Hydro stations

[PADI Knight]

Since the local LDS doesn't do hydro's but ships tanks out wouldn't if be easier to ship the tank to the hydro station myself and and deal with them directly? I know "support the LDS, support the LDS, support the LDS. But they are an hour drive from me so it would be more convenient to simply bring the tank to work and ship it to the station myself then have it shipped back to me and then get it filled.

Does anyone know if a list exist of the hydo stations in the US? I did a search on DOT's web site and found nothing.

 

[dannobee]

Look in the phone book for fire extinguisher services or ask your local welding supply company where they get their cylinders hydroed. They'd probably be cheaper than your LDS anyway.

 

[oxyhacker]

There is a list of testers on the DOT site somewhere but it is badly out of date. Your best bet is to, as Dannobee says, call around local welding gas suppliers and fire extinguisher shops. You want to find a shop that a) actually does the testing themselves and b) is familiar with scuba tanks. If they send have to send it out it will usually cost you more and take longer, and a lot of fire extinguisher shops do nothing but 1800 psi CO2 tanks and get easily confused by higher pressure ones. Most welding suppliers send them out, but a lot of fire extinguisher companies do them on the spot. Expect to pay between $15 and 25 per tank. They will usually remove the valve, but not replace it, and will usually not give you a visual sticker or a fill.

If you have multiple tanks and a business name (a letterhead shop will usually work fine) you can often get a better price. Oh and if the shop doesn't do a lot of scuba tanks they are unlikely to be able to do the "+" rating on LP steels. If this matters to you, be sure you get a firm understanding before handing over the tanks that they will do so. If they say they "will try", or "think they can", then odds are very high they won't.

 

[Tom Smedley]

The LDS has a contract with a local company who does hydro testing. The tanks are not necessarily "shipped out" but the company comes on a regular schedule and picks the tanks up, does the test, and delivers them back to the LDS. By doing tanks in bulk, the LDS charges the same or less than the hydro company would charge you as an individual.

Now comes the service part. The LDS will check the cylinder to ensure that there is no moisture remaining, that there is no rust or pitting, that there are no neck cracks, and they will service the valve before capping and filling the tank.