Hydro

[DA Aquamaster]

It is common for tanks that Pass their Hydro testing to Fail their VIP,...

where does tis hate for LDS's come from?

That would pretty much be where the hate comes from...

You are absolutely correct that the hydro and VIP test different things.

At the risk of repeating myself excessively, a VIP is a required part of what is commonly known as a hydro test. Both the hydro test and the VIP make up what is legally known as the requalification process that a tank has to pass before it can be restamped with a new requalfication date.

So...a VIP and hydro test are both legally mandated parts of the requalification process. The tank does not get stamped without passing both. It is also worth noting that the dive shop's VIP does not count here as far as the DOT is concerned, it has to be done by the test facility.

The dive shop does its own VIP for reasons of its own, but if they fail a tank that just came back from hydro test, they probably screwed up or shoudl be contacting the DOT to have them inspect the tank and the test facility that requalified it. If a shop commonly fails the VIP on a just hydro tested tank, I'd seriously suspect either their competence or their honesty and it would be those few incompetent or dishonest shops that generate a disproportionate amount of the hate toward dive shops.

 

[weaserm99]

I have a simple solution, find a LDS that does the hydro right at the shop, thats what we do at the shop i work at, we dont send any of our tanks out we just do them once a week.

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[BeaverDiver1]

well, at my shop the Hydro Facility does not do the VIP unless asked to, the leave that to us

 

[FranzKafka]

I Just dropped off 2 tanks at my LDS. $41 for Hydro/VIP/Fill. They charge $21 for VIP and fill. So basically I am paying at most an extra $5-$10 per tank for the hydro. Personally I prefer to support my LDS for a number of reasons. The first being if they go under it would be a longer drive for fills and the services they provide.

Everyone gets paid for a job they do. Everyone has to earn a living. Happy to pay for the Hydro at my LDS. Would be a different story if my LDS was not honest etc. They always give good advice. Personally I would feel cheap if I got my tanks hydroed myself and asked them to do the fills. That's me though. I don't even think they are making that much off the hydro.

That said I think it is pretty cool that some of you have posted the hydro facilities link. I learn so much from reading these forums. If I had extra time and $$ were an issue I would consider doing it myself.

 

[oxyhacker]

Illegal. They could be fined for doing that (if they are really doing it, I suspect they are probably doing the visual but just not stickering it).

A visual is required as part of the requalification process, and it must be done by the licensed hydro shop as part of the requalification process. If a hydro shop doesn't do a visual, and stamps the tank as passed, it is a violation of the law, same as if they skipped the hydro test and passed it.

A dive shop cannot do the visual for the hydro shop, since it has to be done by a licensed requalifier, and the same one whose RIN is on the hydro stamp.

well, at my shop the Hydro Facility does not do the VIP unless asked to, the leave that to us

 

[akdeepdiver]

Arctic Diver, where in AK are you located?