Michael Levy wrote:

> Up here in Canada several dive stores will only fill tanks with Visual+
> stickers.

Visual + only applies to aluminum tanks and if any significant information
provided in the update is true, it was a steel tank this time.  Aluminum
tanks don't rust.

Speaking of true, I have real doubts whether moisture from condensation
would cause a tank to rust to a failure point even after a couple of years.
Scuba air is quite dry and does not support much in the way of condensation.
My current steel tanks are only a few monhts old, but my first tanks were
galvanized steel prior to the concept of doing periodic visuals.  To the
best of my recollection they made it through at least one and maybe two
hydro cycles without enough rust to make them dangerous.  My best guess, and
it's only a guess, is that this tank was allowed to become completely empty
and somehow got salt water inside.  I'm also going to take a truly wild
guess and say that I suspect that the tank in question was most likely
property of the shop (rental unit) or the person who was killed in the
incident.  I can't explain how it would be filled so far out of hydro and
visual any other way.  We'll see how good a guesser I am . . . if the
details become available.

Lee