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Why Is It Important To Get Your Cylinders Inspected?

Equipment AllenM COMMENTS28 Sep, 2016

So why is it so important to have cylinders inspected?

Well, for starters, to save your air fillers life! But honestly, the reason we inspect tanks yearly, is due to the fact we can't always see what's going on inside of a tank. Every time I fill a tank, I am risking my life and anyone else that is near. A while back, a cylinder manufacturer used sub par materials and it led to a few stress load cracks. When they were not caughta couple of those tanks exploded and cost people their lives. 

I have personally been inspecting tanks for just a couple of months now and you would not believe what I have seen inside of some tanks. Some I have had to spend little time on while others I have spent 10-15 minutes cleaning up. 

So what do we look for when we inspect tanks? 

  1. We look at the outer layer of the tank for pitting, heat damage, painting, etc.
  2. We check the roundness of the tank checking for bulges and other things.
  3. We inspect the inner wall and crown for pitting, rust and particles, as well as the threads for cracking.
  4. We also smell your air and check for odors. 

 

Why do we hydro tanks?

We hydro statically test tanks every 5 years to make sure they are not out of specification for elasticity or expansion. I know you're probably asking what did he just say? Well simply put, every time we fill your tank and you empty it, it goes through expansion and contraction, so over time the alloys used will loose some it's fibers that hold it together. So over time with the expansion and contraction, the fibers breakdown. This cannot be seen without tank under water pressure. We hold that pressure for 32 seconds and tp see how much water the tank pushes out. This is expansion. Then we let the air out and see how much water it takes back, this is elasticity. When your tank gets weak at the seams, we can only visually see this with the help of water.

 

Blog Written by David Wagner PSI Inspector #28530 For Aquatic Dreams Scuba Center.


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