A really competent hydro shop near FLL or Tampa?

[Rred]

OK, let me drop a bombshell just to get this clear. If you've ever had a 3000psi+ rated tank, you've been told "That's only when they made it, it can never be recertified with a + rating again." That's a lie. The US DOT says it is a lie, and they have a PDF posted online (in response to a diver's enquiry) saying specifically that it is a lie. The US DOT, the folks who make the rules, say that any + rated tank can be + rated indefinitely, hydro after hydro, as long as it passes the + rated expansion tests, determined by the "REE" rating stamped on the neck of the tank. And for tanks without a REE rating stamp, that the hydro shop should know how to follow the procedure in CGA5 (Compressed Gas Association manual revision 5) that tells them how to find the REE rating for a tank. This of course requires that the hydro shop knows WTF they are doing, and can READ their gauges and actually do simple division. It also requires that they spend about $125 on the "+" die, which is not part of a normal set. And it requires offering customers a very confusing CHOICE of two hydros, which means a chance for the customer or dive shop to mess up.

But the point is, all the shops that have told you "No, you can't get another + rating" have been either seriously misinformed, or lying.

And since I have a PSI Steel 96 (vintage 1985, mine since new) and I'd really like to regain the 10% of extra air as a safety margin...I need a competent shop that knows how to do this. I've tried the shops up north (metro NY) and they are clueless. I've tried I think all the shops in the FLL area, they are also clueless, even though one maker of testing equipment (to determine the REE numbers) is right here.

So I'm told that the totally insane (in a good way) shops that service cave divers around Tampa and Crystal River Caves actually can and will do + hydros, and they might even know how to put the correct REE number on the tank to make that all 100% DOT compliant. (PSI threw out all the old papers that would have made this simple, long ago. Nice guys.)

Which leaves only one question: Anyone know a hydro shop in the FLL or Tampa areas, even vaguely close, that knows how to find a REE number and perform a + hydro test? Not just clerks like McDonalds who press picture buttons on the cash register, but someone who actually KNOWS what hydro shops are supposedly required to learn before they are certified to do hydros?

Or does anyone know how I can have a REE number determined for my tank? (Looking at the CGA manual results in a headache, it ain't pretty.)

Thank you. And remember, if your shop tells you "That can't be done" you're allowed to say "Liar liar pants on fire, GO ASK THE DOT ABOUT THAT."

 

[divad]

Have you tried Hydro-Stat near Pompano? It's not a dive shoppe.

 

[Rred]

I think I spoke with them last year and they said they didn't have the tank wall testing equipment. Unless you know they can do it?

 

[Wookie]

Quiescence in Key Largo can and will regain the missing and coveted '+' rating. As you say, it isn't rocket science. Now, I've never heard of a PSI cylinder, or a steel 96, although I have owned many Pressed Steel 95's. Either way, they have done my hydros for years, and never failed to place a + rating on a low pressure steel cylinder. And REE isn't just for LP steels, it's for many many steels.

I expect the REE for your cylinder is 80.

 

[Rred]

Bless you Wookie! I will certainly look into that, there are worse places to make a road trip to.(G)
PSI is the full name for Pressed Steel Inc. (or International?) whatever they called themselves at the time. Offhand I think the tank was a 96.2 cf tank and when I got in (84? they were "the" radical new alternative to alu80's. In my case I wanted it because it meant I could take 10# off my weight belt, compared to my Alu80, plus of course I'd have 20% more air (using the "tank' figured not actual capacities) which would let me stretch my dives a bit more, or simply have more reserve, or air to share.

They never old a lot, because (in the unlikely event that I recall correctly) they were something like $250 versus $150 for an Alu80, both with J valves. I wound up casting a 10# lead disc and gluing it under my Alu80 so the two tanks could work without changing weights on my belt.

But on either tank...that "no more + fills" business always rankled me. I know, some shops would always do you a favor, some still will, but I don't want to rely of favors, I just want them to do things "by the book" and the DOT says that THE BOOK has no problem with + certifications. (Since the tanks are tested for 5000 psi, or 5500 psi for the + rating, and 10,000 fill cycles....Do I really believe 3400 or even 3500# over a lifetime of maybe 500 fills can ever be a problem? Ahuh, right.(G)

I heard someone else, who did the REE measurements himself on two tanks, came up with something like 56 for them, fwiw.

 

[luscioman]

Call Mark. He is right off I95 in Ft Lauderdale


Tanks Services - Hydro Testing VIP- o2 Cleaning - Tumbling - Air Fills

 

[Rred]

Wookie-
Quiescense sound like nice guys but they're not set up to determine REE numbers, so they can't help. FWIW I've been told the REE on these tanks should be around 60 (from someone who has done it the hard way) and yes, I'm aware that *all* tanks have a REE number, or can have a REE number, if anyone bothers to test them and stamp them.

"PSI" and "PST" are the same people. Pressed Steel Inc. made Pressed Steel Tanks, so they were known two different ways, fwiw.

Luscio-
Mark is a nice guy, but some local shops won't honor his 'generic' labels, making it problematic. He also has no concept of what a REE number is, or the means to determine it. From what I can tell, a shop needs an ultrasound tester (which is normal for non-destructive testing on pipes and tanks) to take thickness measurements around the tank, and then run the numbers to get the REE number. You can find CGA5 (with difficulty) on the web if you want to read the gory process.(G)

 

[teknitroxdiver]

As an officially licensed 'hillbilly problem solver', I cannot help but notice that a metal stamp shaped conveniently like a + is widely available for about $30. If one were to combine that with a 2-pound shop hammer, the results could be productive.

 

[Rred]

That's impressive. Normally a tool steel shaped + mark has to be ordered as a custom die for about $125. $30 would be a bargain for it. Although of course, I could flatten down a Philips head screwdriver and do the same thing for under ten bucks.(G)

The problem there is that most of the local shops would recognize, or could verify, the mark of the hydro shop itself, and they know damned well that none of the local or familiar hydro shops will be putting + stamps on cylinders. The outfall of that could be real nasty. So I'd rather just do it the safe and proper way.

 

[teknitroxdiver]

#230-111: STAMP, PLUS SYMBOL "+" 3/8" CHAR.

Good point that you would not want your arts and crafts activities to inadvertently get caught, of course.