4 hydros; NO refill...

[rddvet]

Lots of ow shops come up with dumb reasons not to fill tanks. Usually out of lack of knowledge, stupidity, or misinformation. As long as the tank isn’t made of the old, bad alloy aluminum, is in vip and hydro, they have no reasons decline to fill it. At the same time, it’s their shop so they can make up their own rules.
I would never use them again and tell all your local friends

 

[Shabaday]

Was this at International Scuba?

 

[Compressor]

Had a dive shop almost decline filling my tanks because they were close to the 20 year mark. He said after the next hydro they would not because the tanks are 20 years old. All my tanks are current (and in good shape) with hydro and VIP. (They need more wear from diving but the day job, and the wife...) In as much as a shop can decline to do whatever they want, I've never heard this then again, I usually go back to the same shop that does all my service and my tanks are just now turning twenty. I was a few hours away in a different area diving when this happened.

I had this happen to me once. A steel tank fresh from hydro. The tank was 15 years old. The shop said it's too old to fill. Once I realized that logic will not change minds, I said goodbye politely and left. Needless to say, it was the last time I visited that shop.

It's their choice to fill tanks or not. It's our choice to give them air fill or other business too.

 

[Nemrod]

I run into this commonly in Florida, specifically regarding aluminum tanks, 20 years seems to be some sort of unofficial cutoff. As well, I find getting steel 72s filled is hit or miss the further into Florida I go.

James

 

[boulderjohn]

The idea that it is unsafe to fill a tank after 20 years is very common, even though it has absolutely no basis in fact.

I assume the myth started with the 6351 alloy used in some aluminum tanks, a problem from about 4 decades ago. For a full explanation, read this article.

Once it was realized that some tanks made of this alloy were potentially dangerous, shops had to decide how to deal with them. Rather than make a list of the specific models of tanks made of this alloy, some shops made a blanket policy not to fill aluminum tanks more than 20 years old, since that alloy had not been used on any tanks for more than that many years. That policy continued after employees lost sight of the reason for it.

A recent thread on ScubaBoard indicates the depth of the problem. Someone posted that a Florida shop refused to fill any tanks, aluminum or steel, if they were more than 20 years. Surprised, I went into the shop and asked about it, and they looked at me as if I were crazy. There's nothing wrong with tanks over 20 years old they said--we fill them. I was later shown the shop's written policy, which confirmed it. I am sure the person who had been denied fills was telling the truth, so what must have happened is that an individual employee one day refused to fill the tanks, having falsely heard in the past that there was a rule against it.

I suggest you print off the article to which I linked and show it to the shop. Ask them to cite a reputable reference to the contrary.

 

[boulderjohn]

After writing my last post, I started to do some more research on the history of this practice and was surprised by what I found. This article in the Undercurrent magazine does show some of the history of this. It talks about the danger of aging aluminum tanks, and it cites two sources for their concern, and both are ironic.

One is Bill High, then the owner of PSI, one of the main companies certifying people as tank inspectors. Ironically, PSI is the source of the article I cited above, an article from 2011 that contradicts the concern expressed in 2000.​

​

The other is Force E scuba in Florida, a shop with several locations that had just instituted a policy of refusing to fill aluminum tanks over 15 years old. That is the very shop I mentioned above, the shop that today has a very different current written policy and that told one person one thing and told me another.​

It is evident that there is a history with this issue, and it is easy to see why people are confused.

 

[Nemrod]

I am not bashing on a store, but a "shop" that @boulderjohn mentions has refused many times to fill in fresh hydro aluminum tanks, steel 72s and in one case a BRAND NEW steel Faber LP85 that I had put a vintage Voit decal on. But, I have had some good experiences with this "shop" and will continue to do business with them, aside from tank filling.

James

 

[Gone for diving]

I have a home for 20 + year old tanks,
I don't discriminate my age, or if you are a bit shabby and showing your years,
If you are functional I will take good care of you,
Old tanks have a good home here, work is not to hard, your home will consist of a warm garage, you maybe required to work aprox 2-3times a year, and you will not be left without air,

If not functional, not to worry, more than likely you will be designed in some other functioning piece of equipment and have an extended life, not as a dive tank, but and some contraption that your owner is building,

 

[boulderjohn]

This one says aluminum tanks can last up to 20 years. Scuba Tank Lifespan: How Long Do They Last? - OpenWaterHQ

I am not bashing on a store, but a "shop" that @boulderjohn mentions has refused many times to fill in fresh hydro aluminum tanks, steel 72s and in one case a BRAND NEW steel Faber LP85 that I had put a vintage Voit decal on. But, I have had some good experiences with this "shop" and will continue to do business with them, aside from tank filling.

James

I am not surprised. They seem to be very confused as to their own policies. For the customer, their actual policy is not important; what is important is what the employee on duty that day thinks that policy says.

 

[SubseaSports]

"after the next hydro" do you mean when the hydro is out of date? Also, assuming you are talking about AL tanks.

I worked in a very busy shop in SoFlo not too long ago. It was very frustrating to get everyone on the same page, aka knowledge, as sometimes the fill bro was either swamped and needed help or not there. So we instituted a policy on AL tanks...No-go on any older than '90. No more studying tanks and their history, and no more filling tanks that we should not be filling.

It PO'ed a handful of customers, but what are you going to do.

No problems with steelies, well except lp72's. I would fill them, but others would not. There was rumor of a local kaboom of one a while back, so that ended that.