Fixing some threads on an SCBA tank

 

Hey y'all! 

I recently had to repair some threads on an SCBA that was damaged. Thought I'd share the process I used. FYI - You'll notice a quick connect nipple on this bottle. If you see this on an SCBA bottle, it means there's a one way valve inside the valve assembly. The threaded area on these types of valves is for FILLING ONLY! In order to use this as a supply bottle you'd have to buy a pretty expensive adaptor. 

Here's where things started. A large amount of damage to the first thread and a little damage to the 2nd. 

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I don't know how this damage happened and, it's an interesting impact point. There's no other scuffs on the bottle that would seem to be related to this. It's like it was hit "here" and only here. Oh well! Not my problem. I just want to fix it! 

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Did you know there was such a thing as a thread file? I never knew until a few years ago. They're one of those rarely used tools that can be REALLY handy in certain situations! 

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Pretty simple.. Find the right thread pitch line up at the same angle and use them just like a regular file. Just be sure to keep things straight. 
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It took me quite a while, working slowly. I ended up having to smack a screwdriver against the bent threads to help bend them back a little before going back to filing. I also filed down the lead-in threads around the damaged area. I scraped a little material out from in between the threads with a mini screwdriver and cleaned up the results with a wire brush. 

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It took a few trials with the CGA-347 fitting and then back to scraping/filing to finish the job. There was a lot of build up between the threads and the 2nd thread was bent more than it looked like in the picture. 

In the end, it worked out well. It's not pretty to look at but, it's functional again and the valve assembly won't have to be replaced!

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Here's all the tools I ended up using. 

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Happy Shooting! 

Tom