Can Old Scuba tanks be used for CO2?

I want to start a hydrostatic testing for scuba tank business.....any suggestions on equipment or certs?

• I want to start a scuba rental business and want to also certify scuba tanks (which is required). I would like to know what I need to do in order to start thy process and what equipment I might need. Also, is there other opportunities in the rental business (besides sale of new/used) equipment and dive training) that not all dive shops do so I can separate myself?

• Answer:

  Assuming that you really mean hydrostatic testing and not simply visual inspections, the first thing you need to do is familiarize yourself with the federal regulations associated with cylinder requalification (assuming you are in the United States). This is now found in Title 49 Section 180 of the Code of Federal Regulations (CFR): http://ecfr.gpoaccess.gov/cgi/t/text/text-idx?c=ecfr&sid=40af5432618db9b91edd089e6a20420f&rgn=div5&view=text&node=49:3.1.1.1.3&idno=49 You will also need to acquire and familiarize yourself with the Compressed Gas Association (CGA) standards for the types of cylinders you want to be able to requalify. These can be acquired through the CGA Publications page http://www.cganet.com/customer/Publication.aspx Once you understand the regulations, you will probably be in a better position to determine what equipment and training you will need. Dive shops often do annual visual inspections of scuba cylinders, but it would be a rare thing to find a dive shop that does hydrostatic testing due to the equipment and training needed. If you really meant just being able to perform visual inspections of scuba cylinders, your best option is to get trained through PSI/PCI. You can find out where they are holding inspector training courses at their website http://psicylinders.com/