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Scuba tank for off road?

andyblack

andyblack

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The other day someone gave me a scuba tank. It looks like it would hold about 2.5 gallons of air(?). It has a gauge that says it's empty and there's no kind of fitting on it at all. It has a sticker on it that says "Compressed Air Only" and another one that says 2,216 p.s.i. :eek1:

That got me to thinking that maybe I could use it as a way to take some air with me in my truck to air my tires back up and such. I mean I know there's no way my little 120 p.s.i. Craftsman air compressor could ever fill this tank up to what it can hold, but I wonder if I could take it somewhere and have someone fill it with CO2 or something. (I assume it's meant to carry oxygen for breathing.)

So has anyone ever tried this or know anything about it? Are these tanks supposed to be tested and certified? Would it be safe to fill it with CO2 like a Power Tank? I don't even know what kind of chuck or regulator or anything will fit on it. It's just something I'm wondering about. Hey it was free.
 
People repurpose scuba tanks for CO2 all the time. I think if it's past a certain date it will need to be recertified for whatever pressure before reuse. Not sure on the specifics but it is possible.
 
Cool. So where would I take it to get it recertified? A dive shop? Or could anywhere that fills CO2 tanks do it? Do you know how much it would cost?
 
I'm only pulling this from memory, I've read about it here and there. I don't know the details as I have decided to go with a york OBA set up. A local fire extinguisher shop should be able to set you straight.
 
I didn't even think about that. Thanks. I'll look into it. It would be nice to be able to air back up before going back on the road.
 
496truck said:
I'm only pulling this from memory, I've read about it here and there. I don't know the details as I have decided to go with a york OBA set up. A local fire extinguisher shop should be able to set you straight.
Click to expand...

yep. check your yellow pages or w/ your local FD to see who fills their c02 extinguishers.
 
Im going to mount my Paintball Scuba. Im going to get a 120psi fixed regulator for it. But the 2200 psi would be sweet for setting a bead.... :eek1::haha:

Im just gonna run it as air. MUCH cheaper to fill. The local paintball guy will fill it for $5 and its way out of date, but he knows its never been used for diving, but only paintball so he doesnt mind.
 
Wow, $5??? That would be awesome. You mean for a small tank though, right? This is a big one like a diver would have on his back. Or do you mean you get a big tank filled up for $5 and then just use the air from it to fill the little tank that goes on your gun?
 
Yes fill the big tank for $5 and I have a special head on it to fill the 20oz tanks for the gun :thumb: Ill find a pic of it

EDIT: here ya go :D

The head on top has a gauge on it as well. I just need to get a fixed regulator and a hose for it and mount it behind my seat. Should look badaZZ


scuba.jpg


scuba2.jpg
 
Do you know if a normal regulator like one off of an air compressor would fit on it? I just want to put a normal air chuck on there so I can use one of those coiled air hoses on it and mount it in the bed or tool box or something.

If it would hold 2,200 p.s.i., that would mean that I could fill up all four of my tires over 25 times! or run an impact gun long enough to break all the lug nuts loose. :woot:
 
I dont think it would fill tires like that. ITs pressure VS Volume. Thats why people use CO2 instead because it compresses more than air and more volume can be put in the cylinder IIRC.

But I will get a fixed regulator that fits in that fill spout and attacha a quick disconnect to that, then an air line that would reach all the way around my blazer. Im hoping it will have enough air to either seat a blown bead, and or fill my tires from 12psi in the dunes back up to 30ish. We shall see. Once I get it all rigged up I will put up somewhere how much it fills tire wise and how long it runs tools for on one fill.
 
That makes sense. I know those little portable air tanks that are like 4 or 5 gallons or whatever will only fill a big 33" or 35" tire up if it's got like 8 or 10 p.s.i. still in it because the volume of the tire is greater than the volume of the tank if the tire is totally flat. I was hoping this scuba tank could work some kind of miracles for me dangit.
 
Well I think it might work better than the little portables because of the fact they pack 2200 PSI in there, but IDK how much more. I hope it would fill up a few tires, Otherwise ill bring it in to be swapped to CO2
 
You have whats called al80(Aluminum 80cu/ft tank)

An al80 holds about 77.4cf of air at 3000psi. If you take one of you al80's and write down the pressure before you start, then fill a tire and write down the 80's pressure when you're done, it's a simple calculation to figure out how many cubic feet were used.

77.4 /3000 = 0.0258
0.0258 x (pressure used) = cubic feet needed to fill one tire.
Multiply that x4 and you know the minimum size to fill all four tires.

Example: say your tank had 2700psi in it when you start and after you finish filling the tire your tank has 2550psi in it.

2700-2550=150psi used
150 x 0.0258 = 3.87cf
So it would take 3.87cf to fill one tire. Multiply x4 and you get 15.48cf needed for to fill all 4 tires. So in this example you'd want at minimum a full 19cf bottle (closest size available) to have enough air for all 4 tires. Oh, and yes, a scuba tank tire filler has enough pressure to reseat a tires bead to the rim. Been there, done that, use soapy water on the bead, it works fast and well but uses a lot of air.
 
punched355 said:
You have whats called al80(Aluminum 80cu/ft tank)

An al80 holds about 77.4cf of air at 3000psi. If you take one of you al80's and write down the pressure before you start, then fill a tire and write down the 80's pressure when you're done, it's a simple calculation to figure out how many cubic feet were used.

77.4 /3000 = 0.0258
0.0258 x (pressure used) = cubic feet needed to fill one tire.
Multiply that x4 and you know the minimum size to fill all four tires.

Example: say your tank had 2700psi in it when you start and after you finish filling the tire your tank has 2550psi in it.

2700-2550=150psi used
150 x 0.0258 = 3.87cf
So it would take 3.87cf to fill one tire. Multiply x4 and you get 15.48cf needed for to fill all 4 tires. So in this example you'd want at minimum a full 19cf bottle (closest size available) to have enough air for all 4 tires. Oh, and yes, a scuba tank tire filler has enough pressure to reseat a tires bead to the rim. Been there, done that, use soapy water on the bead, it works fast and well but uses a lot of air.
Click to expand...

Very good info SIR!! I will report back with results when time comes!! Welcome to CK5 as well!!! :thumb:
 
Wow thanks for that. You must be a diver or something. :waytogo: So now I'm wondering how much different it would do if it was CO2 in there instead of just air. Or would it make a difference at all?
 
Co2 would hold more volume but its the price to fill i wouldnt like.
 
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