie stamped numbers etc etc) pictures of them & post them here----someone will be able to tell you alot more about them afterwards....good luck......