Paintball

[Mstrtal]

As it comes up every so often and was stickied on MCB I figured I would repost the info over here.

HPA tanks

There are blanket rules, and exceptions for the the blanket rules. First, the blanket rules.
1 - All fiber-wrapped tanks are to be hydrotested every 3 years, unless the manufacturer specifically indicates ON THE BOTTLE that hydrotesting is due at 5 years. All fiber-wrapped tanks have a maximum lifespan of 15 years, no exceptions.
2 - All steel and aluminum HPA tanks are to be tested every 5 years, with an unlimited lifespan. The only exception to this rule is for steel tanks stamped 3HT, which must be tested every 3 years and have a 24 year lifespan.

CO2 tanks

Again, first the blanket rule.
1 - All CO2 tanks (including those manufactured from chrome-moly alloy) must be hydrotested every 5 years, with unlimited lifespan. The only exception is for tanks under 2 inches in diameter and less than 2 feet in length, these are exempt from testing. NOTE - Chrome-Moly tanks are NOT exempt from testing!! There is a wide belief in the paintball industry that they are exempt, they are not, unless they fall under the 2 inch diameter rule. The 2 inch/2 foot rule will apply mostly to 9-ounce tanks.

Exceptions

There are some "E" codes stamped on some fiber-wrapped HPA bottles. Many people believe that if their bottle is stamped with an "E" code it means they are exempt from testing, this is not true. It means that bottle falls under an exemption from the blanket rule in some specification, but that exemption may or may not address the hydrotest date. Here are the only listed "E" codes for fiber-wrapped tanks on the DOT site, and how they will affect your bottle.

E-07277 - manufacterer SCI, to be tested every 3 years, 15 year service life. This exemption deals with the manufacturing process, not the hydrotest schedule.

E-09634 - manufacturer Luxfer, to be tested every 3 years, 15 year service life. This exemption deals with the manufacturing process, not the hydrotest schedule.

E-10915 - manufacturer Luxfer, may be changed to 5-year schedule, this will be explained below.

E-10945, manufacturer SCI, may be changed to 5-year schedulue, as explained below

E-11005, manufacturer Careton Tech, to be tested every 3 years, 15 year service life. This exemption deals with the manufacturing process, not the hydrotest schedule.

E-11194, manufacturer Careton Tech, may be changed to 5 year schedule, as explained below

E-12479, manufacturer Luxfer, to be tested every 3 years, 15 year service life. This exemption deals with the manufacturing process, not the hydrotest schedule.

On some Scott CO2 bottles E-8096: exempts these bottles from ever needing to be tested, for their service life of 15 years. These are for 16 ounce chrome-moly tanks, the exemption will expire on October 31, 2005. After that date, if the exemption is not renewed by the manufacturer, they will have to be hydroed.


5-year test schedule exemption explained - All these bottles still have a maximum service life of 15 years from original manufacture. These bottles were originally manufactured under a 3-year retest schedule, but the manufacturer was allowed by the DOT to move them to a 5-year retest schedule, provided they have been tested/manufactured after a certain date, as applied below.

For exemption code E-10915, if the last test date was before May 11, 2001 then your bottle is still on the 3-year cycle and must be tested every 3 years. If it shows a test date after May 11, 2001 then your bottle is now on a 5-year test schedule.

For exemption codes E-10945 and E-11194, your bottle is on a 3-year test schedule if the last test occurred before July 1, 2001. If your bottle has been tested after that date, you are now on a 5-year test schedule.

[/end Thread theft mode]

Also at the bottum of the same thread there was a amindum about a set of fualty tanks so I snaged that too.

It reads......

http://hazmat.dot.gov/regs/notices/sa/70fr-47273.htm

High pressure DOT exemption cylinders made and/or distributed
by Global Composites International, Inc. (GCI), Ontario, CA

PHMSA and the OIG have evidence that suggests GCI manufactured, marked, certified, and sold an undetermined number of high-pressure DOT exemption carbon fiber filament cylinders when the cylinders had not been manufactured in accordance with the Hazardous Materials Regulations (HMR), DOT-E 12695

DOT recommends that any person possessing a cylinder manufactured by Global Composites International, Inc. (GCI) and marked with exemption number DOT-E 12695 take the cylinder to a qualified refilling station and have the pressure relieved from the cylinder. The cylinder is no longer authorized for use. Refilling stations and cylinder requalification facilities are advised that DOT-E 12695 has been suspended and these cylinders may not be refilled or requalified for service.
_________________

This part was a follow up post to my post (above) on the MCB thread.

