Hydro testing

[oceancurrent]

This follows on Hydro testing?

I was at Fire Tech & Safety of New England. Apparently their hydro testing price has gone up significantly. Last that I used their services 5 years ago, it was $18 or such (incl. VIP and fill). Now they are asking $45. Funny thing is, they ask you what are the cylinders for before quoting the price. I wonder if they would quote the same price if I said "paintball", for example... hmmm

Perhaps the price would be more tolerable (perhaps not) if you accept the VIP and fill, but I don't care about them since I O2 clean the cylinders right after hydro. Does anyone have recommendations for alternative hydro stations with more reasonable pricing?

Update: Found this Hydro station locator on the DOT web site: Retester Locations Now the question is, which stations here are reliable and reasonably priced?

 

[redacted]

I believe hydro shops do learn what LDSs charge and adjust their price accordingly. Paintball it is at the next shop.

 

[AfterDark]

They charge what the market can pay. I pay $45 for a hydro from the LDS. When I started diving the cost to fill a LP 72 steel tank was $0.25 it's now around $7.00 for a LP <100cuft! I think both prices are outrageous but if I want to dive there it is.

Hydro facilities like tires all need to meet minimum standards set by our all knowing and flawless government agencies. I doubt you'll find much difference from one facility to another; some maybe be more friendly than another but I wouldn't expect much more.

 

[Kharon]

... Funny thing is, they ask you what are the cylinders for before quoting the price. I wonder if they would quote the same price if I said "paintball", for example... hmmm

I'd tell them they are SCUBA tanks for a volunteer group doing lake cleanup or search and recovery of lost items. That's all I mostly dive for up here anyway. Maybe they would give you a break. When I get my tanks hydroed by my LDS (they send the tanks out) the price for the hydro, vis and fill is $45-$50 now.

 

[Shotmaster]

I watch my LDS do hydro all the time. Process I see, drain tank, remove valve, place in hydro vessel, attach fittings, close the lid, fill test vessel, calibrate, run test, disassemble, set tank upside down to drain. Visual inspection, whip or tumble if required, O2 clean tank and dry. Disassemble valve, O2 clean, lube and reassemble, install valve, reinstall tank boot, put on VIP sticker, fill tank with Nitrox.

That is a lot of work and costs $45. I don't bitch about it. I looked into my own compressor, no thanks, the fill costs we pay are a bargain. I can't go to the movies for what I pay for fills.

 

[redacted]

I watch my LDS do hydro all the time. Process I see, drain tank, remove valve, place in hydro vessel, attach fittings, close the lid, fill test vessel, calibrate, run test, disassemble, set tank upside down to drain. Visual inspection, whip or tumble if required, O2 clean tank and dry. Disassemble valve, O2 clean, lube and reassemble, install valve, reinstall tank boot, put on VIP sticker, fill tank with Nitrox.

That is a lot of work and costs $45. I don't bitch about it. I looked into my own compressor, no thanks, the fill costs we pay are a bargain. I can't go to the movies for what I pay for fills.

How about providing the name of the LDS that does all that for $45.

My LDS charges $45 for a hydro, vis, and fill. Whip/tumble is extra. O2 clean is extra. Anything with the valve is extra. BTW, my local hydro guy charges $15 for just the hydro.

 

[oceancurrent]

I talked to a couple of testing stations in the region. The prices quoted varied between $25 and $75 (yeap) with a median of $28 or so. Some would not re-certify LP cylinders to + rating. There was one station which stated that they won't test galvanized steel cylinders and aluminum cylinders because these were not "safe" [interesting]. It appears like scuba cylinders are a niche thing in the industry and there is a lot of confusion about them.

Anyway, one reasonable station that I found and am happy with the answers that they provided is ArcSource in Seabrook, NH (ArcSource | Medical Gases, Welding Supplies, Specialty Gases, Microbulk Nitrogen | ArcSource Inc.). They would do any scuba cylinder (aluminum or steel) and + rate where applicable, vacuum and dry the cylinder, promise 10 days or so turnaround time, at cost of $28 per cylinder. Pretty good, all things considered. If you have a bunch of cylinders that you need to recertify, don't care about VIP and refill, and don't mind a bit of driving for the cost savings, then ArcSource is a good option. For a hydro/VIP/fill combo, $45 or so at an LDS is perfectly reasonable in this market. Fire Tech & Safety of New England offer comparable service at comparable price to LDS these days. Tom at North East Scuba quoted $48 for the same combo which seems reasonable too. I think I saw United Divers in Somerville on the DOT list of hydro stations, but I don't know their cost structure.

So, there you have it - the price of hydro has gone up by 50% or more over the last 5 years, just like mostly anything else that matters. Funny that according to the government inflation is supposed to be close to 0 since the subprime crash. Feels like Washington and everyone else live in a different world.

If anyone has any other info on hydro testing in the Boston area, please share it here for the benefit of the community.

 

[macado]

I have used Gorham Fire for my hydros. I want to say they're $15-25 for hydros I can't remember. I don't think they'll do plus rating on LP tanks but I never bothered to ask. They've hydroed bank bottles, special permit (E9791) and normal 3AA/3AL tanks for me. I do my own visuals.

 

[oceancurrent]

I have used Gorham Fire for my hydros. I want to say they're $15-25 for hydros I can't remember. I don't think they'll do plus rating on LP tanks but I never bothered to ask. They've hydroed bank bottles, special permit (E9791) and normal 3AA/3AL tanks for me. I do my own visuals.

Thank you for the info. I confirmed that their current price is $20 per cylinder. The turnaround time is 1-3 days. Unfortunately they can't do plus ratings. Good deal (for most cylinders).

 

[2airishuman]

Hydro facilities like tires all need to meet minimum standards set by our all knowing and flawless government agencies. I doubt you'll find much difference from one facility to another; some maybe be more friendly than another but I wouldn't expect much more.

I find that there is wide variation in hydro test shops.
- Some shops will pick up and deliver, or for a largish volume of cylinders, bring a hydro test truck to you. The number of cylinders required to make this worthwhile isn't beyond what a few serious divers own together, if you coordinate your hydro dates. Think in terms of 50-100 cylinders, sometimes less.
- Some shops will perform interior shot blasting.
- Some shops will perform exterior reconditioning and repainting.
- Turnaround times vary widely, I've run into everything from 48 hours to 2 weeks.
- Many shops will + rate steel tanks that pass REE. Quite a few will not.
- Some shops say they will + rate steel tanks but aren't thorough about researching the REE for older tanks where the REE isn't stamped on the cylinder.
- Some hydro shops will perform visual eddy tests on older aluminum cylinders.
- Some shops won't follow PST's recommendations for pre-pressurizing galvanized cylinders, and as a result, will needlessly condemn these cylinders since they are unlikely to pass if they aren't pressurized to 90% of the test pressure first.
- Some shops won't test galvanized cylinders at all because they perceive that it isn't worth the hassle.
- Some hydro shops will give you a VIP sticker for a nominal charge (one around here charges $1), since any cylinder that passes hydro also meets the VIP requirements.

As a result of all this, I've ended up in a situation where I have to take steel cylinders to various different hydro shops depending on the situation.