# Dive Shop?



## SHunter (Jun 19, 2009)

What do you guys do with old aluminum 80s that can't be stat tested or refilled? Do you recycle them some place? Or, toss?


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## FelixH (Sep 28, 2007)

Just a guess, but maybe you could get some money for them as scrap/recyclable.
There's a good bit of AL in a scuba tank... if I remember correctly, there's about 30 pounds of AL in a standard 80cf tank.


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## SHunter (Jun 19, 2009)

Aren't there some aluminum tanks in the 1980s that have defects so they can't be filled? I would rather recycle them than put in the garbage. Thanks for that idea.


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## JHL (Nov 17, 2009)

I dont know what they give for them, but if its not much I will match the recycling place. They serve a lot of purposes at my apartment in Tallahassee, from nightstands and coffee tables, to trash cans and nail hoists. Me and my roommate are always building different stuff out of them.


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## Firefishvideo (Jul 1, 2010)

Check with the guys at MBT Divers mbtdivers.com .....If the manufacture hydro date is before 1986 it may be made of an inferior alloy...which is prone to failure. This all depends on the brand. These tanks cannot be hydro tested again and should not be filled.....because of death and explosions and all that.

That said they can make some interesting decorations, if you can work with them....they are THICK aluminum.

In order to get anything for them at the scrap yard, you are required to cut them in half.. which unless you have a metal cutting band saw -can be dangerous....and more trouble than it's worth.
Good Luck....hopefully yours isn't one of the bad ones.


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## Bourbon Bubbles (Jan 27, 2008)

If you had enough bottles, you could bring up north. Some states do not have that regulation on bottles. I have brought several to Michigan and all have hydro'd. It all depends on what company who have to deal with. It's all about insurance regulations.


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## Firefishvideo (Jul 1, 2010)

Bourbon Bubbles said:


> If you had enough bottles, you could bring up north. Some states do not have that regulation on bottles. I have brought several to Michigan and all have hydro'd. It all depends on what company who have to deal with. It's all about insurance regulations.


 It's acually about saving lives. The department of Tranportation does not allow these bottle to be certified because of the danger of failure.

I regularly fill bottles and I wouldn't fill one because a $140 bottle isn't worth risking MY life or the Lives of OTHERS.

Here is a link to just one of the rescent deaths related to these tanks.
Please don't fill these tanks.

CDNN :: Scuba Diving Accident - Scuba Tank Explosion Kills One, Injures Three in Florida


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## SHunter (Jun 19, 2009)

Firefish -that is exactly what I want to avoid. I read about a person severely injured over in Lake City by one exploding. I would not want that on my conscience. Several years back a company called Luxom (I think?) had a deal where you could turn them in an get a rebate on a new tank. When I found out this, the deal had passed. So I was trying to find what others were doing with the tanks.


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## Firefishvideo (Jul 1, 2010)

I was just corrected by one more knowlegable than I ...that the DOT has not ruled on this, but all the same...They have hurt and killed people. I just wanted to point out to the uninitiated that this is not a money scam and that they should not be angry with the people of the dive industry for protecting the lives of their employees.
If you have any doubts, just check the hydro dates next time you rent a tank...the shops have had to spend their own money to replace their tanks too.


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