Just took a pci/psi visual course. Looking for more precise information

[The Chairman]

I'm kind amazed that on most of ScubaBoard it is the instructors that are thought to be the primary cause of poor instruction, but in this thread it is the agency that is the culprit.

A very valid point. Well made.

 

[boulderjohn]

Yes, I was referring to the costly CGA stuff, which is the source matetial. Pretty much everything else is derivative. Re PCI, I've taken the course from an excellent instructor, and it was mostly doing actual inspections. I'm kind amazed that on most of ScubaBoard it is the instructors that are thought to be the primary cause of poor instruction, but in this thread it is the agency that is the culprit. Odd.

How many instructors do they have?

 

[NAM001]

Is there a more precise or definitive guide to wear on threads, corrosion of threads and overall condition? Specifically steel tanks in this case.

I never took that part of the course very seriously. I did pay attention to the crack identification vs die stop marks. I took my initial and first refresher with Tim Leary n south padre island. I thought he did a pretty thorough job. the tank inspection lab part was about an hour. I also did gas blending and O2 tech with him. There was other stuff I just blew off because i took the class,,, to vip my own tanks,,, and they are all steel.

For me the course paid for its self in the first year, (depending on how you look at it) and its a 3 year cert. I have perhaps 10 steels here and its about 80-100 miles to a shop to get them certed. you puttime gas and the 15.00 fee for the job and it ads p quickly. The refresher course is I think 200. 10 tanks is about 150 for vips and the rest is transportation costs. Its a no brainer for me. I wont comment on how much i agree with the PSI program as the OP is not looking for that.

No doubt in any ones mind that the CFR's are too expensive for the common Joe to get.

 

[akdeepdiver]

So if you wanted to learn things like inspecting tanks and oxygen cleaning, who does it in a reasonable fashion?

For the scuba industry:
PSI/PCI
TDI
PSAI
UTD

All of these organizations have visual inspection and O2 cleaning courses. I do know that the PSI course is endorsed by both Luxfer and Catalina. I do not know if the others are endorsed by the manufactures. (Not saying they are not, I just don't know). But like all classes, the quality of the class is dependent on the instructor. An amazing class can be horrible if the instructor is inept.

 

[akdeepdiver]

How many instructors do they have?

According to the PSI website over 60.

 

[pconsidine]

I took the TDI visual Inspection course over 4 years ago and did a Refresher update last winter. My Course was 2 full days with at least 4 hours spent inspecting multiple tanks with various defects. To me it is the quality of the Instructor not the agency that makes the course. And since completing course I have inspected 100's of tanks. Equipment needed for visuals can add up including a good light and tread magnifier and various pit devices.. My 02 cleaning Class was a seperate 2 day course with trimix gas blending..

 

[guruboy]

Google the Luxfer tank inspection guide. They have different ones for different tank types.

 

[DEdiveguy1]

Is there a more precise or definitive guide to wear on threads, corrosion of threads and overall condition? Specifically steel tanks in this case.

I struggled with what you seem to be struggling with after completing training. Until I started inspecting a lot of cylinders, I really didn't have any experience to evaluate thread wear in scuba cylinders. One suggestion for you - If you have a hydro station nearby (as I did), befriend the inspector and ask them to "mentor" you as you get started. Someone that spends all day, every day, inspecting cylinders can be a tremendous asset to you as you get started and until you gain your own experience. Even after four years and hundreds of tanks later, I still ask my "mentor" to check behind me if I think I've spotted something questionable. (I also believe it pays to have a second opinion before condemning someone's property!)

As a general recommendation for you as you begin to inspect cylinder threads, I learned that in most cases I needed to invest considerable time cleaning the threads thoroughly before inspecting (in both AL and steel cylinders), and we didn't spend a lot of time in class talking about, or doing, that work. For AL tanks, nothing beats a stiff nylon toothbrush, IPA (isopropyl alcohol), and some clean rags. For steel tanks, I use a brass or steel thread cleaning brush (#43025 Global Scuba Mfg of Texas) that fits into my cordless drill, along with some IPA to clean the old lubricant out of the threads. After removing the old lube, and giving the threads a cleaning with the brush, you'll be better able to visualize the thread condition and performing your minimum thread count.

Hope this helps as you get started!

 

[rjack321]

For both steel and Ali tanks you can examine the threads BELOW the depth of the valve. i.e. 10-12 threads down. This gives you an pretty good idea of the original thread depth and profile. Chances are there is no visible wear whatsoever. (steel is much harder than brass afterall). If there is visible wear its sort of like a "minor" crack and your best professional judgment (in all but the most bizarre cases) would be to condemn the tank. No this isn't in any PSI's, TDI's, CFR's, CGA's or anyone else's literature I'm aware of. But perhaps it proves helpful.

 

[Tracy]

Yes, my first response was satirical, but there is a very serious point to it. You should not need to ask this question after having taken a course like that. I took the PCI/PSI course for the first time a number of years ago, along with almost all the other instructors associated with the dive shop where I worked. We spent the day primarily looking at pictures of exploded tanks. At the very end, the guy had us look at some tanks for about 30 minutes. We were already running late when that episode started. Our Course Director made sure the guy knew in no uncertain terms how unsatisfactory he thought the workshop was. I then let my certification lapse and had to do the full workshop over again, this time with a different presenter. Once again we spent an entire day on unimportant stuff, including about 20 stories with the purpose of making sure we know that everyone in the world thinks PCI/PSI is the greatest organization in existence. This time we had even less time to do any actual inspection work, and, once again, that part started after the workshop was supposed to be over.

I will keep saying things like this until PCI/PSI gets the message. Their workshops need to focus on teaching participants how to evaluate tanks so they can walk out of it knowing how to deal with what they will see when they do visual inspections.

You should have taken the class from Mark, the owner. Then you could have spent at least an hour of that time learning about how many astronauts he knows and why he is smarter than any of them.