A dispute at Glenn's Aquarius

[dwashbur]

We had our own problem a couple of years ago, before we got all our own gear. It was our first time diving Monterey, we were still pretty green, and we rented tanks and regs from them. I noticed that the octopus on my reg didn't have the usual exhaust thing that diverts the air to the sides, and had a sharp edge that came close to cutting my finger. I didn't say anything, I just figured it was a different style. We went for a couple of dives and when we brought the gear back, Glenn looked at the octo and growled (literally) "You broke it!" I had no idea what he was talking about. He showed it to me and I tried to explain that it was that way when I took it out, even showing him the mark on my finger from the sharp edge. He refused to believe it and lectured me about what it takes to repair that kind of reg, how far you have to tear it down, blah blah blah. In the ened he only charged me $8 for the part, so I let it go. But we haven't been back. We got to the Aquarius on Del Monte and they've been very good to us. Folks who rent tanks will be disappointed that they only rent 80's; for bigger it'll be necessary to go over to MBDC or some such. But we use our own steel 95's so tank rental isn't an issue for us.

It's a shame that there are so many horror stories about a shop that's in such a prime location. I have no idea what to do about it, just sharing my own story FWIW.

On the flip side, I do have to say that my daughter had forgotten her C-card that day, but had her log book with her. He went ahead and rented her a tank based on that, so she was able to dive despite being a little absent-minded. We did appreciate that gesture.

 

[marcus8]

Thanks much for all of your excellent responses everyone. I actually had not heard such stories about this shop in the past. In truth, I've had a rather cordial relationship with Glenn and the shop folks there prior to this and had used their services and even recommended them in the past to friends, family, and acquaintances in years past. I generally have a "we're all in this together" attitude with divers, ops, boats, and shops. I prefer it that way and just wish this event had not happened.

Again, my thanks for your feedback. This has been very helpful for me to read today.

Mark

 

[ianr33]

if fails the vip all together then it will require a Hydro which we charge $30 for.

Why would you hydro a tank that has just failed VIP? Does the Hydro magically fix whatever was wrong with the tank so that it passes VIP next time around?

 

[mobeeno]

Why would you hydro a tank that has just failed VIP? Does the Hydro magically fix whatever was wrong with the tank so that it passes VIP next time around?

Probably meant tumble

 

[TishaDee]

Why would you hydro a tank that has just failed VIP? Does the Hydro magically fix whatever was wrong with the tank so that it passes VIP next time around?

I'm not a certified Visual Inspector, so I can't answer you with all the exact technical details of it and perhaps some folks on here can chip in their two cents. But from what I gather, it's to ensure that the tank which is visibly in very bad shape, is still structurally sound enough to pass a Hydro before the major overhaul needed to pass the visual is done, this saves the shop time and the customer money in the long run. No one wants to invest a lot of money in a tank that won't pass the next Hydro.

I'm not sure if this is a requirement of the VIP tank certification process or just how our shop does things. But suppose you failed the VIP and the tank was going to require 8 to 10 or more hours of tumbling (typically tanks get 1-3 hours from what I've seen in our shop) and 8-10 hours would cost substantially more then a 1-3 hour tumble and let's say it was an O2 clean tank which would require another step in the process and a few more bucks on top of that. Now you've got a customer who's out a decent wad of cash and a tank that has questionble integrity released back into service with that inspector/shops name tied to it all.

That puts both the customer and the shop in a compromising and risky position and when it comes to life supporting devices it's always better to play it safe then to end up sorry.

So if it looks to be in bad enough shape during the visual we move it right into Hydro to make sure it's a good tank before we move on with the overhaul. Again I don't know if that's the industry standard, or just how we do things. But it makes sense to me.

 

[dannobee]

I'm not sure if this is a requirement of the VIP tank certification process or just how our shop does things. But suppose you failed the VIP and the tank was going to require 8 to 10 or more hours of tumbling (typically tanks get 1-3 hours from what I've seen in our shop) and 8-10 hours would cost substantially more then a 1-3 hour tumble and let's say it was an O2 clean tank which would require another step in the process and a few more bucks on top of that. Now you've got a customer who's out a decent wad of cash and a tank that has questionable integrity released back into service with that inspector/shops name tied to it all.

How would a tank with salt water in it for less than a few hours (assuming the renter breathed it down just before returning it), require 10 hours of tumbling? This of course, assumes that the tank was completely empty and water entered through the regulator.

While I personally abhor people who bring me tanks with less than a hundred psi in them, I've never found any water in tanks when VISing them.

If there was significant rust in the tank when the valve was removed, it certainly didn't come from a diver that morning; it was there beforehand, and the last customer would likely be paying to service a tank that was likely damaged from poor compressor maintenance or filling procedures.

 

[alibi 2]

Wow...I hear your side then there is their side ...somewhere in between is the truth...but YOU should always return with 500 PSI to the beach..or boat...for safety..

 

[Teamcasa]

While I personally abhor people who bring me tanks with less than a hundred psi in them,

Wow! That's a powerful emotion for such a trivial thing.

 

[Ben_ca]

Wow! That's a powerful emotion for such a trivial thing.

yes... but it pays off enormously when it's scrabble night at the Dannobee's

 

[dannobee]

Wow! That's a powerful emotion for such a trivial thing.

It's not trivial when they're MY tanks, MY compressor, and the gas that I didn't charge for (32%).

If somebody's lending you stuff and doesn't charge for a fill, at least have the decency to return the tank with 500 psi in it.