Securing a tank to a bucket type tank holder tote

I’ve been fortunate to score on a few SCBA’s thanks from fellow member Gerry52 here on AGN. If anyone knows SCBA tanks, Gerry’s the man with his many years of experience with them. 
I typically always dress my tanks out with the AirHog tank cradle and harness kits, but AirHog has been out of them for awhile. I needed something to keep my 45 minute secure and safe so I went with the tried and true bucket cradle. It’s the first time I built one of these, simple enough, but I found the tank still would wiggle around loosely down at the bottom of the bucket, causing a tilt of the tank up top. No go for me.

So having a few different sized buckets laying around I decided to insert a one gallon bucket inside the fiver, but I silicone it in centered inside the five gallon bucket.
Silicone works wonders as an adhesive but I know in time the joining of the buckets will break loose, so what I chose to do to make sure the small gallon bucket(in which an SCBA tank fits inside of nicely, I might add)stayed locked in, centered, and forever secure, I took a small can of low expanding window/door frame spray foam and filled in the outside gap between the one gallon and five gallon bucket. One can filled all the way to the top of the gallon bucket. That smaller buckets not ever going to budge now, lol



Another benefit I see of a bucket within a bucket is it adds strength to the bottom in case the tank were to slip from my hands as I was inserting it thru the hole in the lid.



Benefits of a bucket type tote? I once thought they were the most ridiculous way to contain a tank but now I think different. It is easier to set up tethered to the gun with the tank below the shooting bench, as it gives you more room on the shooting bench, plus the tank being held upright makes it easier to open and close the valve without having to get down any lower than you should.



Bucket tanks are an inexpensive method of securing your SCBA tank. They make taller 7 gallon buckets which would be more ideal, as the carry handle of the bucket would slip over the tanks valve so the handle can be centered with the bucket but I know I can easily bolt on a carry or shoulder strap that’ll do the same thing. 


88 cu ft or 60 minute tanks are I believe 2” longer than the 45 minute tanks, so if I built a bucket tote for one of those I will use the 7 gallon bucket instead. I couldn’t use a 7 gallon bucket on this 45 min tank as the circumference for the lid hole cut out would have fallen up higher as it tapered towards the valve or neck of the tank. It would’ve looked cleaner when done but removing the tank wouldn’t be a slip in/out deal anymore- I’d have to remove the lid in order to get the tank out. It’s best if the lid remained secure to the bucket and the tank just slipped in/out for the times of topping off the tank.

Anyway, here are the pics-

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Im going to secure that lid from spinning off by throwing in a couple of self tapping screws into the sides of the lid.
 
That nifty Angie!



However I do prefer the horizontal position so I can leave it on the shooting bench clipped in to my gun for quick fill. 
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Yes,sir, Mr. Qball, and your method is how I normally have done it in the past. Now I have so much more room on my shooting bench with this bucket method. In time when Airhog restocks up on their cradle and harness kit I’ll get that for this tank, but for now this bucket method is doing well. 

When working on a pcp and I have my table covered in parts, I’ll be using this bucket method when I’m setting reg pressures with my Huma reg tester. Definitely more convenient.

I’ve been eyeing that new Regboy tethering regulator from Air Tanks Plus. If I had one of those, for sure all my tethering will be from this bucket set up as it puts the tank valve along with Regboy at the perfect height to manipulate the tanks valve along with a perfect view of Regboy’s reg pressure set gage.