do your own visual

[Nemrod]

I inspect my own tanks. I make my own stickers. I have done this off and on for some time now. Never had a problem. My stickers did not even look very good, never even been questioned on them. The VIP is not a legal requirement, it is an inner industry standard. I can look in a tank as good as anyone and I do not charge myself for doing so. I have over twenty tanks so it can be expensive as it is with the hydro tests every five.

N

 

[Dsix36]

I am not going to point fingers are call anybody names but please face the facts on this matter. Not just anyone can look in a cylinder and tell if it is OK or not. There are several things to look for and different means of telling if problems are within the accepted limits. I am not saying that a person is not capable of doing this themselves, but at least get some education or formal training to do it properly.

There is a saying: "You do not know what you do not know" and it fits here very well. If you inspect yourself, then what exactly are you looking for? Do you know?

I am a qualified PSI inspector and must admit to learning a lot of valuable knowledge when I first took my class. I had no idea of what was technically involved to inspect a cylinder properly. It is not like it is rocket science or that it will take a 2 year college course to understand, but it is not a 2 minute discussion with your buddy either.

 

[oldschoolto]

I plead the 5th....

Jim...

 

[PhASe]

I own a shop and I must say that I believe there are a lot of people out that that would get the cert in order to save some money and just slap a sticker on their tanks before they brought them in. IMO, I am the one filling the tank and I will be the one inspecting them to be sure they are safe to fill. Of course that does not mean I wouldn't accept stuff from other shops. I absolutely would take anything from a reputable shop but I have heard of too many people that don't take care for any of their gear to believe they would do a complete and thorough VIP. Ask yourself, when do tanks usually fail?

 

[oldschoolto]

And then you have people that are very picky about their gear and do a better job inspecting then the LDS does...

Jim..

 

[jar546]

I inspect my own tanks. I make my own stickers. I have done this off and on for some time now. Never had a problem. My stickers did not even look very good, never even been questioned on them. The VIP is not a legal requirement, it is an inner industry standard. I can look in a tank as good as anyone and I do not charge myself for doing so. I have over twenty tanks so it can be expensive as it is with the hydro tests every five.

N

FICTION: There is no authority for SCUBA cylinders to have an annual visual inspection. This is just a standard of practice in the SCUBA industry

FACT: In CGA Pub P-5 Paragraph 6.1 the Compressed Gas Association requires all cylinders in SCUBA service to be visually inspected annually.


FICTION: The Code of Federal Regulations is not law.

FACT: While technically true, 44 USC 1507 (public law) requires that the Federal Register be “judicially noticed”, that is, recognized by the courts as law. All aspects of the CFR have been first printed in the Federal Register and the CFR is prima facie evidence of the text of the original documents as published in the Federal Register.

In short, while the CFR may technically be regulation and not law, you will never win that argument in court.

Sent from my iPad using Tapatalk HD

 

[redacted]

FICTION: There is no authority for SCUBA cylinders to have an annual visual inspection. This is just a standard of practice in the SCUBA industry

FACT: In CGA Pub P-5 Paragraph 6.1 the Compressed Gas Association requires all cylinders in SCUBA service to be visually inspected annually.


FICTION: The Code of Federal Regulations is not law.

FACT: While technically true, 44 USC 1507 (public law) requires that the Federal Register be “judicially noticed”, that is, recognized by the courts as law. All aspects of the CFR have been first printed in the Federal Register and the CFR is prima facie evidence of the text of the original documents as published in the Federal Register.

In short, while the CFR may technically be regulation and not law, you will never win that argument in court.

Sent from my iPad using Tapatalk HD

While it is true that CFRs do sometimes site and give authority to specific requirements in CGA Pubs, I don't believe that is the case with CGA Pub P-5 and its requirement for an annual inspection.

But that does not really matter anyway. If shops require the inspection then you will need an inspection to get a fill from them. So it is not a matter for the courts in any case.

 

[halocline]

I absolutely would take anything from a reputable shop but I have heard of too many people that don't take care for any of their gear to believe they would do a complete and thorough VIP. Ask yourself, when do tanks usually fail?

The answer is never, followed by almost never during hydro test. The incidence of scuba tanks blowing up and killing people while being filled with air (or nitrox) is so rare as to be in the category of being struck by lightning the day after winning the lottery.

And what is a 'reputable' shop? I know of one very popular shop that simply looks in the tank, sees that there's no corrosion, slaps a sticker on, and rings it up on the register. I appreciate your sentiment that you would extend professional courtesy to another dive shop, but to be perfectly frank there's no real 'standard' or certification here. Any shop employee can simply put on the shop's sticker. Is it safe? Yes, but not because the tank is being 'professionally' inspected. It's safe because time has shown with millions of fills that filling scuba tanks to their rated fill pressure that are current in hydro test is a very safe operation.

So the fact that it's inherently very very very low risk to fill a tank allows the scuba industry to 'take credit' for this safety through the annual visual inspection practice. But outside of the U.S. this practice doesn't exist, and you don't see tanks blowing up all over the world.

I don't think it's a bad idea to annually look in a scuba tank; for example one wet fill can really cause some damage in steel tanks. I also don't fault anyone with a compressor who insists on doing whatever they feel necessary to ensure their own safety. But the current VIS program is little more than a fill tax IMO.

 

[randini]

Anybody know of any online options for learning to VIP tanks - even if unofficial and without a certification? Thing is I'm in Chile and VIP's aren't really done here (seems even hydro's aren't enforced).

I have 10 tanks that I'd like to keep up on, if nothing else at least for my own peace of mind.

 

[redacted]

Try this for a starter: www.luxfercylinders.com/9/download/download

Link did not post correctly - you will need to cut and paste.