Cylinder test dates.

[Jim Lapenta]

Totally the discretion of the business filling the tank. We consider the viz (and hydro) good through the last day of the month prior to the inspection. For example, if you have an August -15 viz sticker, we'd fill the cylinder through July 31, 2016. Again - totally up to who fills it. Their compressor - their rules.

So if you see that you vis'd a customers cylinder on August 25th of 2015 you would not give him credit for that month the next year?
Using that logic they end up, over time, getting screwed.
Because now if he comes in on Aug 1st he won't get a fill without a new vis which technically, according to your policy, should have been done prior so that a July sticker would now get put on.
Making the following year June. No win situation here.
The sticker should be good for one full year. 365 days. I know most don't have a month/date/year option to punch but maybe they should?
IMO sticker is good until the last day of the month it was punched.
The truth though is that it is only good for the 1st fill after vis. Once it's emptied and refilled the filler has no idea what is in it. Industry racket that we need to deal with.

 

[DEdiveguy1]

You're correct, Jim. You could easily wind up with less than 365 days on your viz depending upon what time of the month you have it done. Not a perfect world - just the one we live in. Someone mentioned in an earlier post about punching the decal with a future month after the 15th. While that sounds "fair", it could be problematic if the owner attempted to get it filled at another location before the next month.

 

[redacted]

Just one more annoying characteristic of scuba retail business. God forbid a diver should get 395 days out of a vis. Just think of the risks involved. Why would the industry take such a risk just to synchronize the expiration of the vis with the hydro.

 

[MrsNic]

Thanks for all your input. I've played it safe and sent it in

 

[NAM001]

1 SEPT YOU NEED A NEW VIS

 

[Hickdive]

NB. The OP is in Chester, UK so discussion of US rules/practice isn't relevant.

In the UK the test/inspection period expires on the last day of the month shown on the next test due sticker.

So if your sticker is punched out August 2016 then the cylinder is out of test on 1 September.

Beware of some ill-informed test centres that will insist that if you go so much as a day over a visual inspection period then you require a hydraulic test; you do not. If you go beyond the visual inspection period then you can still have a visual but the time to the next hydraulic test is NOT 2.5 years from the date of the visual but instead the time to the fifth anniversary of the last hydraulic test.

e.g. Hydraulic test in March 2010, late visual inspection in December 2014 (instead of October 2012, when it was due), next hydraulic test is therefore due in April 2015 NOT July 2016.