Tanks and Hydrotesting
As paintball has grown, safety is an area that has always been at the forefront of everyone's mind. We all get drilled in to our heads the importance of using barrel blockers, chronoing, wearing our masks, and the like. Because of this, paintball continues to be one of the safest "extreme" sport out there.
So while we all are (sometimes painfully) aware of what happens if we don't use a blocker or keep our mask on, there is one part of this puzzle that many are still a bit ... uninformed about. And that is keeping our tanks maintined, or "hydrotest".
In a nutshell, any tank that is greater than 2 inches in diameter or more than 2 feet long (the 2 by 2 rule) needs to be hyrdotested on a regular basis to ensure it is still structurally ok to use. This is all per DOT regulations. Granted, the chances of something happening with a tank that is a year or so out of date may be slim... just like the chance of getting shot in the eye as you pull your mask off to wipe the condensation off the inside is slim... but is it a risk you really want to take?
The folks at www.hydrotester.com have some great info on hydrotesting, and you can send it to them to do so. Expect to pay $40-50 no matter who you have test your bottle.
Bottles used for paintball will generally in to one of three categories, carbon fiber full composite (CFFC), fiberglass wrapped aluminum (FRP), and upwrapped steel or aluminum. Each tank varies in the time between required testing (3 or 5 years), as well as how many times it can be tested (also known as the lifespan).
CFFC - Carbon Fiber HPA tanks are becoming more and more popular because of the newer high-capacities and their light weight. But they also tend to cost a lot more. All CFFC tanks have a lifespan of 15 years, but some require 3 year testing while others are good for 5 years.
FRP - Fiber wrapped HPA tanks have the same 15 year lifespan of CFFC, but all pretty much require 3 year testing.
Unwrapped steel or aluminum tanks can be either HPA or CO2 (except a tank stamped as 3HT) have unlimited lifespans and need to be hydrotested every 5 years. However, the relatively inexpensive cost for a steel CO2 tank compared to the cost of hydrotesting has made most of these tanks pretty much 'disposable'. This is especially true if the valve needs any sort of repairs as well. These tanks typically have a "3AL" stamp on them as opposed to the "3HT"
Unwrapped steel tanks that have the 3HT stamp on them have a 24 year lifespan and require hydrotesting every 3 years.
When to test?
All tanks will have a 'born on' date, typically a 4-digit number representing month and year. Tanks must be retested by the last day of the month prior to the birthmonth of the tank. So if your 5-year CFFC tank is stamped with 0706 it needs to be hydrotested before June 30, 2011. On a CFFC tank, you'll see a label similar to the image here. On steel tanks, look for the information to be stamped on the tank near the top of the bottle.
When in doubt, check with your local paintball store or field where you get your tanks filled. They should be able to check your tank and let you know if it is "out of hydro", and any reputable field or store will NOT fill a tank that has expired. They should also be able to recommend where to get your tank tested.
-Panther
