Inspecting tanks

[Teamfour]

Only if he wants to kill you*. If he put locktite on the threads bring it back and have him strip it off! Seriously! A dab of Christolube on the bottom threads is all that should be put on the threads.

The threads are exposed to the pressurized breathing gas (the O ring is at the top of the threads), which means you're breathing whatever the locktite offgasses.

This, to quote Ghostbusters, would be "bad."

It never ceases to amaze me how ignorant dive shops are (dangerously so in this case); all the while preaching "life support equipment!"

Roak

*Kill? Probably not, but you couldn't pay me to breathe locktite, sorry...

Thanks for the warning. I called him and what he had put loctite on was the screw that holds the valve knob on. I had one of these come loose one time, so I hope this is normal practice. This shop has done the VIP on my tanks for about 10 years and I have never had a problem with my tanks.

 

[cerich]

Thanks for the warning. I called him and what he had put loctite on was the screw that holds the valve knob on. I had one of these come loose one time, so I hope this is normal practice. This shop has done the VIP on my tanks for about 10 years and I have never had a problem with my tanks.

Not common, but shouldn't be a problem.

 

[Tom Winters]

I use a big giant Sears 15'" crescent wrench on tank valves. No mallet - just my hand to tighten or loosen things. And the wrench is on the base of the valve right near the neck of the tank - not the face of it! Plus for some arcane reason, in the 25 years of ownership of said wrench, I have never used it on any other task or loaned it out. Just tanks.
The Lock-Tite stuff - most definitely not a good idea.

 

[Leadking]

Dive stores do not use Loctite. The use of Dow 111 in aluminum tank is specified by Luxfer. It helps prevent corrosion of dis-similar metals in contact with each other.