NOTE:

For the 2x2 rule to take effect, the tank ALSO NEEDS a special DOT exemption.

These exemptions did not start until around 1990, so usually, 7oz tanks before 1990 are NOT exempt, but tanks AFTER 1990 are.

The code for catalina is DOT-E7737
Not sure about other brands.


Hope this helps everyone!

[PJ]

Copied verbatim from PBN (OK< so once in a while they have some good info!):

PLEASE NOTE, This is information on a recall of luxfer tanks that has recently been updated by the DOT

Luxfer and its independent inspection agency, Arrowhead Industrial Services, Inc. (Arrowhead), reported to PHMSA that 6,325 high pressure cylinders manufactured to the DOT CFFC and FRP-1 standards as authorized in DOT-E 10915, DOT-E 9634, and DOT-E 9894, had been shipped from Luxfer without undergoing the required autofrettage and hydrostatic tests. In a joint effort, Luxfer and Arrowhead have retrieved 2,581 of the untested cylinders. PHMSA has compiled a list of all model and serial number markings of the remaining cylinders identified by Luxfer and Arrowhead that were not properly tested prior to distribution. Information provided to PHMSA indicates many of these cylinders are being used as self-contained breathing apparatus, in paint ball applications, and in aircraft slide service. Any person possessing a cylinder manufactured by Luxfer and marked with exemption number DOT-E 10915, DOT-E 9634, or DOT-E 9894 and marked with one of the serial numbers listed in this notice should take the cylinder to a qualified refilling station and have the pressure relieved from the cylinder. The cylinder should be returned to Arrowhead Industrial Services for autofrettage and hydrostatic testing before further use. Refilling stations and cylinder requalification facilities are advised that any cylinders marked with DOT-E 10915, DOT-E 9634, or DOT-E 9894 should be checked against the attached list of serial numbers before they are filled or requalified for service. To make arrangements to have an affected cylinder autofrettaged and hydrostatically tested, contact Arrowhead Industrial Services, Inc., 3537 South NC 119, P.O. Box 1000, Graham, NC 27253; telephone (336) 578-2777.

This safety advisory covers only the high-pressure DOT exemption cylinders manufactured by Luxfer that have a model number and serial listed on the attached list. Not all cylinders manufactured by Luxfer under DOT-E 10915, DOT-E 9634, and DOT-E 9894 are affected.

The following Serial numbers pertain to PMI labled bottles manufactured by Luxfer Inc, that bear the DOT numbers "DOT-E 10915, DOT-E 9634, AND DOT-E 9894.

P07A-4 PMI (105)....................... 31650, 31651, 31652, 31653, 31654, 31655, 31656, 31657, 31658, 31659,
31660, 31661, 31662, 31663, 31664, 31665, 31666, 31667, 31668, 31669,
31670, 31671, 31672, 31673, 31674, 31675, 31676, 31677, 31678, 31679,
31680, 31681, 31682, 31683, 31684, 31685, 31686, 31687, 31688, 31689,
31690, 31691, 31692, 31693, 31694, 31695, 31696, 31697, 31698, 31699,
31700, 31701, 31702, 31703, 31704, 31705, 31706, 31707, 31708, 31709,
31710, 31711, 31712, 31713, 31714, 31715, 31716, 31717, 31718, 31719,
31720, 31721, 31722, 31723, 31724, 31725, 31726, 31727, 31728, 31729,
31730, 31731, 31732, 31733, 31734, 31735, 31736, 31737, 31738, 31739,
31740, 31741, 31742, 31743, 31744, 31745, 31746, 31747, 31748, 31749,
31750, 31751, 31752, 31753, 31754
P08F-3 PMI (210)....................... 100234, 100235, 100236, 100237, 100238, 100239, 100240, 100241, 100242,
100243, 100244, 100246, 100247, 100248, 100249, 100250, 100251,
100252, 100253, 100254, 100255, 100256, 100258, 100259, 100260,
100261, 100262, 100263, 100264, 100265, 100266, 100267, 100268,
100269, 100270, 100271, 100272, 100273, 100274, 100275, 100276,
100514, 100515, 100517, 100519, 100520, 100521, 100522, 100523,
100525, 100527, 100528, 100529, 100530, 100531, 100532, 100534,
100535, 100536, 100537, 100538, 100539, 100540, 100541, 100542,
100543, 100546, 100547, 100548, 100550, 100551, 100552, 100553,
100554, 100555, 100556, 100557, 100558, 100559, 100560, 100561,
100562, 100563, 100564, 100565, 100566, 100567, 100568, 100569,
100570, 100571, 100572, 100573, 100574, 100575, 100576, 100577,
100578, 100579, 100580, 100581, 100582, 100583, 100584, 100585,
100586, 100587, 100588, 100589, 100590, 100591, 100592, 100593,
100594, 100595, 100597, 100598, 100599, 100600, 100601, 100602,
100603, 100604, 100605, 100606, 100607, 100608, 100609, 100610,
100611, 100612, 100613, 100614, 100616, 100617, 100618, 100619,
100620, 100621, 100622, 100623, 100624, 100625, 100626, 100627,
100628, 100629, 100630, 100631, 100632, 100633, 100634, 100635,
100636, 100637, 100638, 100639, 100640, 100641, 100642, 100643,
100644, 100645, 100646, 100647, 100649, 100650, 100651, 100652,
100653, 100654, 100655, 100656, 100657, 103005, 103016, 103018,
103026, 103028, 103045, 103052, 103055, 103056, 103067, 103069,
103070, 103074, 103120, 103180, 103219, 103227, 103234, 103261,
103271, 103290, 103310, 103335, 103342, 103391, 103399, 103412,
103563, 103571, 103572, 103573, 103615, 103626, 103665, 103666, 103675
P11F-2 PMI (2)......................... 123248, 123249
P12A-2 PMI (11)........................ 21974, 21976, 21977, 21980, 21981, 21985, 21986, 21992, 21993, 21995,
22078

