Hydro / VIS a clearcoated tank

[redacted]

You might want to talk to the shop owner or manager to see what his/her take is on what is going on. Hopefully he/she will be smart enough to realize that too much BS at this point will cost them business from a number of potential customers. If not, then take the shop down and help a good one do better,

 

[halocline]

Hmmm, I wonder if this is a shop that also exists down here. They didn't really say "rust" in connection with an AL tank, did they?

 

[Teller]

A friend of mine has an AL80 tank ( I haven't actually seen it yet ) that from he describes has a blue clear coat on it. It's out of hydro and VIS and he tells me that when he took it to an LDS they claimed they couldn't hydro and/or VIS (not sure which) it because of the coating and rust concerns.

I need a sniff test on this one. He says the coating came from the manufacturer that way. I can take it to a place in town that does Hydros then to an LDS to VIS or I can take it to another LDS but I thought I'd ask the here first.

AL doesn't rust. Take it to a different shop.

 

[ianr33]

Ok I've seen the tank. It's a standard Luxfor S80 with a first hydro date of 5/2007. It's got a pretty blue gloss to it that is clearly a factory finish.

Does it look like this: Aluminum 80 Candy Color discounts on sale Catalina

Have 2 of these myself,no problems with hydros or VIP. Methinks your LDS may not be the sharpest.

 

[chrpai]

So I spoke to my friend at work today and asked him to clarify the story he told me. He said he was specifically told "no hydro" (not VIS ) for "any" painted tanks. That they all add to be stripped to bare metal to be hyrod.

 

[Skooter]

Run as fast as possible and don't look back, you are dealing with some very uneducated individuals at the so called dive shop.

 

[ianr33]

Which shop is this? (I have a good guess!! )

 

[chrpai]

I talked to the guy at the hydro shop today and he said this LDS used to use them but hasn't in a few years. I don't know who else they would be using so maybe they got bad scoop from somewhere else and weren't smart enough or motivated enough to challenge it. My friend also told me the LDS never gave him grief on the VIS's. Just the hydro.

Either way I picked up my tank today ($18+tax) and took it over to the LDS since it was right around the corner from the hydro facility. They did the vis right on the spot in about 15 minutes. It got a store vis sticker ( not PSI sticker ) cost $20 plus tax. Funny thing is I waited until after I got the tank back and paid for it to ask him 'um, do you need to see my c-card?' to which his reply was 'oh yah, that's right, yes'.

Guess I don't look like a terrorist. Saved $12 + tax doing it myself ( not really worth it to me ) and more importantly, got it done.

Sorry, I don't want to name the shop until I bring the other tank in for a hydro and witness what my friend told me he was told. But you can probably guess who it is by now.

 

[GROBIOG]

... It got a store vis sticker ( not PSI sticker ) cost $20 plus tax. Funny thing is I waited until after I got the tank back and paid for it to ask him 'um, do you need to see my c-card?' to which his reply was 'oh yah, that's right, yes'.

...

Yeah, to be fair, you never stated that you have your tank FILLED, so, 'um, you don't need your c-card' for a VIP inspection.
I'm just being a dick, but you know, it happens more often than you think, lots of times, people just want tank inspected and not filled, no c-card needed for that.

---------- Post added May 9th, 2012 at 02:53 PM ----------

...It got a store vis sticker ( not PSI sticker )...

Does it mean anything????

 

[chrpai]

The fill was included so yes, it was filled, paid for and handed to me when I asked.

The sticker means I can get my tank filled but doesn't give me confidence that the guy who did the procedure really knows what he was doing. But hey, if all the local LDS's are comfortable with that standard, so will I. After all, I typically won't be near the tank when it's being pumped up.

BTW, one last thing. My friend ( who was also a DM at this LDS once upon a time ) tells me that in their OW training classes they teach their students that you don't want to buy a tank with paint on it because you can't get it hyro'd. They then point to a number of painted tanks sitting around the class room that have holes drilled in them.