We are an "Authorized Service Center" and Sales Retailer located in Key Largo Florida since 2012. In our prior years we were located in the Miami area teaching and servicing dive gear. We re-located to the Florida Keys to continue our passion for the scuba industry which has totaled 38 years to date. We invite you too visit our shop when in the Florida Keys. Brands we service and sell are Aqualung, Apeks, Atomic, Sherwood, Genesis and Zeagle. Hydro testing, visual inspection and regulator service are preformed on site, everything we do is in house. In addition, we also service lots of the local Dive Centers, helping them stay up to date with their rental equipment service needs. Tank VIP Inspector Certification is also offered for more information please call the shop at 305 900-0855. We appreciate you watching and supporting our channel please don't forget to Subscribe.
Very professional and simple plus educational You mention that the Hydro test is every 5 years Unfortunately In Australia the most over governed over legislated diving industry in the world I am not sure if it is the aim of the government to destroy the recreational diving industry in Australia Many dive shops are closing in Australia not due to safety but excessive bureaucracy I personally have been a Dive Instructor since 1983 I no longer teach diving in Australia I am sure the diving industry in America is as safe or safer than Australia Its a shame we have great diving If you are interested to see what we dont want for the diving industry in other parts of the world have a look at To show you how absurd this legislation is A recreational SCUBA Instructor must have a Commercial Diver medical form a dive physician Imagine if you had a dive school like I did with 50 cylinders and they have to be hydro tested every 12 months plus an eddy flow test For reference www.worksafe.qld.gov.au/your-industry/diving-and-snorkelling/diving-laws
How does this work with a let’s say a FABER hot galvanized steel with SP13488 specification? Is it tested the same way or do all galvanized cylinders done differently and only look at the REE as being pass fail?
I’ve owned my own tanks for years and none of them look as bad as those ie 1995 manufacturers date and they still look new. Someone is totally neglectful
great video. thank you. quick question regarding the brushed tank, do you think the VIP of the tank will fit oxygen clean criteria at this point? or you would have tumbled it (and O2 clean)
What is the total cost of the equipment needed to conduct the hydrostatic test and what are the certifications needed to conduct those test? Thank you.
You should not be scraping off any of the oxidation on aluminum tank. All what will happen is that the aluminum that you expose is going to interact with the oxygen in the ear and create new oxidation that's going to preferentially eat into the aluminum of the tank. With aluminum tanks leaving it be. I'm speaking about this from the perspective of the mechanical engineer.
I strongly disagree with your statement when it refers to scuba cylinders. Cylinders are a flexible container holding 3000 psi or more, which can and have been explosive when improperly inspected. Oxidation/corrosion, “lost of metal” will lead to pitting in the alloy, a single pit measuring .06 of an inch will fail the cylinder, but an structural column with the same pit can remain in service. Please keep in mind we in the scuba industry are formally trained, I personally have 40 years of training and experience we are also regulated by, Department of Transportation (DOT) Pipeline and Hazardous Materials Safety Administration (PHMSA) Compressed Gas Association (CGA) Code of Federal Regulations (CFR) and OSHA . In addition we are mandated to have continual education and certification every 3 years. Did you know the person filling or inspecting your scuba tank must be trained and certified every 3 years? (CFR180.205) Here are some quotes from our training text to help you understand our methods. “ The primary purpose of cleaning a cylinder, whether inside or out, is to ensure all metal surfaces are exposed to the inspector’s eyes”. “The entire exterior of the cylinder must be exposed to the inspector and not concealed”. “If corrosion is found on the exterior, under the coating then the entire coating should be removed”.
i still have one of the broxton ave 'rene' tanks. it's dated 7/53. but it's only rated the typical 2150psi. my USD double-hose reg has the even later warner ave address.
That’s awesome, love to see early dive gear. The History of Diving museum in the keys started from a someone’s private collection. It’s now a popular must visit location when in the Florida Park Keys.
Heading to UK from Spain to train and certify in visual tank inspections. Just been playing with an endoscope camera ... wasn't as easy as I thought to actually see the interior so maybe a mirror is better after all. great top see yoru idea on the internal devices to clean off small specks of rust. thanks for sharing your video
Great video thank you. I rebuilt an M1 it locks at 125 and slowly drifts up to 140 but stays there and doesn’t move beyond that. Thoughts? Thank you! MB
125 to 150 is the acceptable range… slow drift is common Cycling the first such as turn off supply pressure purging and back on. Repeatedly cycling pressure will create a impression on the piston seat and should lock up IP.
well, now i know how the neck of my tank got cracked, im thinking all this testing is just doing more harm than good. its like, do you change your oil and then drive like its a racecar
GUESS WHAT ? just two weeks ago .... a dive shop owner freaked out when I brought my three old tanks from 1979 in for visuals and I knew two needed Hydro . He was almost in tears telling me they were dangerous and they CAN"T be inspected or filled ...So I took them to another shop and they said - we know that dive shops in Florida refuse to service the older tanks BUT...YES they would service and fill them !
