Visual tank inspections are required in many places every year, in Australia they are required every 6 months, so what are they looking at when they do a visual inspection of your tank?
The first thing they will do after they empty all of the air out of the tank and remove the "head" , tank valve is tip the tank upside down and place their hand under the hole to see what comes out, hopefully just a little bit of water will come out. Most tanks that have been in service for awhile and have been refilled on a regular basis will have a very small amount of water normally less than a teaspoon and some of which will be there from the emptying of the remaining air from the tank to do the service.
Another common find is some aluminum speck's these are formed when the tank is filling they move the little bit of water that gradually accumulates and bangs the water droplets under pressure inside the tank, picture a steel ball bearing in a dryer bouncing around which will cause some small pits over time. When the pits become a certain size the tank needs to be sent for a hydrostatic test.
The next thing they will do is sniff the inside of the tank to see if there are any strange odors this normally points at a problem with the compressor filters rather than the tank.
Most tanks today are aluminum so they don't rust which was a big concern with the steel tanks and the main reason why steel tanks are going the way of the K valve. For certain circumstances they offer enough benefit to override the rust issue (steel tanks can be rated to higher working pressures & are lighter making them attractive for some specialized uses).
The tank vales are made of brass which is a softer metal that aluminum or steel the idea is it is cheaper to replace a valve than the tank. Because there are two different metals you get electrolyses in sea water this will cause the metals to fuse together. If you take the valve off on a regular basis, it is much easier to remove and the likely hood of doing damage to the value, or the tank is greatly reduced.
Another one of the checks is to look at the tank threads if there is damage beyond a certain percentage, the qualified technician will need to send the tank for a hydro, or they will allow it to continue in service based on what see. The qualified technician will measure the damage and note it on the tanks history record and keep an eye on it in future inspections.
They will also feel the water to see if it is oily this is not a good sign as it means that the filters on the compressors were not serviced enough, or the compressor needs to be serviced, which means in many cases that the compressor needs to be rebuilt.
If you own your own tanks in between your visual inspections keep an eye on your filter on your first stage, if it turns rusty or green it is a sign that the tank should be inspected. Also if you get a bad smell you need to have your tank inspected and notify the location where you got your last fills that you noticed a bad smell or taste. If you notice a bad smell or tastes do not go scuba diving with that tank! Remember only let a qualified technician examine your tanks, working with pressurized air and gases can have fatal consequences if done improperly for you, or the unqualified individual!
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