[A/S] OPD Propane Cylinder Conversion

["Harvey Barlow" <harveybarlow@xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx>]

Greetings list members.

Recently, I spoke with a local propane dealer and service company about having OPD 
valves installed in a pair of older Airstream aluminum propane gas cylinders.  The 
company spokesman warned that they had experienced damaged threads on several 
occasions when removing the original factory installed valves from the top of the 
cylinder.  According to him, the original valves and cylinders had corroded and mated 
together so securely over years of use that the threads in the top of the bottle come 
out with the original valves leaving damaged cylinders.

Can anyone on the list comment on this potential problem?  Has it happened to anyone 
who has converted older aluminum propane cylinders to OPD valves or have you heard of 
anyone having this experience?  If it occurs, can the bottles be drilled and tapped to 
a larger size or can they be sleeved?  Is there another method of repair such as 
building up the opening by aluminum welding followed by drilling and tapping again to 
the original size?  Is there a technique which will prevent damaging the threads?  
 
I am not enthusiastic about ruining a couple of expensive and prized Airstream 
aluminum propane cylinders to comply with a silly law that was probably unnecessary in 
the first place.

All comments and suggestions will be welcomed.  

Harvey Barlow
Lubbock, TX 
'01 Dodge-Cummins HO 3500 6 speed, '84 Airstream Excella 31', '66 Airstream Safari 22'