condemned tank

[john j]

I have a suggestion for you that may allow you to salvage that tank.

Assuming that when the dive shop "condemed" your tank, they did not stamp "X's" across the serial number on the top of the tank, you can do what I describe below. If they did stamp "X's" or otherwise destroy your tank, then you can request that they reimburse you. It is technically illegal for them to deface or destroy your tank without your permission because it is your property and they do not have the right to damage or destroy it. They can refuse to fill it, or they can claim it is "condemed" but they cannot destroy or deface it.

Standard steel and aluminum tanks have a small amount of "extra" thickness, especially at the base of the tank where the wall thickness is high relative to the sides. If the pitting is at the bottom of the tank, it may be "repairable". You should take the tank to a place called All Safe in Minneapolis. Don't go through a dive shop-take it there yourself.



Tell them the situation and request for them to do the following things, in this order:

1) Internal shot blast
2) Hydrostatic test
3) Visual inspection

If the internal corrosion or pitting is not too deep, the internal shot blast will remove the corrosion and make the inside look like new. The shot blasting actually makes the cylinder walls very slightly thinner (very very slightly). It's kind of like sand blasting the inside of the tank. Tank tumbling (like dive shops do) is nowhere near as agressive as shot blasting, so I wouldn't waste my money on that. After this is done, the tank should have a hydro test. If it passes the hydro, have them do the visual test. If it passes that, you have your tank again, fully legal and the whole works.

The shot blast and hydro will probably cost a total of $25 or so (a rough guess), so if the tank doesn't pass, you'd be out $25. Well worth the gamble in my opinion.

I've had some very nasty looking steel tanks and had this done in the past and they passed hydro and visual.

If you go this route, let us know how it turns out.