Tank failing Visual, shop condemned the tank?

[Scared Silly]

What a goof ball of a shop. As said above, take a little acetone and remove the chicken scratch and go find a shop that will do a proper VIP. That said, note what is written above about signing a waiver that gives the shop ability to condemn the cylinder as well as the option of rendering the cylinder unable to hold pressure.

Note a cylinder that fails a VIP does not necessarily need to permanently taken out of service. A cylinder may have too much rust thus failing the VIP. But after a tumbling would pass.

 

[tursiops]

What a goof ball of a shop. As said above, take a little acetone and remove the chicken scratch and go find a shop that will do a proper VIP. That said, note what is written above about signing a waiver that gives the shop ability to condemn the cylinder as well as the option of rendering the cylinder unable to hold pressure.

Note a cylinder that fails a VIP does not necessarily need to permanently taken out of service. A cylinder may have too much rust thus failing the VIP. But after a tumbling would pass.

No rust in that tank. Look at his pix; it is an AL.

 

[txgoose]

That sharpie work is sad and funny. You’ve been given good advice here. Remove ink, take somewhere reputable.

As Scared Silly said bad vip does not mean condemned. I had four tanks out of hydro and vip, took them in. All passed hydro, one wouldn’t pass vip without a tumble. Magically it got tumbled and passed vip. Didn’t need to be condemned. Just needed a spot o’ work.

 

[rsingler]

So I'll play Devil's Advocate here.
For argument's sake, I'll take the shop's side.
They didn't get a waiver, so couldn't legitimately drill a hole in the neck to condemn it permanently.
Maybe there are cracks in the first three threads above the shoulder. Maybe this, maybe that. Maybe there's a deep scratch in the outer wall, or a dent you didn't notice. Maybe the pitting inside is indeed deeper than allowable, as your original post suggested. As you noted, you didn't buy the tank new. Maybe the shop you should be unhappy with is the one that approved it last time and filled a bomb on your back.
Anyway, this shop "condemned" it, but with a Magic Marker for Pete's sake!
As everyone's said, you can acetone it out and try again if you think the shop is wrong. They clearly are offering you that possibility.
Me? I'll drop by the shop, ask for a written report (including the specific reason the tank must be condemned, and the regulation that decision was based upon), and from that, find out what they think the problem was. If they're right, you should thank them. If we Internet quarterbacks are right, then you have just found out all you need to do to get your tank back functioning. All you lost was the cost of a bad VIS.

 

[GJC]

Hello,
I recently started diving again after a 3 year break. I took all 6 of my tanks to a LDS, most of the them needed hydro, they all needed VIS. My wife picked them up today and one of them failed the visual inspection. It also needed Hydro, but since it failed their visual they didn't send it for Hydro (makes perfect sense). I was surprised to find out that they wrote "condemned" all over it in sharpie and XXX's over the stamps. It's my understanding that a shop has no right to mark up a tank that failed a VIS, because visuals are based off of opinion right?

They said it had corrosion inside probably caused by the tank being completely bled off and saltwater getting inside, since I haven't owned the tank since new this is possible. But, I had the tank VIS'd, O2 cleaned and filled with Nitrox 3 years ago, and didn't end up using it at all, so it was still full to 3000PSI with the air from it's last VIS. This was done at a different LDS where I used to live and had a great relationship with.

So, do they have a right to "condemn" my tank based off a failed VIS? Upon looking inside with a flashlight I can't see anything bad going on, but it would have been nice to get a second opinion from another LDS before trashing my tank.

Since I didn't pick up the tanks I wasn't able to question them at pickup, so I just wanted to get some opinions on the matter before I call them next week.


Thanks.

How old is the tank? Looks like that manufacter stamp is from the 80s, but it's hard to read.

If it's that old , it may be the old AL alloy that is prone to neck cracks. If there are neck cracks or if the threads are damaged it should condemned.

If there is just bad corrosion inside, it may be worth getting it tumbled to see if there are any deep pits and then hydro.

Definitely need more info from the original inspector and maybe a second opinion from another shop. VIP inspections are very subjective and the training and experience of inspectors can vary greatly. It's OK to get a second opinion.

 

[tc]

A “minor crack” is OK?

Not according to any agency in the US certifying visual inspectors. If you’re aware of one I’d like to see their standard.

Your other points are mostly valid, minor surface corrosion and shallow pitting can often be tumbled out.

A damaged thread, if near the the top disqualifies the tank as well. If there are enough undamaged threads above it then it may still pass.

A written summary of a tank inspection provided to the customer is one of the indicators of a professional inspection. Lack of a written explanation when condemning a tank is an absolute indication of lack of professionalism.

 

[Edward3c]

When a tank fails in the U.K. we don’t get it back.

Why, in the past people have welded the drilled hole; or filled it with lead. On one occasion when the cylinder was cut in half it was soldered together shot blasted and painted. It was only the diligence of the operator that saved their live.

When my last tank failed, I was taken into the test room and shown the inside of the cylinder.

 

[acarter92]

Thanks for all the replies. I didn't think the sharpie would come off very easily considering the finish of the tank, but I was able to get it mostly off. There is still some staining left but it shouldn't be a problem, only took an hour with acetone and scrubber... So, since I was able to get it back to the condition it was in when I dropped it off, I'll go my separate ways from that LDS and let that be the end of it. I will get a second opinion and if the second shop fails it then I will be happy to make it scrap metal... but upon looking inside with flashlight I can't see anything to get worked up about.

For the record, it's a standard Aluminum 80, manufacture date 2001, this would have been it's 3rd Hyrdro. I didn't sign anything from the shop when I dropped it off, also didn't receive any written explanation of why it failed. Just a verbal explanation saying that it failed due to some pitting/ corrosion on the bottom inside, no cracks or anything crazy. No mention of corrective action was brought up by them.

This same shop also got me for well over $500 to service two sets of standard regulators, lesson learned I guess.

 

[tbone1004]

@acarter92 IIRC @Luis H knows a few hydro shops up in Maine that you could take it directly to. They are the only ones who can legally condemn a tank, PSI/PCI or TDI inspectors can only do it if they have a signed waiver from you. Take it straight to the hydro shop, their VIP trumps the PSI ones anyway.

$500 to service regulators? You were straight up raped, I'd run away and avoid that shop at all costs and tell your friends to do the same. It's amazing they're still in business. I didn't have any dive shop interaction when I was living in Maine since I had access to a fill station and do my own service, but I'm glad I didn't have to find this shop

 

[BoltSnap]

$500 to service regulators? You were straight up raped, I'd run away and avoid that shop at all costs and tell your friends to do the same. It's amazing they're still in business. I didn't have any dive shop interaction when I was living in Maine since I had access to a fill station and do my own service, but I'm glad I didn't have to find this shop

You know better than to believe stories on the internet without verification, don't you?