Craig's list find

I just got back from checking out 2 CO2 tanks described as "one small and one medium, 5 and 10 lbs, I think"

Turned out to be a 5 and 20 lbs tank and the 5 was mostly full.

I paid 30 bucks for both.

The 20 LB one looks older. How can I tell if they need a hydro test or not? If they do what does that involve?

For $30 I could not leave them there.

the date will be stamped at the top. It should be something like 12*08 (that is what mine says) and that is the date it was manufactured.

If it has been tested previously, it should have a sticker, with an expiration date.

"By law, all compressed air tanks must have the month and year they were created. On the top of your air tank you'll see a series of numbers, and you'll see a series on there that have a number set that should look like 00@00 or similar. This is the 'born on' date of your air tank. Depending on when your tank was created, you'll need to get it tested periodically.

METAL Co2 tanks need to be tested every 5 years. If your tank is under 2 inches in diameter and less than 2 feet in lenght, then you do not need to get it checked. So 12 and 20 ounce tanks WILL need to be tested every 5 years."

This tank was botn in 11/05 and and will not need to be tested until the end of 2010


Sticker showing a tank that has been tested. Good for 5 years from the date on the sticker. If the sticker is removed, the born on date must be observed, and a new test will be required.

That's a sweet deal for those tanks.

There should be an inspection date stamped into the metal up near the top of the bottle. If you can't decipher all the crap, take it to your local oxygen/welding shop where you get them filled, and they'll be able to tell you.

As for what it means if it's expired, well, that all depends on what the refiller's policy is. I got an expired tank as part of a craigslist haul once. My particular welding place actually refills your own tank and hands it back to you (some places do exchanges), so they could not legally fill this one, and they didn't do onsite testing there (some places do), so they had to send it to Richmond, which took about 3 or 4 weeks and cost ~$20.

So, just ask your local place what their policy is. They might just take that one off your hands and hand you an inspected, filled one...or they might say that you need it inspected...or they might inspect it for you...just ask.