dead horse - older tanks

[DA Aquamaster]

I just lost a tank to a crack in the lower part of the threads that the eddy current didn't catch. The guy who did my hydro/eddy said the tank had passed both and it was my choice whether or not to use the tank but he wanted to show me what he had seen. I don't know squat about doing a VIP but he lit the inside up and even I could see the cracks in the lower threads. One bad crack and another crack just starting on the opposite side. He said their manager had quit and when he did they found out that their VIP certificate had expired and the manager never renewed it so I would have to take the tanks elsewhere for a VIP and that person would have to decide whether or not to pass the tank, he indicated that they just might pass it since the tank, crack and all had passed eddy current.

Saying a tank has two visible cracks and that it "passed" a hydro test is a contradiction in terms. Having a hydro test completed by a test facility that is not qualified to do VIP's is also illegal as a VIP is a integral part of the tydro test procedure.

 

[Ber Rabbit]

I don't know why it passed but as far as what he was saying it did, passed the eddy current too. I've been told that a tank with a hole drilled in it can still technically pass hydro as it stretches when filled with water and returns to its original shape it just won't hold air. If someone can let me know whether that piece of info is correct I'd appreciate it.
The facility is the only one in the area that does hydro testing, they are actually a fire supply company selling fire extinguishers as well as stuff that the local fire and police departments buy. All of the dive shops and fire departments in the area bring tanks here for hydro I just skip the shop charge (its closer for me to go to this place anyway) and take my tanks to the hydro facility myself. Their PSI certification is what had expired so he couldn't put stickers on my tanks. I don't know if the certification to do a hydro involves a certification to do a VIP also but I do know he said he couldn't put PSI VIP stickers on my tanks and those were the only kind they had. It was a wierd situation involving a manager suddenly quitting the day before and they were just finding out about a bunch of stuff he either had done that shouldn't have happened or hadn't done that should have happened. They always did visuals before when I took my tanks down there, I know that much. It was just an ugly situation and my tanks got hung up in the middle of it.
Ber

 

[Ontario Diver]

It depends on the "crack". If the tank body is OK and there is a crack through the thread material *only* (ie. the thread machining didn't take.) the tank can still pass a PSI Visual inspection process *as long as there is the proper number of intact threads for the tank. It can pass an eddy current inspection if the crack is below where the eddy probe stops.

If the thread is visable as part of the shoulder of the tank, it fails.

Only a valid and current PSI inspector is supposed to order or use PSI stickers.

A tank that has a hole drilled in it will not pass a hydrostatic test. It will never expand and shrink because it will not hold pressure and cannot be expanded. It is possible that a tank could have a crack in it and pass the hydro.

Hydrostatic testing does not have to include what the scuba industry deems as a visual inspection. An inspection is required but it is not to the depth that a good PSI inspector does. Hydrostatic test or visual test does not have to include an eddy current test either.