Inexpensive air tank

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Centercut

Centercut

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Jun 9, 2017
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Just wanted to mention that you don't need to spend over $550 for a new 4500 psi carbon fiber air tank. I wanted to get a second tank to go along with the AoA tank that I have had for a while. Looking for an alternative, I decided to go the used SCBA route. Purchased a used in good condition Scott SCBA 45 minute air bottle from a reputable eBay dealer. The price was $75 plus $35 shipping, total $110. The bottle has over 2 years service life, and even has a current hydro good for almost two years. In addition, I bought an SCBA rig with gage and hose off eBay for $54. So, for a total of $164, I have an additional air tank that will last me until 12/19. Photo of rig posted above. Links listed below in follow on post.
 
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"shutik"If you do the math, you get $55 a year for a tank.

New tank has 15 years life and you can get it for around $600, which comes out to be $40 a year.

I agree that gauges and hoses are cheaper on eBay, but tanks are cheaper new.
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Not if you have a way to fill the tank yourself and not concerned about the 15 year DOT expiration. BTW if you read the law it says tanks must be decommissioned for "Firefighter" use after 15 years.
 
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I've posted below the links for what I am discussing. Its up to you whether you outlay the big bucks initially or not. If you have a compressor, you could buy a new tank with valve and fill rig from eBay for about $300, but its not DOT certified in the USA. Its CE certified and Dive Shops probably will not fill. But then, if you have a compressor, that doesn't concern you.

Blackdiesel, if you would, please include the link to the DOT law that spells out what you wrote about the 15 years and Firefighter use. I'd like to take that to my Dive Shop and see if they're OK with filling as long as the hydro is current...

Both are from eBay.
Here’s the Scott air tank:

http://r.ebay.com/hjiXHZ

And here’s the SCBA rig:

http://r.ebay.com/8vTD0k

When you buy the air tank ask him to choose one in good shape with a Nov or Dec date and current hydro. For the SCBA rig it will take a couple weeks to get to you. I’ve gotten my bottle charged at a SCUBA shop here in San Diego no problem. They have the CGA 347 to Yoke adapter. Also, if your dive shop that charges to 4500 psi does not have a CGA347 to Yoke adaptor, you may need this:

http://r.ebay.com/Y62wDS

Although, the dive shop I use, San Diego Divers, has a large box full of various adaptors for just about anything. Most reputable dive shops do. And if you fill at a paintball shop you’ll only need a male to male foster fitting such as:

http://r.ebay.com/NlreEK

Let me know how it goes…
 
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Yeah I've got an MSA SCBA the 60 minute variety I got for about 100$ with a fresh hydro test, had about 1.5 years left and after it runs out I'll just get one of those Yong Heng compressors. Should be under 500 for tank and compressor. Paying 6-800 for a new one doesn't make sense to me. I also got one of those "Paintball PCP filling station" off Ebay for about 50$ it has a liquid filled gauge and is very accurate. Can not lose for the price and it seems high quality.
 
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"blackdiesel"
"shutik"If you do the math, you get $55 a year for a tank.

New tank has 15 years life and you can get it for around $600, which comes out to be $40 a year.

I agree that gauges and hoses are cheaper on eBay, but tanks are cheaper new.
Click to expand...
Not if you have a way to fill the tank yourself and not concerned about the 15 year DOT expiration. BTW if you read the law it says tanks must be decommissioned for "Firefighter" use after 15 years.
Click to expand...
Which "law" would you be referencing?
 
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"Centercut"
15caded74614eb6eb693d4dfbbb8e97a.jpg


Just wanted to mention that you don't need to spend over $550 for a new 4500 psi carbon fiber air tank. I wanted to get a second tank to go along with the AoA tank that I have had for a while. Looking for an alternative, I decided to go the used SCBA route. Purchased a used in good condition Scott SCBA 45 minute air bottle from a reputable eBay dealer. The price was $75 plus $35 shipping, total $110. The bottle has over 2 years service life, and even has a current hydro good for almost two years. In addition, I bought an SCBA rig with gage and hose off eBay for $54. So, for a total of $164, I have an additional air tank that will last me until 12/19. Photo of rig posted above. Links listed below in follow on post.

