What to look for in a used scuba tank?
Knowing Jack Squat about the world of scuba tanks, what does one need to watch out for before diving into it? So far I have checked CL and see a lot of scuba gear from divers and scuba tanks from paint ball guys for sale. I know the tanks need to inspected but not 100% sure what the regs are on this. On the flip side should a guy just go new and avoid the potential pitfalls? Right now I am ruling out carbon fiber purely due to $.
All Replies
Don’t even consider a scuba tank.
You only get two or three fills from a scuba tank.
I had 2 that I cascaded and I was constantly driving 40 miles round trip to the dive shop.
They are heavy and the PSI lasts about as long as a fart in a wind storm.
Get a used scba tank and find a place to fill it. Then start the budget working towards a Shoebox.
You will gain a freedom with a scba tank and a Shoebox that is both economical and time saving far beyond the monetary output you scarifice to get it.
Regards,
Roachcreek
I just got one from Craigslist for $60. It came with the regulator. I sold the regulator on Ebay for $130. I see them all the time on Craigslist. People are hurting for money. This guy diddnt know what he had in his hands. After the inspection and fill, I have right at $100 in it. After selling the regulator, I am up $30 😀
Thanks all for the responses! I appreciate the advice.
Tracyp has great advice. The extra psi and cu ft go a long way. Your gun max fill pressure will be 2400-2600psi. Your gun tank has headroom to 3000psi. Remember all unregulated guns suffer valve lock when the pressure is higher than the springs like.
Modern aluminum tanks have a near perfect safety record. During my research the only failures occur when people change the burst discs and over fill the tank for extreme diving nut jobs.
Remember to balance your needs vs tank size:
Long range or high power shooting: get tracyp’s suggestion. Tank weight is heavy but a great price point and tons of air.
Plinking in back yard and portability of air source: get a 30 cu ft pony bottle, as 30 yard plinking only needs 1500psi gun start pressure. Tank weighs nest to nothing. But your refill station should be close for easy access to top offs. http://www.diversdirect.com/scuba-diving/catalina-30-cu-ft-pony-tank/
Long range, high power, and portability: Carbon fiber tank. Not cheap and not all refill stations support that pressure so check your local shops before you buy.
AF guns are 490cc… Try this refill calculator…
http://www.airgunsofarizona.com/Tanks/FillCalc.html
Another benefit of a tank vs a pump, other than effortless and quick refills, is dry air. There is very little moisture in a scuba tank refill because its a high quality air source.
If you decide you want to go new, after doing quite a bit of shopping around I bought this one. Its a 100CF 3300 PSI rated Aluminum tank with a K valve for $240 including shipping. The extra 20CF and 300 PSI make a big difference in how many times you can fill your rifle between trips to the SCUBA shop. With a new tank you won’t have to have it hydro tested for 5 years. Most dive shops can do the Vis inspection which is less than $20. So, for about $300 including the AF fill adapter you can have everything you need and its brand new. I recommend the fill adapter that R&L builds and sells over the AF brand adapter. Its the same price, you can convert it to DIN later if you need to and the guage isn’t upside down 🙂
Hope that helps. Link to the tank and valve is:
http://www.houseofscuba.com/tanks/tank19.html
The link to the R&L fill adapter is:
http://www.rlairgunsupply.com/airgun-accessories/airforce-scuba-refill-clamp-with-gauge/
Good luck!
Most reputable dive shops won’t refill a tank if it looks sketchy. The same can probably be said for paintballers, however paintball tanks are set for CO2 and will usually regulate output to 800 PSI. Here in the Oklahoma area you need to have a life support card or the dive shops won’t refill your tanks.
If you get Carbon Fiber you only get 15 years use after they’re manufactured. Once they’re past that under DOT regulations you can’t refill carbon fiber. Aluminum and steel dive tanks are good forever as long as they pass a visual inspection yearly and hydrostatic testing every 5 years.
The above regulations only apply if the cylinder you’re filling is larger than 2″ diameter. Below that there are no regulations that I know of.
I would buy from a paintballer before I would buy from a diver. Divers tanks have been in the ocean and a paintballers most likely has been dry it’s whole life. Tanks can carode from being submerged.
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SCBA is 4500psi like the carbon tank I was mentioning. If you have a long drive then you can cascade a cheap 3000psi scuba tank for initial fill and your 4500psi SCBA for top off to your desired pressure.
I am lucky that my dive shop is a 10 minute round trip. Plus I use plinking pressure 95% of the time.