SCBA Tank Questions

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FIDI_G

FIDI_G

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Feb 1, 2023
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Atlanta GA
Im considering a used SCBA (not SCUBA) tank to fill my 250bar 3625PSI PCP Tank For an FX impact PCP rifle. The gun uses a foster style connector.

Any recomendations are gotchas to look out for when buying a used scba tank

I found this used just curious if this is using a fosters connector? What if anything would have to be done to the SCBA bottle to make it work for a PCP filling station.

Would something like this work?

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wolfmangreg said:
Many do, but always best to call & confirm they can/will fill to 4500 psi. Some can't or won't fill past 3000, 4200, etc.
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My dive shop charges extra to fill up to 4400psi. $17 for up to 3000 $25 for 4400 if I remember correctly. They will also have to check and possibly recerify the tank at about $50. My gun is 250bar or around 3600psi.
 
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MACTEN said:
What you see on the end appears to be a dedicated CGA 347 for a breathing air unit. You need something like this to go to you 8mm foster. Amazon Link You also want to check the condition inside and out, see it you can make out dates of MFG and last hydro if you can. And make sure it's 4500 psi instead of 2216 psi.
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Thanks for the info I will ask. What about an air / water separator? Is it necessory?

Any idea how long bottles are certified for?
 
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FIDI_G said:
My dive shop charges extra to fill up to 4400psi. $17 for up to 3000 $25 for 4400 if I remember correctly. They will also have to check and possibly recerify the tank at about $50. My gun is 250bar or around 3600psi.
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I thought my dive shop was expensive at $10 a fill because my paintball shop does it for $5. Guess it's good to live right by the beach. I'd never pay $25.
 
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FIDI_G said:
Thanks for the info I will ask. What about an air / water separator? Is it necessory?

Any idea how long bottles are certified for?
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If you are getting the tank filled at a dive shop or fire department you do not need to worry about water/oil separator. You will need it if you are filling it yourself using your own compressor such as the yong heng. High end compressors have them built into the system. Bottles usually have a 15 year "life". This generally don't matter if you are filing yourself but does matter if you're getting them filled at a shop. Most have a 5 year hydro test. If you're going to purchase used try to get one that still has life left as in still within the 15 year if you want to fill it somewhere.
 
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MACTEN said:
What you see on the end appears to be a dedicated CGA 347 for a breathing air unit. You need something like this to go to you 8mm foster. Amazon Link You also want to check the condition inside and out, see it you can make out dates of MFG and last hydro if you can. And make sure it's 4500 psi instead of 2216 psi.
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@MACTEN
I found this bottle for $100 I asked him if he knows wether its 2016or 4500 PSI. Is there a sticker on the bottle that would indicate the certification expiration?

I dont plan on investing in a compressor anytime soon.

Also based on the size of the tank how many refills could I expect to get? How low should I go before I should considef refilling?

Sorry for all the nood questions. Im extremely new to the PCP world. Just trying to figure everything out before I start buying everything.

What would one expect to pay for a used SCBA tank? Whats the typical range?
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I would be surprised if that was a 4500 psi tank. You want to get the carbon fiber 4500 or higher PSI per the other posts. If I am reading the date right, 11 * 99, it is also 23+ years old which means if it is aluminum, it can't be recertified / hydro tested even if you wanted to. I wouldn't use a 23 year old aluminum tank at all even if it were given to me. If it is steel, which is very unlikely for an SCBA tank (TOO HEAVY), there is no expiration date, they just needs to be hydro tested. My local welding shop has oxygen and acetylene bottles with swastikas on them dated 1942 and they are still good and hydro'd within a year or two. Many newer carbon fiber SCBA tanks are engineered to be used for 30 years. The government set the use range for carbon fiber tanks to 15, though they feds are allowing recertification of CF tanks older than 15.

I got a 60 minute / 88 cubic foot Scott SCBA tank on eBay for $87. It was in good condition with no damage on the outside and like new inside. Set some alerts on eBay if you can't find one immediately. Ask them to inspect the inside before they ship it. If it has any corrosion inside don't buy it.

I don't pay to fill for several reasons but one of the main ones was:

$50 Hydro Test plus 12 fills at $15.42 each = a brand new Yong Heng compressor.

12 fills would last me about 3 months.
 
