Some recent SCBA Tank ebay finds if anyone is interested as of July 18-2023

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Geezerhood

Geezerhood

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Aug 16, 2022
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Southern, Utah, USA
Recent finds on ebay if anyone is looking for an SCBA at a decent price. I ended up getting what I needed from my search this week and thought I would share some of the finds with the folks here. There are not my listings.....


July 18, 2023 - Sperian 45 min 4500 PSI 7/15 build date. $175 shipped.

July 18, 2024 - Interspiro 45 Minute 4500 PSI 2014 build date $160 shipped.

July 16, 2023 - NEW old stock, 3M Scott Safety SCBA Air Cylinder W/Valve 4500 psi 30 min Manufacture Date 10/2021 - Commercial refill service life till 10/2036. It was listed previously with zero bids so you might win it for the $400 minimum bid. The $1K buy it now is way to high for my liking.

July 10, 2023 - Interspiro 45 Minute SCBA - 2014 dated - 2019 Hydro One sold for $114 shipped so you might get one close to that if you make an offer. Not too bad of a price for a current hydro and 8 or 9 years remaining on the DOT service life.
 
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rodm1 said:
How dues hydro work on these do you get 10 years from manufacture date then every 5 years after? Is there a end of life date on any tank even if good hydro? What valve is best to get on these is there a standard valve type what kind of hose is needed to connect to airgun?
Click to expand...

I am pretty sure that a Hydro test in the USA is good for 5 years from the date of the test. DOT currently gives a 15 year life on carbon fiber tanks, but the design life for most of the 4500 PSI to 5800 PSI carbon fiber tanks is 30 years. We may see longer service life of 30 years from the DOT on new production scba carbon fiber as they are allowing expired tanks to be recertified for another 15 years. Since nothing is done to the tanks other than testing, logic would indicate a new tank should be given a 30 year life by the DOT with 5 year Hydros, but who knows if that will ever happen.

I fill my own tanks, so I have no desire for a current hydro test or a younger than 15 year old tank. I plan to use my carbon fiber tanks for 30 years from the manufacture date, doing my own physical inspection of the inside (1080p endoscope camera) and an inspection with a magnifier of the outside of the tank every 2-5 years. I don't like to pay more than $50 for a 30 minute SCBA that has about 10 years left on the 30 year design life, a bit more for larger tanks or tanks with more than 10 years out of the 30 remaining.

You can often get a fill station that screws directly on the SCBA vavle's CGA374 connector for less than a fill station that replaces the SCBA valve assembly. I have one of these from ebay that cost me $37, that has been working flawlessly for almost a year. I replaced the whip with a male QD connector and added a female QD connector to the other end of the whip to match my existing compressor and gun filling setups and to make it easier to travel with in a backpack. I have a one way female to male QD connector that I attach to the tank when filling it from the compressor, just in case something happens between the tank and the compressor that would cause my newly filled tank to empty itself rapidly, wasting a lot of time. You can also buy an SCBA tank without a valve and get a fill station that screws directly into the tank, but be sure to deduct at least $25 off the price of the tank vs one with a valve.

1689531766879.jpeg


This type of valve / fill station will screw directly onto an empty SCBA tank with no factory valve on it, but they cost $20 to $40 more than the one above. I think most SCBA tanks have 7/8"-14 UNF threads, sometimes referred to as 0.875"-14 UNF but don't take my word for it. Bes sure that it matches the threads on your tank. From what I have read on the forums, the valves in these fill stations are not that robust. The valve on the Scott SCBA tanks is built extremely well. The valve on the Inspiro tanks has a very thin threaded portion where the knob attaches, almost half the thickness of the one on the Scott and is much more prone to bending if knocked over by you or in the past by a fire figher.

1689532557862.jpeg


If I wanted the best tank money could buy and wanted one that I could have filled at a commercial location, I would avoid the Chinese made tanks and get a US made SCBA either new or used with quite a few years left on it. I have seen new, old stock Scott tanks with 10 years remaining on their service life for about the same price as a new Chinese tank. This one on ebay has 8 years remaining on its service life. I would want to pay about $400 for it.
 
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This is to my current interests...

i'm looking at picking up a small tank setup and am currently looking at the

Air Venturi Mini Wingman, 100 cu in PCP tank from Pyramid air for 300 or​

the Guppy from TopGun Airguns for 389 - 509 depending on the options.

I don't want to hijack this thread but have some questions. Would it be better to start a new thread or can I ask them here?

