Canada's Scuba Diving Forums

Canada made a number of changes to their tank marking regulations as of 1993. 

As of January 1 1993 all scuba tanks manufactured for use in Canada must have the TC stamp on them.  Any tanks manufactured prior to 1993 are grandfathered if:

• The tank is marked CTC, DOT, or ICC

• cylinder was in use in Canada prior to 1993

For tanks manufactured after 1993 a number of changes have taken effect which affect the VIP inspector or fill station operator.

• The fill pressure is marked in BAR
• 3AAM (steel) tanks are stamped at their rated pressure (in BAR) and no longer have a 10% overfill (with the + mark) because the 10% equivalent has been included in the rated pressure stamped on the tank.
• Steel cylinders may be stamped with a "K" after the current hydro stamp which means the cylinder may only be filled to 90% of it's rated capacity in BAR
• All cylinders are hydro tested to 1.5 time their service pressure and not 5/3 their service pressure.

Filling Practices

A number of changes to filling practices have resulted from the new regulations.  However the following general rules apply to all Scuba tanks:

• Cylinder must have proper neck markings
• Cylinder must have a proper pressure relief device
• Cylinder must not be due for re-qualification
• Cylinder may only be filled with the customers approval
• All scuba tanks should be filled only by trained personnel

In addition all scuba tanks must be filled in such a way as to ensure they are at their service pressure at 15C.  However both steel and aluminum tanks may be filled (hot) to 25% over their service pressure so long as the pressure returns to the service pressure at 15C.

Steel tanks with a "K" stamp next to their latest hydro test may only be filled hot to 15% over their service pressure and must return to 90% of their service pressure at 15C

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