Do dive shops let you put vindicator valves on rental tanks?

[pauldw]

There are 9 different vindicator models depending on your valve, are you sure you had the right one for your valve type.

Replacing one isn't hard, and it shouldn't' cause a HP leak as you are just replacing the handwheel

I ordered one for a Blue Steel. It didn't come with identifying information, or a manual, or whatever. I changed it while my reg was on the valve stem, and it mystified me that there was air leaking at one point. I sent the knob back because it wasn’t working correctly but I also didn’t like that it was a bit wiggly, and I’ll get the stem checked.

 

[divad]

"Vindicator" knob lookee like bulky-solution-looking-for-problem.

 

[Rred]

Today I actually tried retrofitting a vindicator knob. It didn't work, so I'm returning it (the green would not completely cover up the red when the valve was fully opened).

Same thing happened to me, I kept saying "WTF?" and trying to figure out what could be wrong. Then I RTFM and the iddy biddy instruction sheet DID have the problem and solution explained on it. Apparently there's some room for manual adjustment to accommodate different valve assemblies, and it was something terribly simple like "screw the green and red parts together so they barely cover up the red" before attaching it to the tank valve itself. Something TOTALLY unintuitive and grossly simple that took all of about thirty seconds to do.

I don't NEED Vindicators but they allow me to make sure that no one has tampered with my tank valve when I go to pick it up and put it on. I don't have to test or touch the valve. And, "that tank with the odd valve" is less likely to be mistaken for someone else's tank. That's right, I'm one of those folks whose tank has "NOT YOUR TANK!" painted right up top, so there's less chance of anyone else accidentally grabbing it off the fill rack, or anyplace else.

 

[divad]

I don't NEED Vindicators but they allow me to make sure that no one has tampered with my tank valve when I go to pick it up and put it on. I don't have to test or touch the valve./QUOTE]

Funny.

 

[Nathan Doty]

I was unaware the product existed prior to this thread, the reactions are interesting but hardly unique. I've had any number of dangerous hobbies and whenever there is a simple product, the experienced reaction is generally along the "Your training should have xxx" so it's dumb. Even for items that literally do nothing bad, and under very specific circumstances do good. It's true that in a perfect world no one dies from stupid things that they should know better about. But one of the common saying in training for my last career was "Complacency kills."

When you have done a million traffic stops, it's easy to expect a million and 1 to go just like the others. But that's the 1 that kills you. You've been to the same house for the same problem and had the same conversation a million times. And today, you die. When you have a long streak of everything going right, it does get hard to remember that it doesn't always go that way.

I used to jump out of planes. Know who dies doing that? Not the new guy. The guy with a thousand jumps does a low alt hook turn, and he dies. He knows better, but he does it anyway, and now he's dead.

I used to fly planes. Know who goes down because he skimped the pre-check? Not the guy who just got his license.

I used to rock climb. Know who forgets to actually clip into the rope? Not the new guy. It's the guy who's been on the rocks a billion times, and done a billion raps, and he doesn't actually run the rope through his ATC before he leans back. And he's dead.

Almost all of my hobbies have exactly 2 rankings. There is grand champion, and stuff on a rock. Newbies are ALWAYS grand champions. So far I've retired from so many dangerous things and maintained my GC rating that I've lost count. And it's by constantly combating complacency that lets me take up my new dangerous hobby. If I'm about to do something stupid and someone tells me "Hey, you're about to die" I'm grateful. The entire buddy check is nothing but a person keeping you alive, a product that does nothing but allow a 3rd (or 4th or 5th etc) see that you missed something simple isn't IMO a bad product. But that's just me.

 

[Rred]

"The entire buddy check is"
Buddy check, yeah. One of the things that I think most of us, at least of a certain age, simply never really did or do. If I'm diving with someone and they ask me to check their rig, fine. If I see something that looks wrong, I'll speak up, fine. If I want someone to tell me whether there's a limpet mine attached to the bottom of my tank--I'll ASK THEM. But ordinarily...I'd rather just work the routine myself.
Line the helpful boathand who insisted on buckling the sternum strap I had ignored on a rental vest. He KNEW IT SHOULD BE STRAPPED. Ugh, no, I happen to know that a sternum strap is just there if you have a small chest and the shoulder straps are too wide and too loose to hold the vest in place. I want ONE LESS STRAP that I'm unfamiliar with, don't need, and which is only going to encumber me when and if I need to ditch the rig in a hurry.
Buddy check? Yeah, nice concept. Just not for everyone.