Used ASME Cylinders

[miesemer]

I'm considering the purchase of a couple used 5000 psi ASME storage cylinders that were removed from a fire dept air system. The asking price is $150 each. I've done a little research and have seen some dealers selling similar used cylinders for $500+. One is nearly clean inside and the other has a little more surface rust. The seller said he'd have the cylinders "sand blasted" by a local company before I'd pick them up.

I took some pictures of the cylinders and markings and posted them on my website [here]. I'd like to find out some more information on these cylinders, such as the manufacturer, any possible recalls and what some of the other markings describe such as "appendix 22".

Any help will be appreciated.

 

[miesemer]

Here's the markings from the cylinders:

NAT'L BD/SN 684949 CERTIFIED BY PST
MAWP 5250 AT 200°F MAWP 7000 AT 200°F APPENDIX 22
MDMT - 40°F AT 5250 PSI MDMT - 40°F AT 7000 PSI
SH.770 HD.702 SA372 V1B 1995

and the second one the same except SN 684947.

 

[oxyhacker]

ASME tanks are nifty because they are indestructable and never need hydros. On the other had they are mega heavy and overkill for a lot of home installations. The also require more fiddling to get a good installation since you can't stand them up and chain them to the wall like a DOT bottle
The big issue is are they big enough to do what you want? If they are, the price is a bargain. Oh, and the 1/4" hole - I'd want to run that by someone who knew about these things.

American Airworks sells a lot of used ASME tanks, and is usually very helpful. You might want to give them a call.

 

[FredT]

Is probably a mandated drain hole. Tank shold be mounted horizontally with a 1/8"/foot slope down to the end with the hole. Hole to be at lowest point in system. Confirm pipe thread of fitting does not extend into the tank if setting up a drain system.

Normal method would be to hook in a steam trap (AKA "automatic drain) to a manifold connecting the two holes to provide a constant drain on the bottles.

Sandblast exterior and a zinc rich coating is a good idea. Sandblasting the interior is good too if they have a place with the tooling to do it correctly handy. Interior tank blasting is not to be approached lightly or without proper tooling. Otherwise a tumble (takes a LOT of media) with an appropriate cleaning agent (phosphoric acid & simple green?) is in order.

FT

 

[miesemer]

Thank you Oxyhacker and FredT for your comments. Actually I'm trying to put together a much larger storage capacity but these tanks popped up and I thought for $150 they'd be worth a look. I've committed to buy them and I'm told the company doing the "sand blasting" is setup to perform the task properly and they regularly work with HP cylinders.

I've seen some places advertise ASME cylinders configured in vertical stands. Is it imperative that these be mounted horizontally? I'm expecting to finish of the rest of the cascade system with vertically mounted DOT cylinders unless I can find similar deals on ASME.

 

[FredT]

These had obviously been mounted horizonal, so should stay that way unless the lower end plug also has a drain.

If mounted horizontal you'll automatically have a vertical separaton between the outlet pipe and any water in the tank.