Not to play the Devils Advocate but????

[DonTMN]

With all the talk about the Do-It-Yourself filling of air tanks are we increasing the potential for an catastrophic failure???
I am not trying to be negative or create waves but just asking.  With folks finding inexpensive HPA compressors and alternatives for filling their own tanks I would think that this is going to increase the chances of someone having a tank rupture.  Let me explain:

Currently you need to have High Pressure tanks (aka: scuba tanks) Visually inspected ever year and hydro tested every 5 years, or that is my understanding.  This is to make sure there are no issues  in the tank that could cause a failure that would cause injury or death.  When folks start filling their own tanks you have the potential of removing that safety step.  Because you are filling your own tanks you do not have a third party saying "I cannot fill the tank until it is inspected &/or Hydro Tested".

For years air guns in the USA have pretty much stayed under the radar as far as the "Anti's" are concerned.  I guess my question is are we headed down a path that might bring this sport unwanted advertising?  I would think this would be the result if a tank were to rupture when someone was filling it at an event or if a number of folks were to be severely injured by a tank failing while being filled and it comes to light the tank is out of date...

Don't get me wrong I don't like having to shell out the extra $$ for the annual inspections or the hydro every 5 years but I also don't want to be the poster boy for what happens when you don't do it either.....  Not to mention the liabilitiy if someone else were to get hurt...

Just a thought and curious what others think.  

DonTMN

[MartinDWhite]

Currently the 'requirement' for inspection is not a legal requirement, it is a self regulated industry. People just need to be responsible for themselves. Also the scuba tanks that need inspection are taken in truck beds to rivers and dunked underwater and hit on the sides of boats and generally beat up. The tanks I use sit in an temperature controlled closet and only move to get filled and go shooting (where they sit in a padded cradle). I think my tanks can go a little longer between inspections. I suspect people can be responsible if educated. Currently ANY looking into PCPs on ANY of the websites I have seen you quickly see warning about being careful with HPA....that is what we need to keep going with.  

Even with scuba inspections there are still quite a few reports of people getting hurt when tanks do rupture. It is just dangerous, we have to accept that and keep informing others.

 Martin D. White

[Rickster]

I haven't seen any affordable, in production compressor, that is intended for filing scuba tanks.
Scuba tank ruptures are very rare, certified or not.
Theres plenty of other ways someone can hurt or kill themselves.
Letting a tank expire doesn't make it dangerous, it just means a dive shop can't legally fill it.
What would be dangerous and risky? Filling a tank by yourself that has failed inspection or testing!

Other wise I think its a non-issue.

[DonTMN]

Guess its a non-issue then.  

I understand that out of date tanks are not necessarily a risk, heck just bought two for $100 for the pair with a 1995 hydro date from a diver that kept them sealed and just hasn't dived since then.  Place that did the hydro said they looked great and the shop that did the physical inspeciton said the same.

Not being an expert in the field of HPA and considering they do require the inspections & Hydro's here to get them filled I figured there must be a logical reason.  Evidently not.  The guy the did the hydro said he seldom sees one fail so I guess  I will withdraw the question...  

DonTMN

[DougT]

As previously mentioned, SCUBA and SCBA tanks are required to be hydro tested every 5 years, with the visual being a voluntary thing.

PB tanks only have to be hydro tested every 5 years as well, with never a mention of a visual.  A thorough visual inspection frequently would be wise using SCUBA information on what to look for.  I personally treat my PB tanks like a baby in a controlled environment so they should be good for a long time.  

Federal regulations require hydro testing on any high pressure vessel over 2" diameter.  That's why the 22ci and 13ci HPA tanks don't have hydro inspections.  They also limit high pressure vessels being transported on roads to 200? BAR.  

[kiwi]

Hi

DonTMN makes a VERY good point...

If a tank dose not get tested   there is a point
where that/ any tanks service life will
exspire....
It don't matter how well yer treat a tank
used in salt water or not...
At some point it will become unsafe & if a hydro
test isn't done to pick it up...BANG sooner of later..

I took my tank in for a test 18 months ago...Went back
to pick it up..And it had a 10mm hole drilled in it..
Law here if it fails its got to be made unuseable...

The guy showed me the prob...Had cracks around the neck
where the valve screwed in....If that had let go it would
 have had some FPE...enough to kill.....


So people filling tanks at home is a accident waiting to happen..

Just a foot note...I got 20+ years of diveing from my tank
so I couldn't complain to much...think I got my moneys worth
out of it...did get the valve back...

[Gene_SC]

I agree with you Peter to a certain point. I think it is great that the industry is self regulated and not government regulated. I take my tanks for visual and will take them in for the hydro when the time expires. Just a bit of common sense goes a long ways when handleing high pressure air or liquids.

On the other hand I would feel secure enough to fill my 80cu, 3000psi tanks to 3400 psi if I had my own compressor. I feel that those tanks are safe enough to give us another 400 psi without problems as long as they get there regular inspections and hydro's.  JMTCW

[HNT5]

I guess it could depend on how much safety factor is designed into the tank. The tank can and will fail from repeated stretching of the metal from filling. I believe the industry standard for testing here is using the 5/3 for the Maximun Working Pressure (MWP). So a 3000 tank should be able to handle 5000 psi. Repeated over filling would/could cause fatigue in the tank material (metal, aluminum c/f) and cause a failure. I don't know if there are a lot of compressors out there, generally available to the home airgunner, that would pump to that pressure level. Greg Davis (who tunes Benji Marauders etc) was quoted as saying that Crosman tested the Marauder air tube to 7500+ psi.  The hydro/visual inspections are designed to identify those tanks that are wearing out and take them out of service. But if you don't test, or don't care that it failed inspection, you may have a failure.
But all said it only takes one less than intelligent person to do something stupid/unsafe one time and the entire sport/hobby may suffer.  Maybe people will be forced to use only hand pumps to fill their guns.

Nathan