leaky tanks

[nolanewbie]

Just returned from a weeklong dive trip with my family. All went well except approximately 1/3 of my tanks leaked air at the base of the valve stem. I insisted the tanks be replaced, although several people told me the leaks were "no problem". I'm a new diver (1 year, 50 dives) and am seeking comments....are leaky tanks ok?

 

[fjpatrum]

If you're not okay with it, then no. I wouldn't want to dive one that was leaking from the base of the stem, but I've dived a couple with dribbled air at the reg connection due to crappy o-rings I didn't have spares to replace. Odds of a major problem happening underwater are low but it could happen.

It boils down to how risk tolerant you are and probably what type of dive. In a 40 feet open water dive on a clear reef I might go ahead even with air leaking from the base, but if there were spares I'd want it switched out.

 

[novasquid]

i once had a leaky o-ring on a yoke connection while on a dive charter in hawaii, and was told by the DM that it would amount to losing one large breath over an hour's time. i went with it and ended up at around the same psi as my wife at the end of the dive. looking back, i would've insisted on having it replaced because a leaky o-ring could be on the verge of failure, but at the time it didn't amount to much.

 

[tanksforthememories]

Small problems can turn into big problems real fast. Would you drive a car with leaky brakes? Why assume more risk than you have to? I would have done the same thing.

 

[captain]

Define "my tanks". do you own them or did you rent them. In either case they should not have any noticeable leaks.

 

[nolanewbie]

Good point Captain; I did not own the tanks, they were supplied by the dive shop at the resort. Perhaps I should have worded by question differently such as, "the tanks supplied for me to use by the dive shop" or the tanks I rented....

 

[abyss_scuba]

As a dive shop owner I would not have allowed you to dive the tanks. I expect all my equipment to be good for me to use and will not accept less for the customers who come to my shop and trust me. As a business owner I want you to have a safe, enjoyable experience with me. Also if something happened even if it was not related to the leaking air I would have a hard time defending myself in court.

 

[GDI]

If the tanks come from the dive shop that way, that is a sign of neglected maintenance. Plain and simple. You pay for a full cylinder at 3000 psi/ 207 bar they should be at that level

 

[Doomnova]

Odds are its something with O ring. Either its not seated right, or the O ring is almost/is toast, or your first stage is not seated right on the O ring right (you might have put it on too tight). The first 2 can pretty much be seen if you do a visual of the O ring and or take it out, inspect it if it looks fine, then re-seat it if not replace it(I usually keep a bunch of O rings in my backpack anyways) . The last one pretty much says it all. Odds are more leaks come from the first and second issues not #2.

 

[nolanewbie]

Two tanks had bad o-rings, an easy fix. Five leaked at the base of the valve stem where it attaches to the tank. I was surprised to hear several other divers tell me the leaks were "OK" (I felt like saying, "fine, let's trade tanks..."). I feel that I am the one responsible for my safety, and I'm not going to risk my life on something that leaks when it shouldn't. I was less than cordial when I turned in the last two to the DM (whom I had already turned in 3 others for leaking), and asked him to personally check the replacement tanks by pouring water over the stem/tank connection. To his credit, we had brand new tanks in our spot on the dive boat the next day.