How do you read the codes on the CO2 tank?

[aspinallar]

I just got a 'new' Co2 tank from AirGas. My old one was 6 days past the date for a refill without being re tested, so they swapped out the tank (for free!)

How do you read the numbers stamped on the side?

My back up tank has T.W. with a number which should be Tare Weight. Nothing on the replacement like that.

What's written:

I C C - 3441800
C - 312855
COTWO (I figured out that one!)
6N58 and the letter N is inside a diamond shape

On the other side, I believe are a set of dates:
EW at the top
1 90 with 86 and 86 written in small print between
1 and 97 with a 6 and a 0 between
1 06 and 80 and 77 between again in small print

She weighs in at 15.0 lbs full. I believe it's made of steel, as there is a speck of rust on the bottom and a magnet sticks to it.

[doug ellis]

On one side of my tank reads ***-3AA followed by 2015, 2015 I believe is the re certify or replace date (tank was replaced recently)

[GRENCH]

Hey Alan. It took me a while to remember where I saw this co2 info. It is from the Catalina Cylinder website. I found it very useful when I bought a used cylinder on Craigslist. Hope it helps!
Mike

The Department of Transportation (***) and Transport Canada (TC) require that cylinders made in compliance to their specifications be marked on the crown with certain information. Over the years the format used by Catalina Cylinders and Cliff Impact Division of Catalina Cylinders to display these markings has changed a few times. Shown below is an example of the current crown marking stamped on the standard 20 # CO2 cylinders manufactured at Catalina Cylinders, Garden Grove, CA. Under the example of the crown marking is a list of each of the specific crown markings, followed by a brief explanation of that marking. The descriptions of the markings are the same regardless of the different stamping formats used over the years .

Example of crown markings on a 20 # CO2 Cylinder:

***-3AL1800FXXXXXXX M4002 07C08 B20 U18 T25.2LB TC-3ALM124 T11.5KG CATALINA

Marking Description
***-3AL The U.S. regulatory authority, the Department of Transportation (***), and specification, 3AL, to which the cylinder is manufactured in compliance(required mark).


1800 The service pressure, in pounds per square inch (psi), of the cylinder (required mark).


FXXXXXXX The serial number of the cylinder. For Catalina Cylinders, the serial number prefix of "F" is specific to the 20# CO2 cylinders followed by a seven digit number.


M4002 The M-number or Manufacturers Number issued by the *** to the manufacturer, Catalina Cylinders.


07C08 The original hydrostatic test date of the cylinder, month followed by year, performed at the time of manufacture of the cylinder. The C represents the symbol of the Independent Inspection Agency (IIA) performing the inspection of and certifying the acceptance of the cylinder at the time of manufacture (required mark).


B20 The cylinder identifier (product name). It identifies the market, "B" for beverage, and capacity "20" for a capacity of 20# of CO2 charge, of the cylinder.


U18 The cylinder outlet thread designation as specified in CGA TB-16.


T25.2LB or TW25.0LBS The tare weight (in lbs.) of the empty cylinder package. The empty cylinder package includes the cylinder, the valve, the carrying handle and the snap ring (required mark).


TC-3ALM The Canadian regulatory authority, Transport Canada (TC), and specification, 3ALM, to which the cylinder is manufactured in compliance (required mark).


124 The service pressure of the cylinder expressed in metric units, bars (required mark).


CATALINA The name of the manufacturer of the cylinder.


T11.5KG The metric tare weight (in kgs) of the empty cylinder package. The empty cylinder package includes the cylinder, the valve, the carrying handle and the snap ring.

[doug ellis]

Ask for and you shall receive, now that is a complete explanation if I ever heard one, good job. All I seem to be concerned about is when that sucker is out of date and needs to be replaced!

[aspinallar]

Looks like My tank has nothing at all like your Co2 tank.
Perhaps it's just too old to require any of that stuff.

[bkl63]

Over the years, the required info on the tanks has changed. Tanks need to comply with most of the stuff based on the rules at the time of Manufacture. The code you need to worry about is the last Hydrostatic test date, it has to be within 5 years of it's last test date to be able to be refilled or undergo Hyrostatic Testing. I have photos of my two tanks to show these marking. If a tank has been re tested, they use paint to highlight the newest date. In the case of the two photos the bottom one shows the black highlight of the newest date. So in the case of a tank that looks a bit old you can have several dates, the most current should be painted to highlight it.


Above is a newer Tank still within it's certification. Note the 01A06 which means Jan of 2006 this was certifed. The A is the agency code that did the Hydrostatic Test.



This is a older tank that has been recently recertifed. Note the Black Paint used to Highlight the new date 0f 1(8960)10 January of 2010. Below that you can see the old original date 09A01. September 2001. The B905 (read clockwise) and the A are the Agency codes for the testing agencies.

[aspinallar]

The Amerigas guy says that the tanks have to be recertified every five years now.

[bkl63]

Actually it can only be refilled if it's within 5 years of the last test date and with no apparent damage. My tank went 9 years because the previous owner had a couple tanks and it took a while to empty it and it probably sat empty for few years, my usage was 14 months on my last tank. But they have always had this rule about filling tanks to my knowledge. I would also bet that tanks "sneak through" beyond dates on occasion as my 9 year old tank still looks pretty new.

[doug ellis]

Your Amerigas guy is right on. The trouble with this area in south Florida you could take your tank to a foreign owned discount beverage store and they will almost fill for a price. I say almost fill because they basically off load from a larger tank to your smaller one (I guess kinda handy on the weekend when no one reputable is open) . Shucks I did that once, anyway stick with Amerigas, fire extinguisher store, etc.

[memding]

I need some help with the code I am writing for my new project. I am going to launch a dating site similar to https://mylistcrawler.com/listcrawler-california-meet. I have done the bigger part of it, but there are elements that I cannot put right. I do not think it will take much time for an expert to identify the weak place. But I really need somebody to look at it with fresh eyes.

[djc]

On one side of my tank reads ***-3AA followed by 2015, 2015 I believe is the re certify or replace date (tank was replaced recently)

The date code is the date of the last test. It can be filled for 5 years after that date.