The Great 02 Cleaning Debate

[kwinter]

But I do not charge for the visual if the sticker is in date, it's just for my peace of mind as I stand there filling it.

Wow, Skip, that is the best deal I've ever heard. Good for you and good for the customer. A real win/win. The only question becomes what happens if you find crud or hydrocarbon residue in the tank. The customer could get pissed since he didn't ask for a VIP and insist that you put the crud in there to extort and O2 cleaning fee. But that is pretty unlikely.

We inspect first and fail them before sending out for hydro, but the ones we do fail are 99% in hydro.

This is an age-old argument. The hydro pumping up the tank to 167% of max could cause or exacerbate any micro thread cracks or SLC, so the hydro should be done first. No, wait, the hydro would be more dangerous unless the VIP was done first, especially where Eddy testing is required. So the VIP should be done first. Round and round we go.......

[FW]

I don't understand.

Why do bands and stickers have to come off?

It is pretty hard to get the valves out, with the bands still on the tanks.

[ktomlinson]

Wow, Skip, that is the best deal I've ever heard. Good for you and good for the customer. A real win/win. The only question becomes what happens if you find crud or hydrocarbon residue in the tank. The customer could get pissed since he didn't ask for a VIP and insist that you put the crud in there to extort and O2 cleaning fee. But that is pretty unlikely.

This is an age-old argument. The hydro pumping up the tank to 167% of max could cause or exacerbate any micro thread cracks or SLC, so the hydro should be done first. No, wait, the hydro would be more dangerous unless the VIP was done first, especially where Eddy testing is required. So the VIP should be done first. Round and round we go.......

The hydro should be safe either way. The tank is in a steel case and is immersed and filled with water, so any failure should be less spectacular than a failure when filled with gas. I VIP before hydro simply to save money on the hydro. If I were able to fail the tank before hydro, no need to pay for it.

[OFG-1]

It is pretty hard to get the valves out, with the bands still on the tanks.

Hacksaw.

[skip]

Wow, Skip, that is the best deal I've ever heard. Good for you and good for the customer. A real win/win. The only question becomes what happens if you find crud or hydrocarbon residue in the tank. The customer could get pissed since he didn't ask for a VIP and insist that you put the crud in there to extort and O2 cleaning fee. But that is pretty unlikely.



This is an age-old argument. The hydro pumping up the tank to 167% of max could cause or exacerbate any micro thread cracks or SLC, so the hydro should be done first. No, wait, the hydro would be more dangerous unless the VIP was done first, especially where Eddy testing is required. So the VIP should be done first. Round and round we go.......

The two LDS's I work with are small shops with a small clientele. We all know one another pretty well, although some customers are new. I can't imagine that anyone would accuse us of anything. Much of the time we do the visual with the customer watching, while they wait, if hydro is not needed. We do visual before and after hydro. The main point of the before hydro visual is to avoid the cost of the hydro should the tank fail visual. We don't charge for the visual when a tank fails. We don't even charge for the hydro if the tank fails that. The shop eats the cost of the hydro in that case. And we usually end up selling a new tank (and in two decades no one has accused us of cheating them - cause we don't and I think it shows on our faces)! We also do not condemn tanks unless the customer gives the ok. We return the tank, tell them we can't pass it, why we can't pass it, and then it's up to them what to do with it. We tell them what we think they should do with it, and if they really want to keep it, we suggest they take it to some other shop and see if it passes (viz and/or hydro). It's all up front and honest as it should be.

skip

[curtschu]

Open water shops don't seem to know a whole lot about nitrox in general. I know of a shop that teaches that using 32% nitrox versus air keeps you warmer, gives you less narcosis, gives you energy, etc.

And Wings, don't forget the wings!! just like redbull...

[kwinter]

The two LDS's I work with are small shops with a small clientele. We all know one another pretty well, although some customers are new. I can't imagine that anyone would accuse us of anything. Much of the time we do the visual with the customer watching, while they wait, if hydro is not needed. We do visual before and after hydro. The main point of the before hydro visual is to avoid the cost of the hydro should the tank fail visual. We don't charge for the visual when a tank fails. We don't even charge for the hydro if the tank fails that. The shop eats the cost of the hydro in that case. And we usually end up selling a new tank (and in two decades no one has accused us of cheating them - cause we don't and I think it shows on our faces)! We also do not condemn tanks unless the customer gives the ok. We return the tank, tell them we can't pass it, why we can't pass it, and then it's up to them what to do with it. We tell them what we think they should do with it, and if they really want to keep it, we suggest they take it to some other shop and see if it passes (viz and/or hydro). It's all up front and honest as it should be.

skip

Great stuff, Skip. Wish there was a way to give green here.

[rddvet]

It is pretty hard to get the valves out, with the bands still on the tanks.

Exactly. For two days now when someone asked why talk off the bands I've been thinking in my head, "What the hell am I missing. How would you get the valves off otherwise?"

[Line Squirrel]

Exactly. For two days now when someone asked why talk off the bands I've been thinking in my head, "What the hell am I missing. How would you get the valves off otherwise?"

Independent doubles

[a64pilot]

Why does it matter? Either way it failed inspection.

It doesn't matter, just in my opinion, a VIP is pretty much nonsense, not actually required by anything, except of course a shop may not fill your tanks without one, your not in violation of any law without a VIP, but you are if a Hydro is overdue.
Just my opinion