safe to submerge cylinders?

[spacestout]

How do you verify cylinders? Especially if you don't have guns to try them on? Can you submerge them in water to see if they emit bubbles?

I don't have a gauge to measure pressure. So, if submersion is safe or undamaging, I'd initially do so. In the absence of leaks, I'd pressurize them from my scuba tank and repeat.

If there were no bubbles released over time, could I conclude that the cylinders are good? Or are there other failure modes which wouldn't be apparent until trying to fire on a pistol (like no air gets released, or a leak is present when mounted on the pistol or when firing)?

[Ken O]

Thats what I did. I bought a used 8002 rifle and even though I unscrewed the cylinder when done each session, the gauge showed I lost air when I screwed it back in.

I put it under water to see if it was a valve leak, or something else, it was something else and found out it was under recall as defective.

I suppose you could spray it with soap water and check for bubbles.

[Spencer]

if you are going to immese a cylinder, over and above drying and wiping the externals with an oily rag make sure you thoroughly dry and clean the valve end - any rust on the steel stopper part will cause problems in the long run.

spencer

[spacestout]

I pressurized the cylinders last night to what's in my scuba tank, some 165 Bar. Put them in water for 1/2 hour and saw no indication of leaks. Let them sit overnight dry. Plunged them again and saw no bubbles. Manometer on the one which has it still showed the same position of night before. I put the adapter on and slowly let the air out (but not all of it).

So, they don't appear to leak and they let their pressure out when screwed in to the adapter.

So far, so good. I don't have the pistol to shoot them with (for an anschutz M10) which would be the final test.