Got a free pair of double 50's today.

[elmer fudd]

Initially they looked pretty rough on the outside, but on closer inspection there just seems to be a lot of surface rust. Inside however, they look very good.

1967, USD 1800 tanks. No hydro stamps at all. I'm guessing these things were used briefly in the 60's and have been sitting in someones garage ever since.

I've got nothing better to do tomorrow, so I think I'll clean them up and give them a coat of zinc spray paint.

I'm not sure if I want to spend the money putting them back into service or not. I've got 5 single LP72's and I'm thinking it would make more sense to use the band and manifold to double up a pair of them instead.

Here's the photo from the craigslist ad.

 

[Wookie]

That's a sweet set.

 

[DaleC]

I'd like a set of those for christmas, and I'm close

 

[John C. Ratliff]

I've got a pair of twin Sherwood 1800 psi tanks, set up almost identically to those you have. I think you'd be surprised at how nice they are with the double hose regulator in the water. I'd get them fixed up and use them as the set they were designed to be. I know you'll enjoy them.

SeaRat

 

[elmer fudd]

If you get down to the Tacoma area let me know. I'm going to keep the manifold, band and backpack, but I don't think I want to spend the money getting a pair of 1800 psi 50's hydroed. I think at least one of them needs to be tumbled too. They look good inside for tanks of this era, meaning I don't see a sea of rust or any noticeable pits, but they've likely been sitting for the past 40 years and they don't look brand new inside either. Anyway, unless I come up with some uncontrollable urge to dive these things in the next couple of weeks, I'm amenable to giving them to someone who will use them.

 

[elmer fudd]

I've got a pair of twin Sherwood 1800 psi tanks, set up almost identically to those you have. I think you'd be surprised at how nice they are with the double hose regulator in the water. I'd get them fixed up and use them as the set they were designed to be. I know you'll enjoy them.

SeaRat

I'm taking my daughter out to see her grandparents tomorrow, and I won't have much to do, so I figure I'll take the tanks out with me and strip them down and give them a few coats of zinc paint. Maybe at that point I'll feel the urge to get them checked out and put them back in service. Right now though, I'm thinking of using the manifold, band and backpack to double up a pair of 72's instead.

 

[elmer fudd]

So after typing here, it got my curiosity up a little and I headed down to the garage to have a go at the tanks with a wire wheel. I found two hydro stamps after all, 72 and 76. They were just light stamps and they were obscured by paint and rust. The tanks themselves look like they'll clean up well. There's a lot of rust, but I haven't seen any pits.

 

[Eric Sedletzky]

I would sandblast them then paint them, then after that they could be hydroed. I know it's a risk with time and a little $$, but blasting takes off a little material although not a lot, you want to hydro them after all the cleaning is complete.
I went through this with a '59 72 and it passed hydro with flying colors.

From a guy who's been in the auto body, restoration and metal working business all my working life, trust me, you want to get every speck of rust off those tanks before you paint them.

 

[DA Aquamaster]

I had a pair of those (as well as a pair of 2215 psi "50"s). If I recall, the 2215 psi tanks were 50 cu ft with the overfill and only 45 at the rated pressure. Also IIRC, the 1800 psi tanks are only 42 cu ft at the service pressure.

So, nothing against them, I enjoyed mine a lot for something vintage and different (before it was cool) but they are a lot of weight for 84 cu ft of gas and it might make more sense to use the bands and manifold to double up a pair of steel 72s. Just as vintage, but more practical.

I ended up splitting up both my 1800s and 2215s to make single tanks when my 12 year old started diving and they got passed on to other friends's 10 and 12 year olds when they started diving. It was a really good use for them.

 

[elmer fudd]

I had a pair of those (as well as a pair of 2215 psi "50"s). If I recall, the 2215 psi tanks were 50 cu ft with the overfill and only 45 at the rated pressure. Also IIRC, the 1800 psi tanks are only 42 cu ft at the service pressure.

So, nothing against them, I enjoyed mine a lot for something vintage and different (before it was cool) but they are a lot of weight for 84 cu ft of gas and it might make more sense to use the bands and manifold to double up a pair of steel 72s. Just as vintage, but more practical.

I ended up splitting up both my 1800s and 2215s to make single tanks when my 12 year old started diving and they got passed on to other friends's 10 and 12 year olds when they started diving. It was a really good use for them.

I believe these are actually 50's, as they are about 2" shorter than LP72's and rated to 1800. The way I see it though, the dimensional difference between these and 72's is minimal and they're both vintage and period correct. The 72's on the other hand hold about 50% more air, with a very small overcharge. That means I can hang with my modern diving buddies for as long as the dive lasts, plus I already have 72's that are in good shape with current hydros. The 72's also appear to have better buoyancy characteristics.