Bad tank alloy

[Scared Silly]

If the cylinder is not clearly marked then why are you filling it?

Aluminum cylinders do not rust - or do you also not fill steel cylinders older than 20 years?

I guess I am with DA, except I am willing to say

Any steel - fill it
Any Catalina - fill it
Luxfer - any after 1989.
WK/Cliff - can it.

If you can not read the marking - fix it or can it.

I do not think it is that hard. If it is then what else is that hard??? As for the drive 40 miles to find some one that might or might not fill it. It is not worth the effort. Remember there are lots of places other than the Florida Keys to dive.

 

[Superlyte27]

If the cylinder is not clearly marked then why are you filling it?

Aluminum cylinders do not rust - or do you also not fill steel cylinders older than 20 years?

I guess I am with DA, except I am willing to say

Any steel - fill it
Any Catalina - fill it
Luxfer - any after 1989.
WK/Cliff - can it.

If you can not read the marking - fix it or can it.

I do not think it is that hard. If it is then what else is that hard??? As for the drive 40 miles to find some one that might or might not fill it. It is not worth the effort. Remember there are lots of places other than the Florida Keys to dive.

Aluminum tanks don't rust, but they do get ashy. I'm not saying you can't read it at all, but some times it takes quite a bit of effort. Or haven't you experienced that?Quite a bit of effort on just 10 tanks can be a pain in the butt. It seems like these tanks come in groups. A guy has 6 or so tanks from 1980'ish that he bought all at once and a few new ones thrown in. Fortunately, they are rare that we see them since most people in our area know the policy. We fill steel tanks regardless of age.

You gotta bare in mind that we get all walks of life in here. We had 30 year old regulators that hadn't been serviced in that amount of time. They were kept in a garage, filled with bugs and dirt. Tanks are in the same shape often times. These are not clean tanks always that are maintained like we would. The policy works for us, I'm truly sorry that it costs customers more money (I lost 4 tanks for the same reason, which were actually bad alloy) but I'm not sorry enough to argue with the owner of the shop about it, especially since I agree with his stance.

Buy steel next time.

 

[Stu S.]

Buy steel next time.

Is this year 1982 or 2010?

 

[DA Aquamaster]

That sounds great, but I work in the real world. Not every tank is clearly marked. They been marred up, rusted up, covered up, whatever. Paint chipped, pitting, whatever phucking reason you want. It's a pain in the arse and I'm not going to friggin do it. If you don't like it, go to the only other compressor in 40 miles and he can put 3k in your tank. Oh wait, he won't fill them either.

The rest of us work in the real world too and deal with the same problems - we just don't decide a customer should throw away a perfectly good 6061 T6 Al tank just because we are too ****ing lazy to look at it.

If visibility is the issue, advertise it as an issue. Ever hear of a crayon? When you do the annaul VIP and/or when a hard to read tank comes through, use a crayon in a contrasting color to fill in the markings for original and most recent hydro test. Takes very little time, but saves lots on future fills.

You are missing the point - apparently on purpose. You will invest exactly the same amont of time reading the markings on an "unfillable" 1989 vintage Luxfer tank as you will on a "fillable" 1990 luxfer tank. And if the markings are hard to read - you will probably spend less time verifying the alloy in a catalina tank as the "catalina" is a lot easier to read than the born on date. The only difference is that after investing that time in looking at the markings on a 1-88 to 12-89 Luxfer or a 1986-1990 Catalina tank, you will decide not to fill it and lose the price of the fill. Its a true lose-lose proposition, but one you seem hell bent to defend.

IT IS NOT WORTH THE EFFORT. WE WON'T DO IT. IF YOU DON'T LIKE IT, BUY YOUR OWN COMPRESSOR OR DRIVE 50+ MILES TRYING TO FIND SOMEONE WITH A DIFFERENT POLICY.

In the interest of transparency and openess, how about telling us where you work so we can avoid it?

 

[Superlyte27]

The rest of us work in the real world too and deal with the same problems - we just don't decide a customer should throw away a perfectly good 6061 T6 Al tank just because we are too ****ing lazy to look at it.

If visibility is the issue, advertise it as an issue. Ever hear of a crayon? When you do the annaul VIP and/or when a hard to read tank comes through, use a crayon in a contrasting color to fill in the markings for original and most recent hydro test. Takes very little time, but saves lots on future fills.

