CO2 Tanks

[AzNxi3oi]

umm..i was wonderin..when do you know that your co2 tanks is not usable anymore?....mines have scratches on em now...theres one taht u can see white in it..probably the aluminum can...is that still okay?...

[Magnus55]

Usually the guys at the fill stations can tell you. But rule of thumb, it's more a matter of personal safety. If you have a big ding in your tank maybe you'd be a bit more inclined to get a replacement tank, where as someone a little more reckless might not replace it at all until it explodes. :P

[Ebonclaw]

I think your tanks are OK. Steel nitro tanks are allowed to have scratches that fiber wraps cannot and stil pass hydro..I'd assume a Co2 cylinder with a few scratches on is perfectly fine, and if the scratches are only on the balck paint and that's why you can see the cylinder, I'd say you're probably fine....but if it's dented at all or the scratch is obviously deep, a new Co2 tank is only $20 for a 16 oz stub.
A rule of thumb I use is I try to imagine the kind of scratch taking a pushpin and dragging it down the tank's side with a light amount of pressure would make. If it's much worse than that, then I'd get a new tank. If you did that to a fiber wrap, it would fail, and if you did it to a steel tank it would pass, so that's about the kind of accpetance you're looking for.
If you have ANY questions AT ALL after this post, drop by a local welding shop and just ask the store owner if he can look at it for like 5 seconds at the scratches you have in question...they know what is acceptable and what isn't, and it won't cost you anything....you may want to give them a big shiny nickel for the 30 seconds they might need to look at it.
I can't see the tank, so a quick visual from someone like a welding shop owner would give you a reliable testimony if the scratch is acceptable, but it sounds like it's probably ok. Still, point out the scratches to your field owner before having it filled, as well as the wedlign shop owner, and anyone else who fills your tank. If one person digresses, pitch it. Empty the air, remove tha valve it you want to save it, perhaps the burst disc, and pitch the cylinder after rendering it unfillable. It's only $20...but it could end up costing you and arm and a leg. Literally.

[-=ReD-hAzE=-]

Originally posted by Ebonclaw
you may want to give them a big shiny nickel for the 30 seconds they might need to look at it.

for once... don't listen to him about that...

[Ebonclaw]

Yeah....the big shiny nickel could buy you a gumball somewhere along the way to the field.

Like I said, just make sure that they inspect what you have in question.

I guess if you really wanted you could hydrotest it..ya gotta do it anyway every 5 years (yes, Co2 tanks have to be hydrod every 5 years).....but it would cost you less if you just bought a new tank.

[Denwad]

How does hydro testing work? I mean, what do they do to the tank?:confused:

[Jro]

when it blows up

[liquid ice]

when i take the tank off my gun..co2 sprays everywhere, is this suposed to happen?? my friend said somthing about o rings

[Magnus55]

There's co2 in the gun, so yeah it happens, but it's not coming out of your tank. It's pushing back out from the internals of your gun. It does weaken your O-rings, so you might want to shoot out the excess co2 before fully unscrewing your tank. Heres what you do:

Unscrew your tank 360 degrees so it is still attached to your gun but the CO2 is no longer feeding into it. (theres no way to really tell, but 360 is usually enough) Fire off a few shots until your gun starts to stutter and sounds like it is running out of air. Then unscrew the tank all the way. There should be a light "psssht" sound, but it'll be a lot less CO2 coming out and is much better on your O-rings. :)