I'm not surprised by the shop owner's reaction, as per DOT we can still inspect, test and fill along with visual eddy test. However in Florida we've had multiple tanks rupture and seen first hand the consequence of neck cracks. It's up to the individual shop to make that decision. Thanks for the comment.
the dive shop i go to will send the tanks out for a hydro and then do a visual ! I asked why not do a visual first ??? they said thats how they do it !
I have shops that send me tanks for hydro without doing VIP first and many times I fail them before testing. Doing the VIP first makes sense, this way you can catch a fail and not even bother with sending it out.
I had a 10.4 litre 232 Bar Alloy 6061 tank (85 c.f.) fail a visual for a crack in the neck - DO NOT think that new alloys are not susceptible to load cracking, IF you leave a scuba tank full long enough it will fail at the weakest point. I now only dive steel cylinders which are looked after better than my dive computer, and IF I'm not planning to dive for 3 months or more, I leave them at 50 Bar (500 psi) so as not to put unnecessary stress on the cylinder.
Sometimes a fold in the neck can be mistaken for SLC neck crack. I've seen many shops confuse folds with SLC in 6061. I'm not saying that it can't happen but the chances are slim, an eddy current test will confirm a SLC.
Someone on Scubaboard contacted PST after their SP expired in 2022. As they no longer are in the scuba industry the expiration isn't on their radar, but they seem to be glad to renew it when contacted. So waiting and contacting PST politely seems the best course of action.
Angel, I found two small air cylinders in my father’s basement,with the letters ALF CO stamped at the neck. Any clue on the manufacturer. 1800 psi. I can send a pic if needed.
Thanks for the informative video. I am here trying get a better understanding how all this works. Also I'm dabbling in a different application,. PCP for air rifles. Just purchased a carbon fiber over Aluminum tank. I have my own compressor and Have had an old retired tank laying around still holding air(Scott scba) But I will not add pressure to it at this point until I have it hydro'd (if it can be be done) The tank exterior is fine visually and I know that's as far as it goes. Reason I'm here again is Safety,. not sure if it matters, my tanks stay indoors and are not banged around. The whole 15 year thing... I'm trying to grasp,. I've seen tanks 40 yrs old holding pressure, Now that being said they could be a grenade with the pin pulled or they could last longer than I'm around(I Don't know)That's why I'm searching this information and not Just here. I'm not fond of the idea of having a hole drilled in my tank (Just Because Of A Date)and no test actually performed to justify. And I may be wrong in my thinking, and if I find that out I will change my thoughts on this. Closing thoughts: I know folks way smarter than me designed this format/platform. The other 2(TWO) factors is Safety And MONEY,. and that's what I am trying to separate if that's even possible. Now this new tank I'm getting, I will be installing the Valve and will be regularly inspecting the interior and will know how this tanks full history will be. The Scott SCBA tank I have went into burning buildings and sure it had some abuse including drops and being banged around. And again I have it Idle at this point. But it's a bit of history to me. Thank you again.
SCBA bottles are made from thin aluminum shell wrapped with carbon fiber and resin finish for strength. The lifespan of 15 years is designated by the manufacture, they believe after 15 years these bottles can weaken and no longer be trustworthy to hold pressure. These bottles easily damage, any exposed fibers is considered a weak stop. Thanks for watching... be safe.
Makes sense. Just was curious about the one you had, value wise, incase I were to ever come across a tank with their original address on it@@scubatechkeylargo
If made in the 1990s it not a 72, in the 1990s steel tanks were HP 3500 psi tank. 72 tanks haven't been made since the the 1970s. Curious what you have...
Hello, congratulations on the great technical videos. I would like to purchase an "atomic aquatics - comfort swivel hose - ss - 210cm" for my atomic-aquatics st1. Can you help me? Kind regards from Austria Andreas
I picked up 2 tanks that are filled from a junk removal job … they are sitting in my driveway … and the recyclers won’t take them full. Im scared shitless of these things but I want to get them out of here. They aren’t that old probably 90s or so … I’m going to pick them up off the ground and put them in my shed. Im worried of them exploding.. but I know it’s extremely rare.
Check the born on date, if from 1990s or newer the risk is low. You can empty the air slowly and then they’re nothing more than aluminum container. I recycle condemned tanks, also the valve are yellow brass… more value then aluminum.
@@scubatechkeylargo got them emptied … one had ALOT of air the other almost nothing. I can handle them safely now … and I owe it all to you. Thanks for the confidence booster … they were from mid 90s
No problem, the 300 DIN will fit. However the reverse will not work, a 200 bar DIN into a 300 bar valve. DINs are primary made as 300 bar, Posiedon did make a 200 DIN regulators in the 1970's which some divers still use.
Sand blasting can be harmful because in the process of removing paint some aluminum can also be removed. Zero tolerance for missing aluminum. Best method of removing paint is paint stripper and scrapping lose paint.
I know nothing about SCUBA, but I am a hydraulic technician and wonder if there isn't a middle ground here; love and use your boot, but take it off after use, clean it, and clean your tank before storage.
