Hydros...Is this crazy or am I?

[pollywogg]

Hey all,
I have a few steel 72s that were out of hydro/viz. I took one in(the oldest and gnarliest) to make sure it would pass before I even messed with the others. Well, I took it in two weeks ago, and it was ready a week ago. I haven't had a chance to get it until today.
When I went into the hydro shop, the tech couldn't find my tank. I told him it was a steel 72, he then picked up an AL 100 and asked if that was it. I told him wrong material, wrong size. After about 20 min of looking around, I find my tank in a corner of the shop. It was stamped and stickered, but it was hanging out in a corner of the shop without a valve for a week. I look around, most every tank has no valve, not only that, but the valveless ones aren't covered in any way. No tape, no plugs, nothing.
The tank tech told me to give him a sec. He came back with a crappy, beat-up, used valve, and said he was gonna drop it into my tank. I stopped him and asked, first of all, where my nice, new, pretty, O2 clean, DIN valve is. He gave me the blank stare. I then asked if he really thought I was going to let him just drop a valve into a tank that has been hanging out open for at least a week. I told him I have no idea if contaminants(bugs, dust, water, etc) have gotten into the tank. I asked him to please vis again and also to make sure the tank is clean. The man got very upset and told me there was nothing wrong with the tank, and he would have to charge me for a second vis. I said that when I brought the tank in, it had a plug. If they are going to allow the tanks to sit without any sort of plug in them, they should expect this sort of issue, and I will not pay for a second vis. I was very polite throughout all of this, and ended up winning the tech over to my side. He gave me his card, apologized, and told me to come back tomorrow to pick up the complete tank.
Now, after all of this, am I crazy? This was my first time out getting tanks hydro/viz'd, so I admittedly have little knowledge of the process, but it seems to me that, especially in South Florida, with all the bugs and the humidity, the tanks would be covered or plugged in some manner. What's Standard Operating Procedure for Hydro shops?

 

[ZenDiver.3D]

Not that....
And I would not trust him to actually inspect it. I would bet that he just drops a valve in. What happened to Your valve??? All that is very dodgy...

 

[meierdierck]

I aagree with you, he should have been more on top of things, I dont know SOP in FLA, or how high humidity would affect your tank, but I know we dont leave them standing around, I peeked into a tank one time and found a very dead mouse, not funny at all...

 

[pollywogg]

I actually found my valve, still wrapped in plastic, in a pile of valves which were apparently meant for the tanks. What's scary is that, as far as I know, there is one hydro shop in Palm Beach County(Where I Live) and one in Broward County( just south of where I go to school). I have not heard good things about one, so I took it to the other, with these results.....

 

[Gombessa]

And I would not trust him to actually inspect it. I would bet that he just drops a valve in.

That's what I was thinking

I think some hydro shops will vis and fill the tanks (air) after the test, which means they obviously need the tank shipped to them with the valves. But if not, I'd expect such tanks would be shipped to and from with at least tape over the opening.

 

[Rhone Man]

I actually found my valve, still wrapped in plastic, in a pile of valves which were apparently meant for the tanks. What's scary is that, as far as I know, there is one hydro shop in Palm Beach County(Where I Live) and one in Broward County( just south of where I go to school). I have not heard good things about one, so I took it to the other, with these results.....

Are you going to name and shame them?

 

[oxyhacker]

So what are they charging for a hydro? If its $10-15 bucks, then you can't expect much more than a hydro. Hydro testing is very much a volume business, and the diver who wants special care is like the customer who complains about a hair in the food at a greasy spoon diner.
It would be nice if you got your own valve back, but I wonder how many owners of industrial tanks really care?

If it was over $20, then they really ought to do a little better than that.

BTW hydro shops rarely reinstall the valve. Most will remove it, but not reinstall. I always remove my valves before I take my tanks in, to avoid exactly this sort of thing.

 

[TSandM]

Wow -- flash rust happens very quickly in steel tanks. I had some shipped to me from Southern California, and they had to be tumbled after just a couple of days in an enclosed box. I would imagine that would happen even faster in Florida.

 

[h2odragon1]

I took my tanks in earlier this year for vis. I did get them back after one week and went diving. When I took the tanks back for a refill, I was told that I needed a vis. inspection. Talking with the shop manager for 20 min. he finnally agreed that I did have the visa week earlier, he then put on a new vis lable, and I ended up with a 2,000 fill. I asked him about the 2,000 fill and he said that was the new norm for the shop. I hanen't been back since. I'M LOOKING FOR A NEW SHOP!!!

 

[pollywogg]

So what are they charging for a hydro? If its $10-15 bucks, then you can't expect much more than a hydro.
$25 for the Hydro plus $10 for the vis.
It would be nice if you got your own valve back, but I wonder how many owners of industrial tanks really care?
Not to be rude, but I don't really care what other owners want. I found a very nice deal on some brand new Thermo valves and I would very much like that valve to be installed on my tank, and I see no reason for a different, used and beat-up valve, to be put in its place.

If it was over $20, then they really ought to do a little better than that.
Agreed.

BTW hydro shops rarely reinstall the valve. Most will remove it, but not reinstall. I always remove my valves before I take my tanks in, to avoid exactly this sort of thing.
As far as the valve removal/installation goes, when I got the tanks, they all had old k-valves in them. I had them pulled and replaced with screw-in metal plugs(not the plastic ones you see sometimes). When I contacted this shop regarding the hydros, I specifically asked about the valves. I was told by the owner that they would install my valve for me and fill it. According to him, that is included in the standard service. But I appreciate the feedback that this is not exactly the norm.

Another question, as far as the shops that take out the valves to hydro but do not replace, do they just send/give you back your tank with an open plug and a valve alongside? Or do they have some sort of metal/plastic plug in there?

Thanks alot for all of your replies, it has put me at ease....about being uneasy.