The Great 02 Cleaning Debate

[Dsix36]

I think that all bands must be removed and unless I know the tank history pretty damn good, the stickers have to come off too. I have found very small amounts of corrosion under stickers that if left uncleaned would very likely condemn the tank at the next VIP. i know that you can use a pick to probe any questionable areas but removing the sticker is the only way to know for sure. BTW, we do dive in salt water sometimes too and this is much worse than fresh cave water.

Some people will ##### and moan about the cost of new stickers, but diving has never been a poor mans game anyway.

[DL348]

I think that all bands must be removed and unless I know the tank history pretty damn good, the stickers have to come off too. I have found very small amounts of corrosion under stickers that if left uncleaned would very likely condemn the tank at the next VIP. i know that you can use a pick to probe any questionable areas but removing the sticker is the only way to know for sure. BTW, we do dive in salt water sometimes too and this is much worse than fresh cave water.

Some people will ##### and moan about the cost of new stickers, but diving has never been a poor mans game anyway.

I couldn't agree more, if I'm doing a visual inspection on a set of doubles...bands and ALL stickers are coming off. You really have to do this in order to thoroughly inspect the exterior of the cylinder.

[Line Squirrel]

What about bands? I don't mean does it comply with your training, I mean do you think it's ok based on your understanding of tanks/corrosion/etc?

It has been my experience (and we've done over 1000 vip's in a year) that corrosion is more likely to occur under bands, stage bottle type clamps and tank boots before stickers. Regardless, everything comes off or my VIP sticker doesn't go on.

[kwinter]

It has been my experience (and we've done over 1000 vip's in a year) that corrosion is more likely to occur under bands, stage bottle type clamps and tank boots before stickers. Regardless, everything comes off or my VIP sticker doesn't go on.

I guess I'm more lenient because I only do my own gear. Bands & clamps come off, no question. Dissimilar metals leads to electrolysis, and salt accumulations would be there too. That's clearly the location of the most crud and corrosion. But if I can examine more than 80% of the surface of a tank and not find any problems, the chance of there being a considerable lesion under a sticker is extremely remote. I have never found a single site of pitting or corrosion. There have always been multiple sites when I have seen any. I'll go with the odds and leave my Dil and O2 stickers alone unless I see evidence of corrosion elsewhere, in which case the stickers come off.

I have no problem whatsoever with a shop insisting on taking off all stickers. But the customer should be told ahead of time and given the opportunity to find a more "lenient" inspector if desired. As I said, before I started doing my own tanks, I never had a shop remove a single sticker from any tank I ever had inspected in over 25 years.

[Line Squirrel]

You don't have the same liability a shop does

[a64pilot]

So, how many tanks have been condemned that were in current Hydro, on the basis of a VIP?

[TONY CHANEY]

So, how many tanks have been condemned that were in current Hydro, on the basis of a VIP?

Why does it matter? Either way it failed inspection.

[skip]

I guess I'm more lenient because I only do my own gear. Bands & clamps come off, no question. Dissimilar metals leads to electrolysis, and salt accumulations would be there too. That's clearly the location of the most crud and corrosion. But if I can examine more than 80% of the surface of a tank and not find any problems, the chance of there being a considerable lesion under a sticker is extremely remote. I have never found a single site of pitting or corrosion. There have always been multiple sites when I have seen any. I'll go with the odds and leave my Dil and O2 stickers alone unless I see evidence of corrosion elsewhere, in which case the stickers come off.

I have no problem whatsoever with a shop insisting on taking off all stickers. But the customer should be told ahead of time and given the opportunity to find a more "lenient" inspector if desired. As I said, before I started doing my own tanks, I never had a shop remove a single sticker from any tank I ever had inspected in over 25 years.

I don't remove stickers. Stickers will usually bubble a bit if there's corrosion under there. I let the customer know when he/she drops them off if I think I might have to remove a sticker and ask if that's ok. I explain the issue and they are usually amiable. If they really don't want the sticker removed and i really do, then I wouldn't do the inspection. Sometimes the dive shop has already accepted the tank for vis and I then go to boss and say look here's the problem and the boss calls the customer. I don't really work at the dive shop, but do some work for a couple of them in exchange for fills from time to time. I am PSI trained and have maintained my inspection and fill certs for 10 years or so now. I'm an independent instructor with a garage full of tanks. $300.00 bucks every three years (or so) is way cheaper than paying someone else to inspect them. I also am a bit queasy filling tanks with O2 (deco or partial pressure nitrox) so insist that I inspect them before I do that, unless the boss at dive shop has already done inspection and it has the dive shop sticker. Unknown stickers are always suspect. 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.

As for the number of tanks in hydro that fail viz…. I'm thinking that nearly all of our failures are due to failing viz and not failing hydro. We inspect first and fail them before sending out for hydro, but the ones we do fail are 99% in hydro. But it's not many, maybe 2-3 each year, with 1000 or so inspected yearly on average. we are in tennessee after all. and we do the state wildlife tanks, two dive shops, fire departments (several nearby counties), some dive teams ( but also teach them and certify them to inspect their own).

skip

[BobK]

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.

Apparently you aren't aware of the indoctrination that goes on in a PSI class.

Yup, PSI certified. It's not clear, though, what the issue is with stickers. Tanks shouldn't have many stickers, only enough to tell you the tank was vipped (still on the fence about the need for this, though I admit few "T" bottles go swimming in the ocean), O2 cleaned, and then the current mix. What else does there need to be ?

[Puttzer]

I don't understand.

Why do bands and stickers have to come off?