You are missing the point - apparently on purpose. You will invest exactly the same amont of time reading the markings on an "unfillable" 1989 vintage Luxfer tank as you will on a "fillable" 1990 luxfer tank. And if the markings are hard to read - you will probably spend less time verifying the alloy in a catalina tank as the "catalina" is a lot easier to read than the born on date. The only difference is that after investing that time in looking at the markings on a 1-88 to 12-89 Luxfer or a 1986-1990 Catalina tank, you will decide not to fill it and lose the price of the fill. Its a true lose-lose proposition, but one you seem hell bent to defend.

I own my own compressor and bought it because of assholes like you.

In the interest of transparency and openess, how about telling us where you work so we can avoid it?

How that's compressor working out for you. By now you are figuring out that it costs more to operate and maintain a compressor than what you save by filling your own tanks. That to me is hilarious to me.

And I already told you I was a prick. It makes me happy that you are now realizing it.

*edit* The other thing that is hilarious to me is that you are trying to change my mind on this. It's not my shop. I'm merely a pawn obeying orders. It does make me happy that those orders piss you off tho. So I got that going for me at least.

 

[duckbill]

Go with Steel next time.

Buy steel next time.

What for? You already said.....

Our shop will not fill any pre-90 tank. Eddy current test or not. It's the owner's policy.

You are contradicting yourself, and not a single one of your arguments make any sense. When your irrational excuses are shown for what they are, the best you can do is make out like your sole purpose is to irritate anyone smarter than you. How old are you? Show some respect for your elders, kid.

BTW, your dive shop is ripe for competition. With policies like that, it's just a matter of time. I love my compressor.

 

[duckbill]

I'm having fun pissing you off. LOL

You're wrong again (big surprise). My feathers aren't ruffled in the least.

You know what the greatest part about your generation is? It'll be dead soon.

Well, in your case, with your attitude, I expect we'll outlive you.

 

[captain]

I have a compressor I bought in 1968 just to avoid shops like yours. I filled some tanks with it today. I am way ahead if the game.

 

[Superlyte27]

You're wrong again (big surprise). My feathers aren't ruffled in the least.



Well, in your case, with your attitude, I expect we'll outlive you.

Why is some scubaboard assassin gonna come kill me?
You might outlive me. I'd bet we're more similar in age than you would think. I've been married almost 15 years and have 4 children, if that's a clue. I've probably made it over the biggest hurdle. I quit trying to kill people nearly a decade a go, and far as I know, people quit trying to kill me.

The beauty of SB is that unlike the real world, when someone is a flaming idiot, you can tell them so.

Just to summarize. It's not my shop. It's not my policy. The guy who pays me says don't fill anything pre-90. Yes, I know it's a lazy method of doing things. But in a time when so many people are out of work, I'll keep the employer happy, even if it makes one or two people unhappy. Does that sound reasonable to you? The funny thing is, nearly every shop in Keys does things the same way. Both shops in my area do it the same way. Every shop near my fathers house 200 miles away from here do it the same way. This isn't my standard, but lots of shop's standards. But you villanize me because i'm here and willing to stand up for myself. I'm sorry you are diving gear that's older than your children and shops want you to replace that gear. But i'm not the bad guy here. I'm just the vocal guy here, and i'm not rare.

You are trying to win a debate with the lowest man on the totem pole about changing our policy for filling tanks. That's not dumb to you? I understand that in today's society businesses are filled with employees who don't want to work hard, don't want to listen to their bosses, barely show up for work on time or every day. I'm not that guy. Boss says "do this, this way". My response is, "yes sir". End of story. And honestly, if that sucks for you, then Yippie. A bonus.

 

[Superlyte27]

I have a compressor I bought in 1968 just to avoid shops like yours. I filled some tanks with it today. I am way ahead if the game.

I bet if you take the initial cost of that compressor, plus the costs of the rebuilds, plus the costs of the filter media (even if you fill your own filters), plus the cost of oil and electricity, you're not ahead anything.

We've done the math. Charging $4 per air fill, we don't break even on filling tanks. It's a means of getting people into the store to buy gear.


*edit* are you doing air quality tests every 3 months? This costs us $200 a year. That $200 alone would equal 50 dives at 4$ per fill.