What kind of aluminum do i have here?

[davidh]

i got a half dozen oxygen bottles from a breathing oxygen joint. great stuff to melt down for casting something i think. so, my crucible and furnace is not terribly big so i needed to cut these tanks /bottles into rings about 2=1/2" long, and they are about 4 inches in diameter and the wall thickness is a bit over 1/4" . that size is still to big so i figured i could squish them in a vice and they would split in half, giving me half circles.

they don't crack, they just bend and get kinda flat. . .

in the proces of squeezing them in a vice i noticed that they are quite springy when im trying to flatten them. . .

what the heck kind of aluminum can a guy bend that tight and not have it split ?

have any of you ever worked with this stuff before ? i'd like to know what i have.

thanks in advance.


davidh (the old guy)

 

[Charley Davidson]

Those make nice bells or wind chimes, I'd cut the bottoms out at different lengths and do that then maybe smelt the bottoms.

 

[Tony Wells]

It can be determined by the markings, if they are still there. Older tanks were 6351-T6 and were subject to cracking, and since the late 80's most are made of 6061-T6. Look for a DOT-3AL or DOT-E 7235 stamping. Most manufacturers discontinued using 6351 around 1990.

 

[rickard]

Man 42 You're killing me O2 Tanks cost me A Fortune Man. I live in an Apt surrounded by Cranky OLD PHARTS, that like to call the office and complain every time my Phoe Rings after 7:00 so air compressors are OUT of the Question and I fill them at the local Quick Trip (free air) or Co2 at the welding supply, depending on the Paint I'm airbrushing with (lacquers DEMAND Co2)

 

[Tony Wells]

Rick,
I believe they have a service life in med applications, so if you hook up with a O[SUB]2 [/SUB]supplier like a home health care outfit, you might score some for free. Or if you want to pursue it, the paintball nuts use a carbon fiber wrapped tank that (if regulated down) would run a CO[SUB]2 [/SUB]applicator for a long, long time for little money.