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Screenshot_20230212-155757.png

Geezerhood said:
$50 Hydro Test plus 12 fills at $15.42 each = a brand new Yong Heng compressor.

12 fills would last me about 3 months.
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Can you Give me a reference or rough breakdow. Roughly How many pellets is that and how many hours per day / week are you shooting. I dont think ill be needing anywhere near that much. How many shots are you getting out of one fill?
 
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That looks like an aluminum tank and is likely 3000 psi.. You can look for 4500 psi scba tank on ebay.. usually 45 or 60 minutes tanks.. All of those I mention should work with the Amazon link I gave you. As for shots per fill etc.. All these things are variable for the type and pressure / output / caliber etc etc of the pcp you are using so it's impossible to calculate without that information. On second look.. That appears to be a 2216 scba tank = almost worthless as even the puniest pcp's need 2900 psi to give enough shots to be worth it.
 
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timmah said:
What are the fill options for SCBA (outside of some handshake deal with your local fire station)? Do dive shops fill SCBA tanks?
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A lot of paintball shops can fill to 4500 psi these days. My shop does require me to leave it for a day or two since my 74cu tank is a lot bigger than their usual paintball tanks.

FIDI_G said:
Thanks for the info I will ask. What about an air / water separator? Is it necessory?

Any idea how long bottles are certified for?
Click to expand...

Carbon bottles have a 15 year life span and need to be hydro tested every 5 years. A lot of the cheap SCBA bottles are cheap because they're either close to their hydro date or close to expiration.
 
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UCChris said:
Carbon bottles have a 15 year life span and need to be hydro tested every 5 years. A lot of the cheap SCBA bottles are cheap because they're either close to their hydro date or close to expiration.
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And even though they can be perfectly safe to use as most of us have seen.. That's exactly why they are cheap. Supposed to be destroyed by the entity after the 15 years. Silly but true.
 
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FIDI_G said:
Can you Give me a reference or rough breakdown. Roughly How many pellets is that and how many hours per day / week are you shooting. I dont think ill be needing anywhere near that much. How many shots are you getting out of one fill?
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You likely won't use anywhere near that much air with your FX only, but keep an eye on that FX. They tend to bring home lots of friends. I am shooting every day, several guns / day. You can calculate how many fills you can get with any particular tank or gun using this calculator.


All you will need is this information about your gun and the tank in question. You probably won't be filling both to max pressure every time, but you can use that to get the "best" possible numbers.

Tank Capacitycu. ft.
Tank Pressurepsi
Fill Airgun To This Pressure...psi
Refill Airgun At This Pressure...psi
Airgun Cylinder Has This Volume...cc
 
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Here’s a partial break down of tank info on my Air Venturi 74cf label. And a Luxfer scuba tank or typical aluminum tank. Carbon fibers aren’t stamped because the aluminum liner is covered with carbon fiber and resin.
The AV tank label shows 2/21 as manufacturing date. It was manufactured overseas so the size is listed as 6.8L, which is 6.8 litres which equates to U.S. size 74 cubic feet. SP 310 bar / 4500 psi is static or service pressure.TP 517 bar / 7500 psi is Test Pressure for hydro. 7/8-14 UNF2B is the thread size in the tank neck.
On the blue aluminum tank photo the arrow is pointing to the fill pressure (3000psi). The red circled numbers are the manufacture date (05/08). Those are the two main things of interest on an aluminum type tank.
On both tanks, if a re-hydro test is done the tank MUST be marked per DOT rules. On aluminum tanks it is stamped into the tank, usually near the original or most recent hydro. SCBA’s when re-hydro tested will have a label clear epoxied onto the tank near the original label.
The Honeywell site says SCBA’s require re-hydro every three years, the MSA site says five years. SCBA service life for the most part is 15 years from manufacture date. Scott makes a tank called EL that is extended life which is thirty years. Europe I’ve heard allows thirty years service life on SCBA’s.
You would need to check with your local DOT re-tester to see what is required.

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Look at P.A. or Utah Air guns they have new 74 cu. ft. tanks for $389.00 date of manuf. 2020 so in 2 years it will need a hydro test then 5 years later another hydro. So you still have a new tank for 12 more years with no worries. best bang for the buck starting out. Btw mine came yesterday :) Good luck
 
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