Click to expand...
Centercut, congrats you actually scored a Navy DOT-E 10915 certified tank. Here is the good news, because this DOT 10915 was approved to be part of the SP-16320/15720 MAE life expectancy extension re-certification permit granted to Digital Wave. According to the permit, you can get your tank recertified every 5 years if it passes the MAE (Modal Acoustic Emission) upto a total extension of 15 years beyond the MFG date. If you contact https://www.digitalwavecorp.com/ they can tell you what you need to do and when, and the cost of testing. After it gets tested and passes they will apply a new DOT SP label that represents this tank has passed the new certification requirements.
Congrats.
NOTE TO THE REST OF US- NOT all CF tanks are built under the 10915 certification so not all tanks will be candidates for this special testing. DONT MAKE ASSUMPTIONS that your tank is good beyond 15 years. Check out your DOT SP number.
 
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Give them a call, I did. It was very interesting to see what they are doing in the industry in support of non-destructive testing in the compressed gas industry. They will work with you to get your CF tank certified in the Life Extension program under DOT SP 16320. Which can extend the usable life of the tank up to 15 additional years from the mfg date, provided it still gets MAE testing every 5 years. That could give you 30 years of life out of a CF tank. Not all tanks are going pass for that long, and not all CF tanks are built originally to an approved DOT specification that would be a candidate for this procedure, but your specific tank appears to be a candidate based on the DOT number on the tank.

Go to their website under "More", "Contact", their phone number is at the bottom of the page. 303.790.7559 is the current number as of this writing. Just press "0" when prompted for an extension and tell whomever answers what you are calling about and they will get you hooked up with someone.

 
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Thanks. I looked, and the DOT-E 10945 is also eligible for the same extensions (link for nice bottle below). Here's one I ordered that looks pretty much new, although it was manufactured 4-2004. That will give me three total, two CGA347 Fire Bottles and one regular DIN300 bottle from AoA. If I'm going to drive to get them filled, I might as well bring 3 with me. Thanks again...

http://r.ebay.com/dfwUcj

 
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OK, since some of us like to "do the math", lets take a look at the SCBA Cylinder Life Extension program. US certification (DOT) is important especially if you don't have your own compressor and need to get your cylinder filled at a Dive or Paintball Shop. 

If your cylinder is DOT-E-10915 or 10945, you can get your cylinder extended for 5 more years. I contacted Digital Wave as recommended by FunGun. The cost is $150, plus $25 return shipping, plus lets say $25 to ship it to Colorado. Total cost to extend 5 years is $200. So, $200 divided by 5 equals $40 per year. Not bad, since a new cylinder is approx. $600 and good for 15 years, or $40 per year as pointed out by Shutik. Cylinders can be extended for a total of 15 additional years, 5 years at a time.

Only you can decide. If the cylinder is in really good shape, and there's a good probability that it will pass the test, then it could make sense... 
 
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PPS, don't want to beat a dead horse, but if you're hesitant to buy a used CFFC air cylinder, you could purchase this "new" one from eBay for $225 plus $16 shipping. It was manufactured in 11/2008, so its good for about six more years. It will require a hydro, my dive shop does them for $30. So, six years divided by approx. $270 works out to about $45 per year... OK, enough about high pressure carbon fiber air cylinders.

http://r.ebay.com/D9p7BD

 
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Edited: 9.17.17
These tanks that spysir has shared above, appear to be mfg by Luxfer.( I have owned many of their tanks, good stuff.) According to their website these tanks have been revised not to be used underwater, probably not a problem for us airgunners. Hmmm. Can we figure a way to airgun underwater..?...Hmmm. They also appear to fall under DOT CCFC which will require them to be defined as a 15 year service life cylinder. Just something to think about using the cost per year analysis centercut has mentioned above. Good analysis by the way.

Just another little piece of info on Luxfer CF tanks that might interest some folks. In 2008 Luxfer was granted a DOT Special Permit SP14232 to manufacture tanks buit to ISO11119, an international design standard. These tanks that have SP14232 on their labels, are designed to be extended beyond the 15 year service life, for a service life of 30 years, provided they are tested and validated through their life appropriately. NOT ALL CF TANKS MEET THIS ISO BUILD, so don't try reading anything into this other than what it is. It only applies to these special tanks.
 
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