A dispute at Glenn's Aquarius

[Gombessa]

And if the shop sent it to a hydro facility that can't do the + rating, you have a legit beef with the shop. + ratings CAN be recovered by passing, and the shop should send it to a hydrofacility that CAN do the plus rating. (Personal opinion: If I ran I a dive shop, I would NOT use a hydro facility that can't do a + rating.)

That's part of what I was getting at. If a customer has a tank with a recent hydro date, it somehow then fails viz, gets put through a new hydro, then tumbled (and what, then hydro'd again post-tumble?) and viz'd, and comes back to the customer without a plus rating (even if the tank wasn't plus-rated before, it's something the customer may have wanted to request), it just seems to suck for the customer.

Also, if it fails hydro on that third time, who's to say the stress of the "unnecessary" hydro didn't push it over the edge? Sure, maybe that's unlikely, and you can say unsafe is unsafe, but I assume there's a reason why tanks aren't hydro'd every year, or done ten times in one sitting just to be safe.

In the end, it seems to be a question of whether by doing so, the shop is taking an action that is not only unncessary, but may also have an impact on the life of the tank?

 

[bbianchi]

If it fails a hydro, it isn't safe, it should be taken out of service, period, end of
discussion.

I do agree that the customer should be told that passing a hydro is required to
continue the service process before the tank is sent to hydro.

If it fails the + rating test, you aren't robbed. It wasn't safe for the + rating. And
if the shop sent it to a hydro facility that can't do the + rating, you have a legit beef
with the shop. + ratings CAN be recovered by passing, and the shop should send it
to a hydrofacility that CAN do the plus rating. (Personal opinion: If I ran I a dive shop,
I would NOT use a hydro facility that can't do a + rating.)

Granted this is going more and more off topic...

I would disagree that if the tank fails it should be removed from service. Surely there is some pressure at which it can still be filled to and not be a safety risk. This may not be the initial manufactured pressure but something is better than nothing. Im not saying either that id continue to use the tank for scuba. For example when my tanks no longer pass id much rather prefer to get them back w/out a 1/4" hole in them and just have say 1200 punched in them for the new service pressure. Id then get the tank O2 cleaned and use it as an oxygen storage tank for my beer brewing. All good starters and worts appreciate a little extra O2!

I just dont like the idea of sending in a tank and having it come back destroyed.

 

[TishaDee]

Just to clear the record here for all, we do call our customers and let them know what's going on with their tanks. It's our policy to charge for a Hydro upfront and in so doing our customers are always aware of anything going on with their equipment especially if it might cost them more money.

They are free to ask questions and if they are really concerned about it, they can request that our inspector show them what they found that has caused their tank to fail the VIS. Last but not least, the customer is always free to pull their tank out of service and take it elsewhere if they so choose. We certainly wouldn't stay in business if we slapped our customers with a hefty bill and a condemned tank without their prior knowledge.

---On another note though, I do have a question for you guys. What does QED mean? I was reading the posts and came across it and couldn't figure out what it meant. Forgive my ignorance, but I am new to SB and am still learning the lingo here.

Thanks!

 

[rainman_02]

Quod erat demonstrandum.

 

[Gombessa]

Just to clear the record here for all, we do call our customers and let them know what's going on with their tanks. It's our policy to charge for a Hydro upfront and in so doing our customers are always aware of anything going on with their equipment especially if it might cost them more money.

I know people sometimes have unrealistic expectations of what a shop should charge and what they should provide for free, but in this case where an "unscheduled" hydro is made out to be a standard procedure, should the customer really have to bear the cost? In this case I think the shop should really consider either make it complimentary, or simply refuse to tumble and re-viz the tank.

I still don't know if anyone's answered if a tank needs to be re-hydro'd after tumbling.

---On another note though, I do have a question for you guys. What does QED mean? I was reading the posts and came across it and couldn't figure out what it meant. Forgive my ignorance, but I am new to SB and am still learning the lingo here.

QED = "quod erat demonstrandum" which means That which has been demonstrated. It's traditionally used to signal the completion of a mathematical proof; it's not a scubaboard term.

 

[TishaDee]

I know people sometimes have unrealistic expectations of what a shop should charge and what they should provide for free, but in this case where an "unscheduled" hydro is made out to be a standard procedure, should the customer really have to bear the cost? In this case I think the shop should really consider either make it complimentary, or simply refuse to tumble and re-viz the tank.

I still don't know if anyone's answered if a tank needs to be re-hydro'd after tumbling.



QED = "quod erat demonstrandum" which means That which has been demonstrated. It's traditionally used to signal the completion of a mathematical proof; it's not a scubaboard term.

Thanks for the explanation on what QED means!

I don't want to get burned for speaking about something I'm not certified to perform. But to address your question as far as my LDS is concerned, a Hydro is not required after a tumble. Perhaps there are some instances where a Hydro would be done after a tumble, but I can't think of one and I certainly haven't encountered a situation where it was at my LDS.

 

[dwashbur]

Wow. Talk about getting off topic...

Anyway, getting back to the original subject, the dispute at a particular shop, someone's experience and others of us who have shared similar ones, to those who have been defending the shop in question, I think this comment from another board I frequent where someone had a serious issue with a shop (sold him used equipment as new, among other things) says it all:

Lastly... I know there are people here who probably shop at XXXX exclusively. I know someone is gonna say "I've know so-and-so for 78 years and s/he would never do anything like this." I expect someone will stand up for the shop. Guess what? I don't care. I know what happened concerning my experience, and unless you can convince me that what happned didn't happen, save it. Thanx.

That pretty well sums it up.