BSAC avoids annual VIP

[noj3333]

If the dive shop isn't happy doing them, and they're not making enough money... and the customer isn't happy having them done, and paying for it... WHY DOESN'T THE INDUSTRY MAKE IT VOLUNTARY????

 

[tbone1004]

hydro still costs money even if you do your own VIP and cleaning

my local hydro shop charges less than $15/tank for hydro. I think $20/tank if you want a VIP sticker and an air fill.... They do not do much of any scuba volume, it's all fire department and gas supplier stuff, but that is very much their price

 

[Compressor]

hydro still costs money even if you do your own VIP and cleaning

Well if you divide by zero the answer will be infinity.
But my point was that he has significant savings by training and getting the equipment himself.

@rhwestfall You do your own fills too?

 

[kelemvor]

my local hydro shop charges less than $15/tank for hydro. I think $20/tank if you want a VIP sticker and an air fill.... They do not do much of any scuba volume, it's all fire department and gas supplier stuff, but that is very much their price

That's a good price. Is that in SC or in the cave country area of FL?

 

[michael-fisch]

Since I now have 53 Tanks that I call my own, have had over 40 tanks for the last 25 years, you have to understand that I do my own filling, hydro's and VIP's as necessary.
Doing it any other way would cost me more than my annual allowance for diving, and I dive an average of 46 weekends and 2 weeks every year. If I'm not very sick I'm diving on the weekend and I'm hardly ever too sick to dive.

Michael

 

[tbone1004]

That's a good price. Is that in SC or in the cave country area of FL?

NC, cave country is quite a bit more expensive. In SC I can get them for $30 with hydro/vip sticker/air fill

 

[Magnus Lundstedt]

Here in Sweden i have never heard about any demands for VIPs, only hydro every 5 years. I do my own VIP and valve service with O2 cleaning, every other year or so, depending of how much I have used the tanks.

 

[wetb4igetinthewater]

I do my own VIPs. There is the upfront costs of the equipment, but amortized over time makes it worth it.

When I go to a shop, I just want fills. I don’t want to drop my tanks off. That’s just me. I prefer to keep my eyes on my tanks at all times. The only exception is dropping of tanks to have trimix fills, but I try to do that with the local GUE shop called 8, as those folks are serious and trust them. They don’t pay their employees peanuts, so they don’t get monkeys. Before anyone accuses me of a GUE kool aid drinker, I dive sidemount, I dive air, I don’t start using trimix at 100 feet unless I’m in an overhead. I just recognize their strengths and discipline.

There is a wide range of professionalism found in shops which motivates some people to do their own VIPs, regulator service, as much as possible due to dealing with shops at the not so good end.

 

[tbone1004]

Here in Sweden i have never heard about any demands for VIPs, only hydro every 5 years. I do my own VIP and valve service with O2 cleaning, every other year or so, depending of how much I have used the tanks.

That's what I do. I'll open it up if I feel like I have a reason to open it up, if not, no VIP stickers, no VIP. If I need to go to a fill station that requires it, I usually just slap a sticker on there so I don't have to worry about it

 

[boulderjohn]

So the UK standard is now every 5 years.

So since there is to my knowledge no such standard or law in the USA, how does it get changed? Who would authorize such a change?