WARNING***Ebay selling unsafe cyl

[goldhunter_2]

Unfortuantlly I bid on sevral 3Al tanks on e-bay and won one nearby. I have since found out that the www.DOT.com has a safety alert out , I have also looked at a ew more and notice there are sevreal of these cyl being sold on e-bay. I understand that my lack of knowledge is no excuse so I will pay for what I bid on then trash can it. I wanted to warn anyone else who may look there so they are not put in the same place or wrose just don't know and use the tank then get killed or dimembered

 

[The Chairman]

you might find that if they are made by Luxfer, that they have an exchange policy. The Walter Kidde tanks don't.

 

[chrispete]

I'd take advantage of Netdoc's advice - at least it's a way to salvage something from the deal. A lot of those tanks (assuming the "bad alloy" warning) are still in service and are doing fine. However, I got to see firsthand what happens with those tanks from an early eighties tank that we took in for a hydro two weeks ago and a large, clearly defined crack was easily visible in the neck of the tank. It kind of worries me in that the tank had apparently been in storage for a number of years and the sustained load cracking could have completed it's course to rupture had it remained in storage. (Kiss the garage goodbye.) If anyone's interested, I'll pull the last hydro/viz date off the tank so there's an idea of how long it was in storage/versus the amount of damage caused to the neck.

 

[The Chairman]

an internal crack from SLC is visible years before there is any possibility of danger. IOW, a competent yearly visual inspection should reveal any dangers well before they could harm you. Hydostatic testing however, uses 5/3s of the tanks rated service pressure (5000 psi for a 3000psi rated tank) and this will cause accelerated cracking in a weakened tank. It is generally adviseable to make all sales of ANY used tanks contingent on it passing a hydro and vis. You CAN hydro tanks before their due date. Caveat Emptor!

 

[crazed_dolphin]

Hmmm...I was wondering. I'm a seller on ebay and I'm not sure it was legal for the seller to sell those since they are dangerous.

 

[crazed_dolphin]

I'd talk to the seller. Safety alert is pretty much the same thing as a recall isn't it? I do not think you bound. It's against ebay policy to sell dangerous items.

I got this from the ebay site under prohibited, questionable & infringing materials.

eBay strongly supports the efforts of the U.S. Consumer Products Safety Commission (CPSC) to protect consumers against potentially hazardous goods. The CPSC, an independent federal regulatory agency, protects consumers by issuing warnings about goods that might be hazardous, and even issuing recalls of certain products. Items that have been the subject of CPSC action include lawn darts, baby products (such as defective cribs, infant carriers, and car seats), propane heaters, and thousands of other products.

If you're a seller on eBay, you should take a few minutes to check with the CPSC and ensure that the products you're selling have not been the subjects of a CPSC recall. And if you're a buyer, educate yourself about recalled products in areas that you might be doing some buying. Take a look at the CPSC's About Me page created specifically to alert eBayers about potentially hazardous items that might inadvertently get listed on eBay. It also has a link to the CPSC Web site that's loaded with helpful safety tips and a searchable database of recalled products.

 

[DA Aquamaster]

The Luxfer tanks in question have not been recalled and they have not been deemed "unsafe". The CSPC has nothing to do with that determiniation in regard to tanks, that tasks belongs to the DOT. The AL tanks in question are not universally unsafe, they are only required to have a visual plus inspection for potential neck cracks every 18 months.

The "sky is falling" attitude people seem to have about these tanks gets a little annoying. I challenge anyone on the board to show me evidience of one catastrophic explosion that has occurred since the new test protocols have been in place and where these protocols were followed. Tanks with incipient cracks are being found and removed from service during these inspections and the test requirement are adequate to find tanks well before they will fail.

My concern is that if someone goes to E-bay and complains about hazardous tanks being sold on E-bay, E-bay is not going to start asking sellers what alloy it is made of, when it was made, or if it has been properly inspected. It would simply be too hard to enfore and manage. Instead they are more likely to conclude all scuba tanks are dangerous or perhaps that all high pressure tanks are dangerous and ban the sale of all high pressure cylinders on E-bay. Then everybody loses.

While you are at it, you can mention that it is possible for certified divers to buy potentially dangerous scuba equipment on E-bay and get them to ban the sale of regulators and BC's. Then everybody really loses.

Since, unless you own your own compressor, you cannot get tanks filled unless they are properly inspected, even selling a condemned tank on E-bay is not in and of itself "unsafe". It would be unethical for the seller and a very bad deal for the buyer but one that could be avoided by only buying tanks with recent hydros and VIPs and getting an agreement from a reliable seller to refund your money and shipping on any tank that is not serviceable.

I'd be real careful what you start on a well intentioned but somewhat uninformed and misguided saftey crusade. The results may noto be entirely what you intended.

 

[ew1usnr]

From what I have read, the cracks in the neck start small and as they get bigger, the air just leaks out. Like someone else said here, there does not seem to be an over-abundance of reports of catastrophic explosions occurring as a result of this. Buying a used tank off ebay is no different than buying a used tank anywhere. You take the same risks.

 

[goldhunter_2]

I agree buying a used tank is buying a used tank

but the seller says it has to be tested ever 5 yrs and that there was nothing wrong with it. He alos will not comment about the unsafeness and did not disclose it

 

[Epinephelus]

DA Aquamaster once bubbled...
Instead they are more likely to conclude all scuba tanks are dangerous or perhaps that all high pressure tanks are dangerous and ban the sale of all high pressure cylinders on E-bay. Then everybody loses.

Or, Ebay could ask the CPSC to get involved... once *that* agency starts sniffing around scuba we can kiss our sport goodbye completely.
Never appeal to government to cover your tail when you should be covering it yourself. Never appeal to the government to cover *my* tail *ever*.
E.