Tank Questions

[shedhorn]

I have a couple tank questions...

I use a bicycle hand pump style pump to refill my LP10. There is the brass refill adapter (from Steyr) that hooks to the pump and then of course, you hook the tank to the brass adapter. Once done refilling, I have always just unscrewed the tank from the brass adapter. Question.... what would happen if you inadvertently unscrewed the brass adapter from the pump, with the tank still installed? Would the tank vent uncontrollably (I don't see any safety valves I think would shut)? I don't intend to do that but I could see that happening if someone wasn't paying attention, was in a hurry, etc.

I've seen several people mention hyrda testing their tanks at the 10 year mark to get 5 more years out of them. I don't compete so this seems like a good option. Where do people typically go for that?

[Richard144]

Your tank on the gun should have an internal check valve so I don't think you would have an issue.
As far as getting your tank checked it sounds as if you are talking about the air tube on the gun. If it is detachable it has a date on it and it is not good 10 years after that "born on" date. If the air tube is permanently attached to the gun then you don't have to do anything.
Rick B.

[rmca]

Question.... what would happen if you inadvertently unscrewed the brass adapter from the pump, with the tank still installed?

The cylinder (tank) would dump the air quite fast, making a loud noise.
It's not enough to make it dangerous or to make it fly of your hands, but you get a scare out of it.
By the way, screwing the fill adapter to the cylinder is how you empty it for air flight, for example. You just do it slowly...

I've seen several people mention hyrda testing their tanks at the 10 year mark to get 5 more years out of them. I don't compete so this seems like a good option. Where do people typically go for that?

ISSF (the governing body of the sport), introduced a rule stating that in competition the cylinders have to be within 10 years from manufacturing. This derives from EU law regarding pressure vessels.
It doesn't make economical sense in most parts of the world to get it re certified, being cheaper to get a new one.
The cylinder will most likely start leaking before anything bad happens, so discard them when they don't hold pressure anymore.
The seals act as a safety measure in this case, because after 10-15 years, they will degrade and won't hold pressure. This happens way before the metal of the cylinder has time to form cracks from filling/empty with air pressure.
New cylinders are not cheap, but they are not that expensive either, and you should factor in their replacement as a normal thing in this sport. Specially for the sake of your safety, since you will be the one filling it if it goes pop... ;)

Hope this helps

[shedhorn]

Thank you for the replies! I really appreciate it!