Rare find.. or maybe not?

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Member for

18 years 10 months

Posts: 4,796

Someone working at Tinker AFB spotted this today. Earliest test date was '44. Gonna start paying closer attention to gas bottles...

https://scontent-lax3-1.xx.fbcdn.net/v/t1.0-9/55563324_10216347232786206_2308065547415191552_n.jpg?_nc_cat=102&_nc_ht=scontent-lax3-1.xx&oh=0bb5dc536422e26c079c7b15b5827cfd&oe=5D4FBB4F

Original post

Member for

19 years 5 months

Posts: 9,821

A few years ago I was taking my vintage roadster to a club meet at the Indianapolis race track and I find that my enclosed trailer has a puncture. The tire still has about half its air, so I drive about half a block to a gas station, they top it off (enough to go a block to a tire shop) with a WWII aircraft yellow oxygen bottle. I thought that was rather neat.
I wouldn't mind getting one to use as an emergency air source for when I'm away from home.

Member for

18 years 3 months

Posts: 1,216

Back in the 1980's I worked for a organisation that was contracted to maintain some foreign registered executive BAe 1-11 srs400, they had all been around a bit so when we started doing the heavy maintenance we found a few odd repairs, illegal mods, lax maintenance and wrong parts installed. Among the components removed were the Oxygen bottles and these were sent to a workshop for hydrostatic testing and inspection where they looked for internal corrosion, occasionally a bottle would be scrapped for that reason but ultimately they all had a scrap life of 25 years so any getting close to 25 years were also scrapped, one of the three removed from one of these 1-11's was date stamped 1944, I would have loved to know where it had been during its life and what aircraft types it had been fitted to.

Richard

Member for

18 years 10 months

Posts: 4,796

A few years ago I was taking my vintage roadster to a club meet at the Indianapolis race track and I find that my enclosed trailer has a puncture. The tire still has about half its air, so I drive about half a block to a gas station, they top it off (enough to go a block to a tire shop) with a WWII aircraft yellow oxygen bottle. I thought that was rather neat.
I wouldn't mind getting one to use as an emergency air source for when I'm away from home.

Saw a large aircraft one for sale a while back for $20.00. same size as used in a B17 etc, but painted Marine Blue like a Tigercat. Should have bought it... :(

New automotive ones are known as air pigs. Usually about 5 or 6gal size. People often paint a curly tail on one end & a snout on the other.

As for regular gas bottles like the one I posted, in the original thread on FB quite a few people said they'd seen really old ones still in use, including a 1911 & 1914.

Member for

24 years 2 months

Posts: 2,893

My other half worked for a manufacturer of high-pressure gas cylinders for many years.
I asked one of her colleagues how old was the oldest re-certified and he said pre WW1, 1908 I think but it was years ago.
Bear in mind this isn't just in use but returned to the manufacturer, blasted, tested, repainted and stamped and certified for another X years service as good as new.

Member for

18 years 10 months

Posts: 4,796

They get tested/stamped every 10 years here.

Member for

24 years 2 months

Posts: 2,893

It depends on the gas here but never longer than 10 years. I didn't know - I asked since my last post.