[A/S] Re: Questions on 1979 propane tanks

["overlander_64" <overlander64@xxxxxxxxx>]

Greetings Christopher!

Welcome to the world of Vintage Airstream ownership!

The answer to your question regarding recertification and re-valving 
your existing LP tanks can vary depending upon the type of tanks.  
Most of the time, if you have Aluminum LP tanks, it is a worthwhile 
investment to have this procedure performed unless the tanks have 
visible physical damage (dents).  On the other hand, if you have 
steel tanks, the cost of recertification and re-valving may be very 
nearly as much as the cost of similar sized new tanks.

My '64 Overlander had steel tanks, and it just wasn't cost effective 
to have them recertified and re-valved - - the cost of the process 
was within the cost of a new pair of 30 pound steel tanks.  The 
consideration with steel tanks is whether you intend to polish the 
coach in the future - - if your plans include polishing, the 
Worthington Aluminum tanks can be polished to match the coach (I had 
this done on my Overlander) - - you can see photos of the polished 
tanks on my coach at:

http://www.airstreamphotos.com/photos/data/500/827worthingtons_after-thumb.jpg


The one thing that you will want to be cautious about if you have 
aluminum LP tanks and decided to go the recertification/re-valving 
route.  Not all propane dealers are familiar with the aluminum tanks 
and may need a little prompting from you to secure the valve that 
has a dip arm length that is correct for the aluminum tank as the 
same size steel tank uses a different length dip arm.  There was an 
article on either the Airstream site or the WBCCI sit that described 
the differences, but the last time I looked I couldn't locate the 
document.

Good luck with your project!

Kevin