How reasonable is it to expect a "good" fill in New England?

[steveann]

I personally enjoy throwing $5.50 down on the counter when I get the short fill. When they look at me and go "That's 6 bucks", I reply with "It's just 50 cents....close enough.".

Of course, now my tanks get the good fill all the time, as the LDS I use is all about customer service. And a good fill is at least rated press when cool.

 

[lakewinni]

I personally enjoy throwing $5.50 down on the counter when I get the short fill. When they look at me and go "That's 6 bucks", I reply with "It's just 50 cents....close enough.".

Of course, now my tanks get the good fill all the time, as the LDS I use is all about customer service. And a good fill is at least rated press when cool.

hahaha I should try that sometime, I'm sure it would go over well. Anyway I'm not to far away from you. I'm down in albany. Where do you get your fills?

 

[Downeast Diving]

I hear you, I have one of each.

Pete

From experience I know who they are.

I use to cringe after leaving tanks, picking them up a day later, and getting my students telling me their tanks were only at 2600 psi All tanks now get checked before leaving.

I make it a point to explain the difference in the quick fills, slow fills, hot, cold, etc. I leave it up to the customer. We all have to stretch the pennies as far as they will go. We do expect and should receive what we paid for.

Dennis--

 

[Soggy]

Also, PST recently recertified their LP tanks (2400psi) to HP (3442psi) and named them the E8 series. Not to say tha the DOT service pressures are much more conservative than the equivalents in Europe.

That is an urban legend. The E8 tanks are not just rerated LP tanks....

 

[oceancurrent]

That is an urban legend. The E8 tanks are not just rerated LP tanks....

Really? According to PST's spec sheet (http://www.pstscuba.com/specsheet.pdf) the E8-119 is the same product as the former LP-95. I guess, they changed the valve, but otherwise, all other specs match up. As the saying goes - if it looks like a duck and quack like a duck...

Yet, I am no tank expert, so I may have been mislead to beleive that the E8 are simply rerated LPs. If you have any credible source on the contrary, by all means post it.

In any case, my point was that there is little evidence for the argument that keeping the tank pressure below the max at all times extends its life and improves safety. Thus, there is little excuse for lousy fills.

 

[oceancurrent]

We do expect and should receive what we paid for.

What a horrible thought ... considering that Paul charges nil for air fills. :lol:

I, for one thing, don't have a great reason to complain about the underfills I am getting - many of my dives are with students or inexperienced divers, so often times I end up with tons of spare air. Nevertheless, recurring underfills leave me with likewarm feelings, regardless of what I pay for them - it's much like being threated as second-rate citizen, isn't it? :no

In any case, my message is simple - good fills are the right way to keep the customer happy. And happy customers know how to reward the store. There is little reason to let lousy fills slip in. I hope everyone is with me on this.

 

[pgdive]

Not to sound defensive, because if I'm reading this right no one is putting us in the short fill category. However the one question I have especially to oceancurrent, because you seem to be the most disgruntled. Do you ever say anything before, after or during your tanks fills? I think most of what’s being discussed here could be avoided with simple open communication between the store and the customer. I think there are very few shops that will intentionally under fill tanks, most of the time it is just oversight because they a filling 50+ tanks in the course of day. Of course the person that started this thread is well known for coming in 30-60 minutes after we have closed on Sunday evenings to get fills Sorry man, but you know it's the truth. Yes we are usually still there trying to clean up rentals and or drinking beer. Try that at any other store and more than likely they are not even going to open the door let alone give you a free nice a slow half hour fill, so maybe thats the problem.

As far as all the other stuff about what's an acceptable amount of overfill and the question of wet vs. dry fills. That all has to do with the shops personal tolerance for those practices. Just like some people, Scuba tanks can be scary things when they are treated badly. As Soggy mentioned, a lot of what people consider safe and correct is urban legend that has literally been perpetuated since OMS starting selling those "new low pressure, made out of the special alloy” tanks back in the early 90's, that everyone claimed could be filled to 4 million psi, because they were in Europe. I remember asking a DOT, hydro station certified about it and he just laughed and said it was complete BS.

Paul out

 

[King Kong Matt]

Just like some women, Scuba tanks can be scary things when they are treated badly...

Nice. Probably want to look into having someone else do your PR for you...

 

[Soggy]

Really? According to PST's spec sheet (http://www.pstscuba.com/specsheet.pdf) the E8-119 is the same product as the former LP-95. I guess, they changed the valve, but otherwise, all other specs match up. As the saying goes - if it looks like a duck and quack like a duck...

I've never seen that sheet, but I can guarantee you that both empty weight, buoyancy, and dimensions are slightly different. Every other spec sheet I've ever seen indicates the same.

I dive 130s all the time and when I strap a set of 104s on my back, I'm a lead weight. I think in that sheet they are just notating that the 130s replaced the 104s.

In addition, when I first got my tanks, I had a couple questions (this being one of them) and contacted Tom Ivy, the (former?) Product Manager at PST and he told me the same. They were completely redesigned.

Here's a chart that includes both the 130s and the 104s. The differences are subtle, but lift a set of doubles put together and you'll notice it:
http://www.huronscuba.com/equipment/scubaCylinderSpecification.html

 

[steveann]

hahaha I should try that sometime, I'm sure it would go over well. Anyway I'm not to far away from you. I'm down in albany. Where do you get your fills?

I get my fills at Adirondack Scuba in Ballston Spa. Always good fills, clean air for my O-2 clean tanks, and the regular leaded Coke while I wait for my fills (those could be why I keep buying so much gear from him....dang wallet lubricant )