Have you been scammed at the dive shop on tank service work?

[redacted]

Yikes, that's a lot of whining.
If you're not happy, shop elsewhere.

Or rattle the cage and then shop elsewhere. Sometimes. taking your $$$ elsewhere just isn't quite enough. I, for one, appreciate the heads up.

 

[Eric Sedletzky]

Tell me if this sounds right. I have 10 tanks total. 5 steel (nitrox), 3 alum 80 (nitrox), 1 alum 63, and 1 alum pony (nitrox) that all need Hydros. I asked a LDS how much to get these hydro and he gave me the standard $47 for the Hydro/vip/air fill but then he told me that my nitrox tanks would need to be o2 cleaned again at a price of $30 each because the valves get removed . That is $77 for the already o2 cleaned tanks each. When I asked him why the tanks needed to get o2 cleaned again and if the valves also needed to get o2 cleaned, he told me that any time you take the valves off, the tank and valve has to get o2 cleaned again because of impurities in the air.

Is this right? I don't recall this being the practice as of 5 years ago when I had the tanks hydro'd last.

I think this is another dive shop rule. Think about it, when you 02 clean a tank there is a period of time between when the tank is clean and dry to when you screw the valve on. What's the difference between that and if you were to take the valve off for 45 seconds to look inside? Answer - nothing, however this would be for an annual VIP.
The only time a tank needs to be 02 cleaned is if you plan to do partial pressure fills. If you are getting banked nitrox or nitrox mixed in a stick up to 40% then you don't need to have them 02 cleaned.
But then you're also getting them re-hydroed so in that case yes they technically would need to be 02 cleaned again (if you're getting PP fills), but the dive shop didn't say that they only talked about the valves which doesn't have anything to do with it.

I suppose this particular dive shop said that they had to be the ones to do the cleaning too otherwise they wouldn't fill it, am I right?

 

[akdeepdiver]

If I may throw my hat in the ring on this one. I run a hydro shop that serves all the local dive shops in my area. For comparison, these are our prices (same to shops or individual customers)
Hydro ($40) includes vip, new burst disk, new o-rings, associacted paperwork, eddy current it needed.
Tumble ($20)
O2 Clean ($40) includes the valve. We only do this if requested by the customer. If they dont ask us to do it on a Nitrox tank, then I assume they will have it done somewhere else. I am not the scuba police. But it does not get a O2 clean sticker from my shop.

Those are my prices for comparison. I will state that I will not hesitate to personally fill any tank I have tested. Additionally, I will happily sit down and go over the vis inspection or the hydro inspection with any customer who has questions or concerns and back up my answers with the appropriate CFR's or Manufactures guidelines/recomendations.

 

[drbill]

I guess I have been very fortunate. I'd trust any of the three dive shops here in Avalon to work on my gear. I also have several on "the Big Island" that I trust implicitly should I need their help while on the mainland.

 

[moneysavr]

Tell me if this sounds right. I have 10 tanks total. 5 steel (nitrox), 3 alum 80 (nitrox), 1 alum 63, and 1 alum pony (nitrox) that all need Hydros. I asked a LDS how much to get these hydro and he gave me the standard $47 for the Hydro/vip/air fill but then he told me that my nitrox tanks would need to be o2 cleaned again at a price of $30 each because the valves get removed . That is $77 for the already o2 cleaned tanks each. When I asked him why the tanks needed to get o2 cleaned again and if the valves also needed to get o2 cleaned, he told me that any time you take the valves off, the tank and valve has to get o2 cleaned again because of impurities in the air.

Is this right? I don't recall this being the practice as of 5 years ago when I had the tanks hydro'd last.

OK you see your getting hosed too!
for 40 % banked as most shops Florida have it, if you got PP fills 0-2 clean, but its a scam, OXY Hackers book will run you thru it! Simple green, a simple dryer with pvc pipe, and you have a 0-2 clean tank, the valve is off after cleaning HMMM wonder how they get it back on with out so called contamination? clean room in china ???

its all crap go to a welding supply or gas supplier PSI is one of the last scuba scams left spent over 2 hours on the phone with the current president and got a very deffensive bunch of crap from a person that seems to spend a lot of time in the legal system! dont put grease on your valves,use the right O -rings,it's not rocket science.Strange after I get a hydro on my 100% o-2 tank twice in ten years never had to have a 0-2 clean or valve cleaned?from a gas supplier? HMM DOT Rules?
OK scuba dealers came up with tank inspection crap years back due to steel tanks in salt water ok makes sense,next they did pull a few bad AL tanks out of the mix OK good job!
but they have no control! @ at one agency I will un- NAMED to police dudes with a pack of stickers doing so called tank inspections for what?
its a racket
be smart ask questions!
know your LDS or go to a local gas supplier,Hydro shop,fire equipment shop!
I love to help the LDS but in a market that is on the way out ! shop smart!

 

[elan]

PSI does not mandate O2 cleaning the tanks after the valve is removed. Only if the contaminants are detected. It's the dive shop invented crap.

 

[Rich Keller]

If you are having trouble with your LDS just bypass them and go to the place that is actually doing the hydro. Not all of these locations deal with scuba tanks but the ones that do will be able to take care of your needs.

PHMSA - Cylinders - Authorized DOT Cylinder Retesters: Domestic

 

[tekdvr2]

Can't prove it...but in the Chicago area the hydro shops(fire extinguisher companies) are in cahoots with the LDS. Use to be $15-20 a hydro direct. Last time I went in it was $38-45 and that was shopping around. I'm sure the LDS squeezed the hydro facilities. I load up the truck and head north when hydro's are due....back under $20.00!!!!

tb

 

[wedivebc]

I personally would not fill tanks that had been inspected by some yahoo that I was not familiar with either personally or by reputation.
Same applies for oxygen clean. You can use all the simple green you want but I would not boost oxygen or even pump nitrox for a backyard O2 clean job.

Hope you have a compressor.

 

[halocline]

I personally would not fill tanks that had been inspected by some yahoo that I was not familiar with either personally or by reputation.

So I guess as long as you know someone, the tank's safe, right? And if you don't know someone they're probably a yahoo.

Here we go again........