Thx
 
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Franklin101 said:
This is to my current interests...

i'm looking at picking up a small tank setup and am currently looking at the

Air Venturi Mini Wingman, 100 cu in PCP tank from Pyramid air for 300 or​

the Guppy from TopGun Airguns for 389 - 509 depending on the options.

I don't want to hijack this thread but have some questions. Would it be better to start a new thread or can I ask them here?

Thx
Click to expand...

Ask away Franklin101! I am sure others will be able to answer your questions if I am not able to.
 
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Thx....
First the Guppy has a base price that is about $80.00 more than the wingman....I can see that the guppy has a liquid filled gauge on it. Is the liquid filled gauge worth the extra money? Why is a liquid filled gauge better than a non liquid filled gauge?

Second, the guppy also offers an extra gauge for see what is left in the tank....again, is that worth the extra $40.00? I'm pretty sure that I could just get a deadhead connector and see what the remaining pressure is in the tank.

Third, the Guppy says they have a slow fill valve...Is this better than a regular valve?

Fourth, the dual FQD on the hose and MQD on the Din are extra. I can see where this may be helpful, but would having a male to male adapter serve the same function?

Fifth, I read somewhere that longer hoses will tend to "waste" more air from refill to refill...is this accurate?

Thx for the help.
 
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My comments are after each of your comments in BLUE text.
If something I said isn't quite right, I hopefully someone with more experience will let you know.

First the Guppy has a base price that is about $80.00 more than the wingman....I can see that the guppy has a liquid filled gauge on it. Is the liquid filled gauge worth the extra money? Why is a liquid filled gauge better than a non liquid filled gauge? My understanding on liquid filled gauges is to reduce issues caused by vibration such as when installed on a compressor. There is no vibration on a tank. My least accurate gauge is a liquid filled Chinese made for what that's worth.

Second, the guppy also offers an extra gauge for see what is left in the tank....again, is that worth the extra $40.00? I'm pretty sure that I could just get a deadhead connector and see what the remaining pressure is in the tank. It is nice to be able to see the pressure in the tank without having to hook up a dead head. Not sure it would be worth $40 extra. The $50 used SCBA tanks all have a built in internal pressure gauge thats built a lot tougher than what comes on the Guppy. If you figured even half the cost of the built in gauge at $20, then you are getting the $50 SCBA for $30.....something to think about. Granted a 30 minute SCBA is going to be at least 3x heavier than a Guppy, but it will also give you many more fills.

Third, the Guppy says they have a slow fill valve...Is this better than a regular valve? This can be handy, particularly when filling very small air capacity guns that fill to 200 or 250 BAR. A slip of the valve with a full 310 BAR tank can instantly fill those tiny bottles / cylinders to way past their max pressure.

Fourth, the dual FQD on the hose and MQD on the Din are extra. I can see where this may be helpful, but would having a male to male adapter serve the same function? All I have ever had is a single male QD connector on my tank. I use inline one way adapters and connectors as needed to attach to whips, guns or compressors.

Fifth, I read somewhere that longer hoses will tend to "waste" more air from refill to refill...is this accurate? The amount of air in a microbore hose / whip is miniscule. The hole in the hose is very tiny, thus the name Microbore. I was not able to find the diameter, but even a 6 foot hose releases very little air when the bleed valve is open. I am pretty sure that more air his held in the valve body between the tank and the whip than what is actually inside the whip itself.
 
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Geezerhood said:
I am pretty sure that a Hydro test in the USA is good for 5 years from the date of the test. DOT currently gives a 15 year life on carbon fiber tanks, but the design life for most of the 4500 PSI to 5800 PSI carbon fiber tanks is 30 years. We may see longer service life of 30 years from the DOT on new production scba carbon fiber as they are allowing expired tanks to be recertified for another 15 years. Since nothing is done to the tanks other than testing, logic would indicate a new tank should be given a 30 year life by the DOT with 5 year Hydros, but who knows if that will ever happen.

I fill my own tanks, so I have no desire for a current hydro test or a younger than 15 year old tank. I plan to use my carbon fiber tanks for 30 years from the manufacture date, doing my own physical inspection of the inside (1080p endoscope camera) and an inspection with a magnifier of the outside of the tank every 2-5 years. I don't like to pay more than $50 for a 30 minute SCBA that has about 10 years left on the 30 year design life, a bit more for larger tanks or tanks with more than 10 years out of the 30 remaining.

