SCBA WARNING!

[Supercharged86]

Hey Guys, Just thought I'd pass along some information for those looking to purchase a used SCBA bottle from eBay, etc. Be sure that the bottle has a current hydro test cert. More over, if the bottle is nearing it's 15 yr shelf life, be sure the current hydro test will take it to the end, otherwise you could be left with a useless bottle (not useless, but not one that's been tested for your safety). Many of the bottles found on eBay, etc. have expired hydro certs and if the bottle has less than 5 years left on it's shelf life, there's a very very good chance it won't get passed. The reason being is because hydro test service companies don't want to be libel for bottles being used past their intended shelf life. For example, a bottle has 1 1/2 yrs left on it's shelf life but has an expired hydro test, the owner may think that because it gets a new 5 yr hydro cert that it can be used for 3 1/2 yrs past it's intended use. This is not the case. This is not to say that "all" hydro services will do busines this way. This has only been my experience so far, with my own. Cheers. Steve

[BamaFan]

Hey Guys, Just thought I'd pass along some information for those looking to purchase a used SCBA bottle from eBay, etc. Be sure that the bottle has a current hydro test cert. More over, if the bottle is nearing it's 15 yr shelf life, be sure the current hydro test will take it to the end, otherwise you could be left with a useless bottle (not useless, but not one that's been tested for your safety). Many of the bottles found on eBay, etc. have expired hydro certs and if the bottle has less than 5 years left on it's shelf life, there's a very very good chance it won't get passed. The reason being is because hydro test service companies don't want to be libel for bottles being used past their intended shelf life. For example, a bottle has 1 1/2 yrs left on it's shelf life but has an expired hydro test, the owner may think that because it gets a new 5 yr hydro cert that it can be used for 3 1/2 yrs past it's intended use. This is not the case. This is not to say that "all" hydro services will do busines this way. This has only been my experience so far, with my own. Cheers. Steve

I agree totally with Steve here. I was recently given a bottle for free and when I called a couple of testers they said they would not touch it for liability reasons (it was past 15 yr service life) even though it was not going to be used for breathing purposes. One of them even told me if it is inside the last five years he would not test it either since it could be used past its past its intended service life. I have been looking at a couple of ebay auctions. I have contacted sellers who do not show a current hydro and many of them are not willing to get it tested even if I have offered to pay the difference for the testing. I would hate to speculate why. (Maybe cause they know there is a possibility it might fail) Just beware if it does not come with a current hydro or if it is near its service life.