[himurax13]

Does anyone have the information on the DOT E 12695 tanks?

[Hobbes]

I measured my 9 oz. chromoly with calipers and it read 2.020...Is that acceptable?

[SR_matt]

the .2 could be just the paint, but i would go by 2 inches or less meaning 2.0 (repeating decimin of 0's to and infinate decimil) or less, nothing more

but thats just me, i cant quote what DOT would say


also the .2 could be from just not lining up the calipers perfectly
-matt

[Pickle]

I need the actual DOT rule about the 2x2 tanks. My local fill guy gave me some serious grief about this. I'd like to show up with said rule in hand.

[Gumby]

Hobbes the 2x2 rule is for Alum bottles not chromoly.

Pickle if you want to print off the page from Catalina it's http://www.catalinacylinders.com/retest.html
In the past I've tried to get the actual DOT report but it was not free.

[Jaan]

Originally Posted by Pickle

I need the actual DOT rule about the 2x2 tanks. My local fill guy gave me some serious grief about this. I'd like to show up with said rule in hand.

So far this is what I've been able to find (PDF) ...

Code of Federal Regulations Title 49 ss 180.207

Look under Table 1 (top of page 2).

I'm a little confused at why an exemption needs to be in place for the cylinders for the "2x2" rule to apply if indeed that's the case. However for what it's worth here is a list that I found of exemptions ...

DOT Exemptions

I've noticed that some now say "DOT-SP" instead of "DOT-E". At least for my old tank it's just a change in the way it's labeled now and doesn't change anything else.

[Spaceman613]

Gumby,

all of the documents I have seen do not specify the material, they specify the exemtion code (which within them will dictate material and manufacture details). My hydro place told me the brass eagle 4 ouncers are excemt from test (due to size and DOT-E code). This also falls in line with this doc. http://hazmat.dot.gov/regs/notices/nprm/98_3684.pdf

Also, here is the part in particular (I screenshotted it).


This table seems to jive with the one Jaan posted.

As for the exemption code needed for the 2x2 rule.... From what I understand. the tanks need the code to have the material and method of construction documented. Thats the only way the govt can be sure the tanks are safe. I guess when they are manufactured according to the DOT-E specs and they are that small, the safety factor is large enough to warrant no hydro requirement.... That and the permanent expantion ratio is probably so small that it cant be reliably measured.

So the aluminum only doesn't apply accoridng to the documents I have found. And no one that has said aluminum only can provide documents to back up that info.

[pillage]

Here is an imformative link to download. Its in a pdf. format.
Luxfer Carbon Composite Cylinders Inspection Manual: A guide to the use, maintenance and period inspection of Luxfer fully wrapped carbon composite cylinders in the U.S.A. and Canada.
Luxfer: Downloads