On day one, when a newly purchased gas cylinder comes into the filling branch, it is a thing of beauty.
With a good coat of paint, no external damage/corrosion and a bright shiny valve, the owner is indeed pleased with his purchase. But gas cylinders have a high longevity.
During my spell at an industrial gas company, one of our drivers retrieved a cylinder from the garage of a deceased customer, which had been manufactured in 1898! So this one was over 100 years old!!
Although an exception, cylinders with a useful life of greater than 50 years abound in their hundreds of thousands all around the world.
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