Scuba-74
Contributor
There are great many equipment related and other issues that have amassed hundreds of pages of extremely knowledgeable discussion here on Scubaboard, with one tiny problem - this knowledge is usually discovered by people like me just a little too late 
. One of such issues is a well documented (apparently) issue of hot-dip galvanized Worthington tanks manufactured under permit E14157 failing hydrostatic tests due to expansion issues.
My story is as simple (and as stupid) as they come. I found one good looking Worthington 80cf 3442psi cylinder on craigslist and bought it cheap. Of course, up until today, I was completely unaware of all the issues these tanks have been having with hydros or the special procedures recommended by manufacturer (pressurizing to 89% of test pressure twice, I believe it is also called "rounding up"). The tank was "born" in 2006 and never hydrotested at least officially (i.e. had no other hydro stamps) after it's birth date. I decided to bring it to a local fire shop as opposed to my LDS (stupid, stupid decision). The three reasons - it's a little cheaper, a little closer, and I have two other tanks that need viz but not hydro, so I wanted to bring this one to the same state before dropping all three at LDS for viz and fills. Stupid me
.
So, surely enough, the fire place failed the test and permanently marked the tank as condemned. They gave me a printout of DOT-SP 14157 in addition to the test results, but there is no evidence of course that they followed this recommended procedure. In fact I'm 100% sure they didn't. So the tank now is screwed (see picture).
Within minutes of getting online, I found quite a few threads here, such as this or this, covering the issue at length, but most of them go back to 2010-2011 time frame when the testing approach apparently shifted from permanent expansion to REE, so they focus mostly on that and obviously don't cover more recent developments.
So, can anyone be so kind as to summarize briefly:
. One of such issues is a well documented (apparently) issue of hot-dip galvanized Worthington tanks manufactured under permit E14157 failing hydrostatic tests due to expansion issues.My story is as simple (and as stupid) as they come. I found one good looking Worthington 80cf 3442psi cylinder on craigslist and bought it cheap. Of course, up until today, I was completely unaware of all the issues these tanks have been having with hydros or the special procedures recommended by manufacturer (pressurizing to 89% of test pressure twice, I believe it is also called "rounding up"). The tank was "born" in 2006 and never hydrotested at least officially (i.e. had no other hydro stamps) after it's birth date. I decided to bring it to a local fire shop as opposed to my LDS (stupid, stupid decision). The three reasons - it's a little cheaper, a little closer, and I have two other tanks that need viz but not hydro, so I wanted to bring this one to the same state before dropping all three at LDS for viz and fills. Stupid me
.So, surely enough, the fire place failed the test and permanently marked the tank as condemned. They gave me a printout of DOT-SP 14157 in addition to the test results, but there is no evidence of course that they followed this recommended procedure. In fact I'm 100% sure they didn't. So the tank now is screwed (see picture).
Within minutes of getting online, I found quite a few threads here, such as this or this, covering the issue at length, but most of them go back to 2010-2011 time frame when the testing approach apparently shifted from permanent expansion to REE, so they focus mostly on that and obviously don't cover more recent developments.
So, can anyone be so kind as to summarize briefly:
- Today in 2019, do I have any recourse for my issue? For instance, have there been any cases of XS Scuba or Worthington recalling these tanks or something along those lines?
- In the future, do I need to do an extensive research on any tank I decide to bring for hydro to find any possible recommended procedures such as this "rounding up" nonsense and demand a written statement from the shop that they'll follow them, or can I rely on the LDS knowing this stuff and sort of being a middle man for me (they don't do hydros themselves)?
- Is there any point in arguing with the fire shop about what THEY did wrong?
- Is the tank completely worthless now?