You can often get a fill station that screws directly on the SCBA vavle's CGA374 connector for less than a fill station that replaces the SCBA valve assembly. I have one of these from ebay that cost me $37, that has been working flawlessly for almost a year. I replaced the whip with a male QD connector and added a female QD connector to the other end of the whip to match my existing compressor and gun filling setups and to make it easier to travel with in a backpack. I have a one way female to male QD connector that I attach to the tank when filling it from the compressor, just in case something happens between the tank and the compressor that would cause my newly filled tank to empty itself rapidly, wasting a lot of time. You can also buy an SCBA tank without a valve and get a fill station that screws directly into the tank, but be sure to deduct at least $25 off the price of the tank vs one with a valve.

View attachment 373252

This type of valve / fill station will screw directly onto an empty SCBA tank with no factory valve on it, but they cost $20 to $40 more than the one above. I think most SCBA tanks have 7/8"-14 UNF threads, sometimes referred to as 0.875"-14 UNF but don't take my word for it. Bes sure that it matches the threads on your tank. From what I have read on the forums, the valves in these fill stations are not that robust. The valve on the Scott SCBA tanks is built extremely well. The valve on the Inspiro tanks has a very thin threaded portion where the knob attaches, almost half the thickness of the one on the Scott and is much more prone to bending if knocked over by you or in the past by a fire figher.

View attachment 373257

If I wanted the best tank money could buy and wanted one that I could have filled at a commercial location, I would avoid the Chinese made tanks and get a US made SCBA either new or used with quite a few years left on it. I have seen new, old stock Scott tanks with 10 years remaining on their service life for about the same price as a new Chinese tank. This one on ebay has 8 years remaining on its service life. I would want to pay about $400 for it.
Click to expand...
I've been using that fill station for around 4 years. I had to seal up a couple of spots with Teflon plumbers tape but haven't had any problem since. Heck I just bought another one for my other tank instead of swapping the one between tanks. By the way, thanks for the link. I've been looking for another one off and on for awhile but they all seemed to have gone up in price from when I bought mine.
 
Upvote 0
Geezerhood said:
My comments are after each of your comments in BLUE text.
If something I said isn't quite right, I hopefully someone with more experience will let you know.

First the Guppy has a base price that is about $80.00 more than the wingman....I can see that the guppy has a liquid filled gauge on it. Is the liquid filled gauge worth the extra money? Why is a liquid filled gauge better than a non liquid filled gauge? My understanding on liquid filled gauges is to reduce issues caused by vibration such as when installed on a compressor. There is no vibration on a tank. My least accurate gauge is a liquid filled Chinese made for what that's worth.

Second, the guppy also offers an extra gauge for see what is left in the tank....again, is that worth the extra $40.00? I'm pretty sure that I could just get a deadhead connector and see what the remaining pressure is in the tank. It is nice to be able to see the pressure in the tank without having to hook up a dead head. Not sure it would be worth $40 extra. The $50 used SCBA tanks all have a built in internal pressure gauge thats built a lot tougher than what comes on the Guppy. If you figured even half the cost of the built in gauge at $20, then you are getting the $50 SCBA for $30.....something to think about. Granted a 30 minute SCBA is going to be at least 3x heavier than a Guppy, but it will also give you many more fills.

Third, the Guppy says they have a slow fill valve...Is this better than a regular valve? This can be handy, particularly when filling very small air capacity guns that fill to 200 or 250 BAR. A slip of the valve with a full 310 BAR tank can instantly fill those tiny bottles / cylinders to way past their max pressure.

Fourth, the dual FQD on the hose and MQD on the Din are extra. I can see where this may be helpful, but would having a male to male adapter serve the same function? All I have ever had is a single male QD connector on my tank. I use inline one way adapters and connectors as needed to attach to whips, guns or compressors.

Fifth, I read somewhere that longer hoses will tend to "waste" more air from refill to refill...is this accurate? The amount of air in a microbore hose / whip is miniscule. The hole in the hose is very tiny, thus the name Microbore. I was not able to find the diameter, but even a 6 foot hose releases very little air when the bleed valve is open. I am pretty sure that more air his held in the valve body between the tank and the whip than what is actually inside the whip itself.
Click to expand...
Thx for the replies, that is the info that I'm looking for.
 
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I’m gonna start out with my cave bottles (steel 104’s) maxed out at 1.5 X stated fill pressure of 2400 which is all I can get locally. So 3600 psi. Very heavy though. I can get 4000 down in cave country, but only some places. Sooner than later I’m gonna have to bite the bullet. I’d like to jump on a deal but it doesn’t look like their is much PCP action around here. Can someone help me figure out what to build to hook to
my tank valve? Hand pumping the Notos is ok, but I’m over it already! Im having fun plinking tho, and looking into night vision for the first time. I live next door to about 2 acres of deserted machine shop grounds overgrown to the max and I have permission. Gotta be a rats dream digs.
 
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