jamiei once bubbled...
my question... do I have to be "officially trained and certified" to do my vip for a shop to fill it?
Actually the answer is no. However there is a BIG "but".
You need to understand that the VIP process is a safety process created by the dive industry to 1) insure that tanks that had deterioated to the point of being unsafe since their last hydro (as much as 5 years earlier) were screened out to prevent them from bursting (the problem being steel tanks rusting), 2) put some money in their pocket. Neither is a bad thing if the program is administered correctly.
However, the VIP (as practiced by the dive industry) is NOT required by any DOT regs, only by dive industry standard.
Most folks that I have known in the dive industry (to include myself when I taught and worked PT in a dive shop) never received any training in the process.
Bill High of PSI has created a nice niche market to train folks in the VIP process and certify them as having received this training. OSHA stipulates that indivudals working with hazerdous materials must receive certain training. The PSI course is sold as meeting this training requirement. You as an indivual can take this training (cost is about $200) and then can purchase VIP stickers from PSI to place on tanks that you inspect for yourself or others.
One additional problem is the current eddy test that is in use to detect slc (sustained load cracking) in cylinders made of what is now believed to be a questionable alloy. This test requires a device that costs in the range of $1000. Without it you can't perform this test. Consequently you could take the PSI course and VIP your tanks but the shop might refuse to fill them because you didn't have a VIP "+" (+ being the current eddy test). However, unless the tanks were made of the questionable alloy (6351) or are over 10 or 15 years old, Luxifer says they should NOT be current eddy tested because there is not a risk of SLC and the test gives too many false positives.
Back to the question, can you do as good a job? Absolutely, take the course or just buy his book which will tell you how to do it.
Might you still run into problems with a LDS? Yes.
Dave D