Failed Hydro
- Thread starter rob.mwpropane
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Yea I knew it could be looked up. That also assumes it's legible. On many of my galvanized tanks it's not very legible. The stamp is clearer on my aluminum tanks and it's probably the same facility. I could look it up from those probably. I could also just ask the shop given that I'm in there enough! Since I've not run into issues I've just never bothered.
OP
It's possible the "2psi" was actually 2mL and the tank jockey rattled off the wrong units without thinking. Tanks sometimes fail, if they were so reliable that they <never> failed, we wouldn't really need to hydro test them. Exemption tanks probably do fail slightly more often than 3AA tanks, they are built to a different standard with thinner walls among other differences. Compare a 3AA 3180psi+ tank with an exemption 3442 psi tank of the same capacity and its obvious they are not all the same.
its called a RIN number ..........thats the test facilities , id marking
OP
There's a good possibility I was just unlucky and got a dud and they may have tested everything to the letter the right way. It doesn't feel that way, but I'm not an expert. I'll pick my tanks up, ask some questions and go from there. I'll let him run me through there process and share the paperwork when I get a chance on here.
Thanks for your insight.
halocline
Contributor
It's very rare to find a hydro shop that is really knowledgeable about scuba tanks, especially the HP special exemption (3442 PSI) and the even the LP (3AA) tanks with the 10% plus rating. The vast majority of these shops stay in business servicing fire extinguishers and to a lesser extent welding and medical tanks. The scuba market is a tiny fraction of those other markets. Many scuba shops are woefully uneducated about hydro rules, steel tanks, etc... so they are usually no help. There are exceptions, especially shops that deal with technical diving and cave divers.
When I had PST tanks, I would bring them directly to the testing facility, not to a dive shop, and ask politely to speak to the tester. I would show him a copy of the pre-rounding procedure from PST, and explain that these tanks are designed by the manufacturer to be tested in that way. Usually the guys that actually do the testing are fine with following the manufacturer's recommendations, as long as you can show them a real piece of paper from the manufacturer, and as long as you don't insult them. But if you try to leave that kind of communication up to the dive shop employee who will supposedly talk to the front counter guy at the testing facility, who will then supposedly talk to the tester, forget it.
I also had to look around to find a testing site with a reasonable tester that I could actually talk to.
When I had PST tanks, I would bring them directly to the testing facility, not to a dive shop, and ask politely to speak to the tester. I would show him a copy of the pre-rounding procedure from PST, and explain that these tanks are designed by the manufacturer to be tested in that way. Usually the guys that actually do the testing are fine with following the manufacturer's recommendations, as long as you can show them a real piece of paper from the manufacturer, and as long as you don't insult them. But if you try to leave that kind of communication up to the dive shop employee who will supposedly talk to the front counter guy at the testing facility, who will then supposedly talk to the tester, forget it.
I also had to look around to find a testing site with a reasonable tester that I could actually talk to.
And it's not just the special exemption issue, my local fire extinguisher hydro places don't dry steel tanks correctly either. My plain painted Faber HP tanks were flash rusted by the time I got them to LDS for VIP the next day. Having them tumbled then cost more than hydro :^) I have asked them to dry them correctly, they just say "we will do our best".
axxel57
Contributor
I'm a bit late, but usually I'm not in this forum.
I have tested about 3000 to 4000 tanks in twelve years (almost exclusively Alu tanks), was certified tester, I had in that time only two tanks which failed the test, so it is really rare, at least for Alu Tanks.
I could explain the test procedure, but maybe it helps more if you can read the manual of my tester.
For me '2psi too much' is BS!
Don't know what that guy is talking about..........
I have tested about 3000 to 4000 tanks in twelve years (almost exclusively Alu tanks), was certified tester, I had in that time only two tanks which failed the test, so it is really rare, at least for Alu Tanks.
I could explain the test procedure, but maybe it helps more if you can read the manual of my tester.
For me '2psi too much' is BS!
Don't know what that guy is talking about..........
You should look in some industrial steel O2 bottles sometime (its harder than it looks with their NGT threads the valves are really in there). They are not as pristine looking as divers expect their scubas
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