Do new tanks need Hydrostatic testing?

[Walter]

Actually, we do agree. They need testing, but they don't need testing after purchase until 5 years after the original test.

 

[SparticleBrane]

Next time I post I'll make sure I explicitly state exactly what I mean.

 

[Walter]

What? and spoil my fun?

 

[427Dave]

Nice video on the manufacture of alum tanks. Wonder if steel are built the same way?

 

[nereas]

Walter while I agree with you on most other points I disagree on this one.
Assuming that the tank is already at the dive shop, it's already been hydrostatically tested. Thus why I said "new tanks don't need a hydro"...because they were hydro'd before they were sent out.

It's all semantics.

I have to wonder what the store clerk was really saying, and what the shopper was hearing, in the first place. This seems like where the transaction got all hung up, as usual.

Sure, all tanks need hydro testing, but only once every 5 years. When they come from the factory, they are already hydro-ed. I cannot imagine that new tanks sitting in a store for sale would have already exceeded their initial 5 year hydro period.

So, when the store clerk was speaking, did he/she say "hydro" or "vis" testing?

And what did the shopper hear?

Even so, new tanks normally do not "need" a vis test, but they do need a vis sticker.

This whole verbal transaction between our shopper and the store clerk all seems very confused, to me.

 

[nereas]

Hello,

I'm a newbie and hope this question wasn't just asked yesterday...

I was in the new local Gander Mountain store and was looking at their scuba tanks. The clerk told me that their brand new tanks had to be hydrostatically tested before they could be filled. Is this true? It seems to me that the factory would test the tanks before sending them out.

Thanks for your time!

Geoffrey

Geoffrey, to summarize, here is how it works:

New tanks in a store for sale for the first time come from the factory already hydro-ed and already vis-ed.

The hydro engraved-stamp is carved into them (good to date of expiration, which is 5 years). But they need a new vis sticker (good for 1 year) placed upon them.

Any store who charges you for putting a vis sticker on the tank, in my opinion, is insane.

So you should be able to get your new tank(s) without having to pay extra for a vis-sticker (which is thin vinyl like paper). And you definitely should NOT need to have a new tank hydro-ed!

I normally tell the store to stick the vis-sticker right next to the hydro engraved-stamp. That way, a fill station can see both at the same time, quickly, without having to search around for either. And that way, you yourself can also check both quickly, since every year you will need a new vis sticker, and every 5 years you will need a new hydro engraved-stamp.

 

[mike_s]

Nice video on the manufacture of alum tanks. Wonder if steel are built the same way?

since you asked...

Here's the video of how they make steel tanks.

 

[Geoffrey Raiser]

Thanks, everyone, for the terrific responses to my question. I think the salesman at Gander was rather misinformed. He made another interesting recommendation to me- he suggested that I might consider purchasing a "rebreather" instead of a tank and showed me the little 3 cu ft spare air rig he had in the display case. I told him that I thought this was an emergency air supply that could be used in lieu of an octopus rig and he gave me a blank stare. I moved on to the firearms department at this point...

I really doubted him on the hydro issue but wanted to know for sure. Gander offers air fills and "VIP" fills at the store, but he said that I would have to take the tank to a local dive shop to get the inspection done before Gander could fill it. By the way, Gander offers free air fills for a year if you buy one of their tanks. I hope the technician filling the tanks knows more about what they are doing than the salesman did!

Thanks again for clearing this up for me.

Best regards,

Geoffrey

 

[ClayJar]

He made another interesting recommendation to me- he suggested that I might consider purchasing a "rebreather" instead of a tank and showed me the little 3 cu ft spare air rig he had in the display case.

:biggrin: ... ... :bonk: ...

I moved on to the firearms department at this point...

Well, sure he wasn't very helpful, but don't you think that's just a bit... drastic.

 

[all4scuba05]

If you plan on getting fills there, check his setup first before you end up poisoned.