Propane Tank Recertification

[Jim Cate]

Originally Posted by Guy

You must be friends with the gas people. In the third world, no one seems to care but in the USA they seem to be all over the new style valve. For 10 years or so now.

And it ain't only the USA that gets excited about dates on tanks! Both NZed and Oz are very picky, and in New Caledonia they simply don't fill non-French tanks (at least this was so the last time we were there).

Every safety bureaucracy has to show off its muscle, and they can be a real PITA for the cruiser who goes to several different jurisdictions.

Jim

[GeoPowers]

Does anyone know of a place I can get an Al tank re-cert'ed in the Annapolis area? I just got the "talking to" by the local propane place. Google and the phone book have let me down so far...

Thanks,

Frank

[sailorboy1]

I got mine done at a Suburban Propane place and they have operations down in your area

Suburban Propane - Location Finder

[skipmac]

Originally Posted by GeoPowers

Does anyone know of a place I can get an Al tank re-cert'ed in the Annapolis area? I just got the "talking to" by the local propane place. Google and the phone book have let me down so far...

Thanks,

Frank

My Al propane tanks needed ra ecert the propane dealer in my town did it. The shop where you filled the tank didn't offer any options?

Maybe call the local dive shop since SCUBA tanks need to be recerted periodically as well.

[GeoPowers]

Originally Posted by skipmac

My Al propane tanks needed ra ecert the propane dealer in my town did it. The shop where you filled the tank didn't offer any options?

Maybe call the local dive shop since SCUBA tanks need to be recerted periodically as well.

No, I get mine filled at the local hardware store. They know just enough to fill the tanks, but that's about it. Unfortunately, I just got the only one who apparently also knew to look for the mfr date, too!

[GeoPowers]

Originally Posted by sailorboy1

I got mine done at a Suburban Propane place and they have operations down in your area

Suburban Propane - Location Finder

Thanks SB, I'll give them a call in the morning to see if they can re-cert locally for me, too!

Frank

[KeiSue]

Does any living in CT know where you can get an aluminum marine propane tank recertified? I have tried Amerigas, and other local refilling stations. Who will recertify?

[zboss]

You should really not have a problem getting them recertified. Is this a CT thing?

We have two aluminum tanks from 1987 that we just got recertified in Florida. In fact, the guy waxed poetic on how great the aluminum tanks are and that we should never get rid of them because they will last forever. Didn't even charge us a recert fee, just the refill.

[Nicholson58]

Originally Posted by Guy

It was an 11lb and yes it was refilled at the same time.

Always also consider having a new valve installed. The old valve has to be removed for the certification test anyway.

[GordMay]

Greetings and welcome aboard the CF, KeiSue.

[biker6977]

Any pressure vessel over 15psi is required to be manufactured to ASME Boiler and Pressure Vessel Code- so yes- all propane tanks are manufactured to ASME standards. I am the QA manager for a Cryogenic tank manufacturing facility. All of our inner tanks fall under ASME BPVC our outer tanks under AWS. All transportable tanks also require DOT approval, this is given to the manufacturer as a special permit that is valid for 4 years. Manufacture has to reapply for these permits. If a company were to go out of business then the tanks would no longer be acceptable or recertifiable without some company requesting to take over the permit. I deal with this every month for our beverage carbonation cylinders. ASME tanks will also have National Board numbers associated with them- each tank has it's own number associtated with the manufacturer and specific to that tank and serial number. They have to be recertified because over time the welds and material can fatigue, causing leaks or rupture. Pressure vessels are either cold stretched- filled with water- put under pressure and literally stretch the metal like a ballon or hydro tested- such is the case for propane tanks- they are also filled with water and put under pressure but less pressure than in cold stretch. They are also mass spec'd- filled with helium and then mechanically sniffed for leaks- helium molecules are much smaller than water or air and will find leaks that hydro will not.
I realize this is more info than you requested but I thought you might want to know a little more about the tanks, how they are tested and why it is important. Tanks can and do explode and they can and do kill people. Testing the tanks can and does kill people- prior to my starting where I am one of the inspectors had his head taken off during a hydro test.
My point- please do get your tanks tested- it may seem comical and un needed but it is very much a safety issue. Yes you may never have problems but is it worth saving a couple bucks? These tanks are used regularly, they are under constant pressure, filled, emtpied, refilled time and again- this weakens joints and welds. There are also instances where it will be found years later that there are issues with valves over time- perhaps the casting wears, the membrane inside is found to wear out quicker than it should etc.
Please keep your tanks certified.

[rwidman]

Originally Posted by biker6977

Any pressure vessel over 15psi is required to be manufactured to ASME Boiler and Pressure Vessel Code- so yes- all propane tanks are manufactured to ASME standards. I am the QA manager for a Cryogenic tank manufacturing facility. All of our inner tanks fall under ASME BPVC our outer tanks under AWS. All transportable tanks also require DOT approval, this is given to the manufacturer as a special permit that is valid for 4 years. Manufacture has to reapply for these permits. If a company were to go out of business then the tanks would no longer be acceptable or recertifiable without some company requesting to take over the permit. I deal with this every month for our beverage carbonation cylinders. ASME tanks will also have National Board numbers associated with them- each tank has it's own number associtated with the manufacturer and specific to that tank and serial number. They have to be recertified because over time the welds and material can fatigue, causing leaks or rupture. Pressure vessels are either cold stretched- filled with water- put under pressure and literally stretch the metal like a ballon or hydro tested- such is the case for propane tanks- they are also filled with water and put under pressure but less pressure than in cold stretch. They are also mass spec'd- filled with helium and then mechanically sniffed for leaks- helium molecules are much smaller than water or air and will find leaks that hydro will not.
I realize this is more info than you requested but I thought you might want to know a little more about the tanks, how they are tested and why it is important. Tanks can and do explode and they can and do kill people. Testing the tanks can and does kill people- prior to my starting where I am one of the inspectors had his head taken off during a hydro test.
My point- please do get your tanks tested- it may seem comical and un needed but it is very much a safety issue. Yes you may never have problems but is it worth saving a couple bucks? These tanks are used regularly, they are under constant pressure, filled, emtpied, refilled time and again- this weakens joints and welds. There are also instances where it will be found years later that there are issues with valves over time- perhaps the casting wears, the membrane inside is found to wear out quicker than it should etc.
Please keep your tanks certified.

Thanks for the post.

[skipmac]

All SCUBA tanks have to be tested and recertified and most of those are aluminum. So ask a local dive shop where they send tanks for testing. Another option, the more expensive fire extinguishers also have to be pressure tested so check with someone in that market.

Also, which end of CT are you in. I used to work for a company in eastern CT that used a lot of propane tanks (but not for propane) and can ask them where they had their tanks tested.

[savoir]

If you are ever in Newport I can recommend a place. They do repairs as well.

[sailorboy1]

Originally Posted by KeiSue

Does any living in CT know where you can get an aluminum marine propane tank recertified? I have tried Amerigas, and other local refilling stations. Who will recertify?

As I posted a couple of times I got mine certified at a Suburban Propane. If they have operations in NH and they have operations in VA (the location that last reopened the thread), I just bet they have them in CT.

I even posted a location finder link earlier.