Last Updated on April 18, 2021 by Dan
Question: I live in a very rural area where it is difficult to get air fills and it costs me $8 to fill my tank with air. I have lots of friends on the volunteer local fire department, and they have offered to fill my tanks with the same high quality air they use for the fireman SCBA tanks. Does anyone know what adapter, and perhaps more importantly what pressure gauge I need to be able to fill the tank and be able to check the pressure as the tank is being filled? I know they have filled tanks for the State Police Before, but they don’t seem to have the adapter for my tank. My tank has a K valve.
Answer:
Used to fill at a fire station for years. You should be fine.
I would take FD air over any other source any day. Now to fill your tank I would think that if they fill for the state police they have the yoke fill already set up. The gauge that you need is already on the compressor and is a fill stop that is set to the rating of your tank. The only gauge you would possibly need is to check the “quality” of your fill — did you get it full to rated pressure or did they let it drop a couple of hundred pounds while it cooled. You can use your regulator with the pressure gauge or you can buy a 69.00 pressure check which looks like a gauge on a fill yoke adapter.
My department policy is that no one except for Team Captains or paid staff are allowed to fill tanks. I just drop them off at the compressor room and come back the next day or two and voila they are filled for me. Just a perk for being willing to respond and drill when they call.
Thanks to ScubaBoard for this answer.
