I think I have been "had" just a bit

[syntaxerrorsix]

Yes, I don't recall the details but there are some restrictions for hazmat use where, in this case, compressed gas is not being considered hazardous for purposes of determining service life for scuba use.

As you say, we're not going to run into the 40 year thing right away. It's just that some shops aren't always fully aware of the 'real' requirements. Kind of like that '15 year' thing. It pays to keep them honest.

Actually, around here things go exactly as they should. My old Al 80 is known to be 6061, it keeps passing hydro and it keeps getting O2 cleaned and filled. No problems whatsoever.

But if I missed something in the PSI VIP course, I want to get up to date.

Enjoy your trip!

Richard

I agree, it does pay to keep them honest. Even when they don't want to hear it. I'll let you know what I find.

 

[Lead_carrier]

I don't know af anyone with any credibility who would fill a Luxfer tank manufactured before 1988. Catalina? No problem.

What has filling an older Luxfer got to do with crediibility?

 

[MichaelRyanSd]

Wow, I don't know where this thread has gone, but yeah it is a 84 Lux tank.

To be honest, I am just starting out and as someone mentioned earlier, sometime education isn't cheap. So for now I will continue using the tank until I can get a steel one.

The only thing that bothers me a bit, is the fact that in reality any scuba shop can say they won't accept a hydro or vis on a tank for whatever reason. So its like I could in theory, have to pay to get any tank I have tested every time I switch shops

 

[LIVES4SHARKS]

Michael, don't depsair, you have just learned like most of us do in this sport. What is good is that you found Scubaboard where you can get useful information. It's always good to ask questions before you buy new and used equipment so that you get the most out of your hard earned money. Steels are great tanks, I like them for their negative buoyancy and fill capacity but AL tanks are fine to use, so don't necessarily avoid them.

Carolyn:shark2:

 

[syntaxerrorsix]

Wow, I don't know where this thread has gone, but yeah it is a 84 Lux tank.

To be honest, I am just starting out and as someone mentioned earlier, sometime education isn't cheap. So for now I will continue using the tank until I can get a steel one.

The only thing that bothers me a bit, is the fact that in reality any scuba shop can say they won't accept a hydro or vis on a tank for whatever reason. So its like I could in theory, have to pay to get any tank I have tested every time I switch shops

Your theory is correct, it can be a pain in the butt until you establish a relationship with the shops you frequent and they get to know you and your tank. You also appear to have tank with no physical issues to concern you or the shop that is currently filling it. Dive it and enjoy it.

 

[rstofer]

The only thing that bothers me a bit, is the fact that in reality any scuba shop can say they won't accept a hydro or vis on a tank for whatever reason. So its like I could in theory, have to pay to get any tank I have tested every time I switch shops

Having tanks rejected is far more common with old aluminum tanks that it is with steel. Everybody knows there is a problem with old aluminum tanks, they just can't remember the details. So, rather than actually understand the issue, they just come up with arbitrary 'standards' for their shop.

But, it is their shop. The employees' safety is of utmost importance and if I owned the shop, I wouldn't even touch a 6351 tank even though I know that the failure rate is essentially zero. The thing is, it isn't absolutely zero. I would be no better than any other shop owner. I'm not risking anything just to get a couple of bucks for filling your tank.

I would never let a customer's problem become my problem. Pretty simple rule!

Richard

 

[MichaelRyanSd]

Not to stir the pot here, but I was looking at the data on the tanks, and given what you just said, it is essentially a failure rate of near 0.

I understand the shop owners are looking out for themselves and the welfare of their employees, understandbly so. But if they won't fill tanks because of a few incidents and they are looking out for their safety, shouldn't they essentially be telling their employee's not to go scuba diving, since it too has a extremly low fatality rate. Or for that matter, tell them not to fly drive, or even get out of bed?

 

[ScubaInChicago]

Not to stir the pot here, but I was looking at the data on the tanks, and given what you just said, it is essentially a failure rate of near 0.

I understand the shop owners are looking out for themselves and the welfare of their employees, understandably so. But if they won't fill tanks because of a few incidents and they are looking out for their safety, shouldn't they essentially be telling their employee's not to go scuba diving, since it too has a extremely low fatality rate. Or for that matter, tell them not to fly drive, or even get out of bed?

Till you see pictures of what an explosion of a tank does to a building. Worse yet severed limbs and shrapnel everywhere (google it, it's out there). It's not that the shops want to be jerks to their customers, it's about how they would feel if they had to inform the loved one of an employee the they died because your store policy is to fill a minutely questionable tank. If they take that risk, that is something they will have to live with personally and financially for a long time to come.

Why give a shop owner a hard time for respecting fellow human lives over a $150 tank or a $2-5 fill?

 

[DaleC]

Aren't you clever. The OP's tank was made in '84 Catalina did not produce AL80's until '86 and Luxfer and Walter Kiddie used the 6351 alloy in the US from 1972 through mid-1988.

Got a calculator handy or can you do the math?

Why yes I am clever, clever enough not to take anything you say on the subject seriously. I still remember you stating that 6351 tanks require 3 visual inspections a year and that you would require a vis AND HYDRO before filling unfamiliar tanks. I can provide the links to the thread if you want to argue that I am taking those words out of context.

Got a big old memory eraser handy?

 

[MichaelRyanSd]

I totally understand, and like I said, will get a new tank soon, but it just seems to me, like a few incidenst have sensationalized the whole "scuba tank filling industry" and the likleyhood of someone being hurt/killed is really no great if not in fact less than the your chances in an airplane, driving a car, or scuba diving.