Getting HP Steel fills to rated pressure in South Florida area

[SFLDiver]

My local dive store (F____-E in Boca) gets ALL kinds of Grief from me
when they short my HP-95s, rated for 3600psi and they've been
slacking lately with 3200. I even went to the extent of bringing in
my own gauge to show em I'm not happy with their short fills.

FEB needs to get their act together on the fills
before I take all my business to the new Scuba Shop up in Delray.
SSD takes their time on fills, but they get the darn things topped!

Yeah, and I do love my nitrox fills at Fill Express
but they are a bit of a hike for me.

One word about the el cheapo fills ... have any vis inspections fail lately?
There used to be a super discount sports shop chain that had the cheap fills
but they also skimped out on their air filtration system which let ALL kinds of
crud into your tanks. Your vis would fail and you'd be spending that extra
savings on getting tanks cleaned + tumbled.
I have not heard of any probs with DD fills, but have experienced probs with the
WWS fills in Key Largo, specifically with my steel tanks.

 

[PerroneFord]

Like the man said, most shops cannot fill much beyond 3000psi. This is one reason you find low pressure steel tanks are still popular in cave country. Short fills in a cave do NOT work. We NEED our pressure.

Now, that said, if FE is pumping your tank to 4000psi hot, I would not go there. I am not in that big a hurry for my tanks. I want a SLOW fill to pressure. I do not want a water bath fill either.. in general.

Somebody down there has got to be doing it right.

 

[HowardE]

Fill express does it right. I've personally NEVER had a short fill. I've already gone through a few 2500 cu ft. fill cards.

 

[VinceDS]

Like the man said, most shops cannot fill much beyond 3000psi. This is one reason you find low pressure steel tanks are still popular in cave country. Short fills in a cave do NOT work. We NEED our pressure.

Now, that said, if FE is pumping your tank to 4000psi hot, I would not go there. I am not in that big a hurry for my tanks. I want a SLOW fill to pressure. I do not want a water bath fill either.. in general.

Somebody down there has got to be doing it right.

Fill Express does it right and does not use a water bath...

 

[ONESPEED]

While I normally drive to Fill Express for fills on my HP steels, you could also get your tanks filled at Brownies Southport Divers in Fort Lauderdale if you don't feel like going to Pompano.

Brownie's Southport Divers
1530 Cordova Road
Fort Lauderdale, FL 33316
Ph 954.524.2112 Fx 954.524.7598
info@yachtdiver.com

(I-95 to I-595 east, north on Federal Hwy, east on 17th Street 1/2 mile, north on Cordova, two blocks on right, next to Southport Raw Bar)

Note - they are more expensive then FE.

More expensive than Fill Express is an understatement. I live less than 1/2 mile from Brownies and drive to Fill Express for my fills. It's less about the money than the attitude, I have never had anything but a pleasent experience from the staff at Fill Express, I can not say the same for Brownies.

 

[VinceDS]

More expensive than Fill Express is an understatement. I live less than 1/2 mile from Brownies and drive to Fill Express for my fills. It's less about the money than the attitude, I have never had anything but a pleasent experience from the staff at Fill Express, I can not say the same for Brownies.

Thought this post was about where you could get a HP tank filled to its service pressure - which Brownies can do?

I live in Hollywood and routinely drive to FE to get my tanks filled. Cost wise, service wise, and knowledge wise, I agree, they great. Like FE, Brownies sells O2, He, and hyperfiltered air - though they do not bank any of it and only PP fill. They can fill to the pressures I need HP (with the exception of pure 02 - only 2400psi). There are times when I needed tanks filled at the last minute and could not make it up to FE, in these instances, I use Brownies. With regard to attitudes at Brownies, I have always had extremely positive experiences at their store. From a Technical diving knowledge base and equipment repair, they are top knotch.

 

[Jibeho]

Fill Express does it right and does not use a water bath...

What is wrong with water baths?

 

[VinceDS]

What is wrong with water baths?

Not to hijack the thread but here are a few articles, taken from links on the FE website, that discuss the case for not using a water bath when filling tanks.

http://www.psicylinders.com/library/Current/wetfills.htm

http://www.naui.org/pdffiles/tankfill.pdf

 

[deepstops]

Now, that said, if FE is pumping your tank to 4000psi hot, I would not go there. I am not in that big a hurry for my tanks. I want a SLOW fill to pressure. I do not want a water bath fill either.. in general.

Somebody down there has got to be doing it right.

Dude, get a clue. Buy one if you have to.

I'd wager more than half the tech gas pumped in SE FL comes out of the banks at FE and they enjoy a stellar reputation in the diving community. If you don't think they're doing it right, don't buy your gas there.
But don't come on here saying they're not doing it right..... :no

Their fill rates are in compliance with the PSI specifications.

 

[PerroneFord]

I didn't say they aren't doing it right. I said if they are filling to 4000 hot I am not taking my tanks there. And I stand by that statement. I don't give a rats *** HOW much technical gas their pumping. Cave Excursions pumped 5-10x as much gas and enjoyed a similarly stellar reputation. Shop still had a huge accident. It can happen.

But answer me this. If their fill rates are in compliance with PSI specs, And if they are not overpressuring tanks as per PSI recommendations, then how are they raising the pressure 500+ psi over spec on a fill?