Nitrox bands

[sharpenu]

I got my tanks O2 cleaned. Actually, I watched them do it- to clean the tank foir O2 service, they looked in it, said "Yep, it looks clean." and then put the stickers on it. For $35. When I asked them not to put the "Nitrox" bands on them, they told me if they do not, it would be illegal to fill them with anything but air.

I asked around and all the local LDS are saying the same. Am I being lied to? If it is illegal, can someone point me to the applicable law?

Cause I gotta say that at $35 for O2 cleaning, plus $7 per fill, I am ready to fill my own. I already have a compressor- can't cost THAT much to get aviator's oxygen....

 

[Jafo123]

Don't know about the law but $7.00 a fill isn't bad. That's what I pay for just air fills. Nitrox fills run me $14.00 a fill.

 

[Rick Murchison]

I got my tanks O2 cleaned. Actually, I watched them do it- to clean the tank foir O2 service, they looked in it, said "Yep, it looks clean." and then put the stickers on it. For $35. When I asked them not to put the "Nitrox" bands on them, they told me if they do not, it would be illegal to fill them with anything but air.

I asked around and all the local LDS are saying the same. Am I being lied to? If it is illegal, can someone point me to the applicable law?

Cause I gotta say that at $35 for O2 cleaning, plus $7 per fill, I am ready to fill my own. I already have a compressor- can't cost THAT much to get aviator's oxygen....

Are you sure you're talking about "O2 clean?" If your shop banks Nitrox and isn't partial pressure blending then they only need to be clean...
(1) O2 cleanliness cannot be determined with a casual look.
(2) O2 service rating requires O2 cleaning of the valve and installation of O2 compatible components and lubricants (if the valve isn't brand new (unused except for pure oxygen or oxygen compatible air) and certified O2 clean and service rated from the manufacturer)
(3) It is not "illegal" to put nitrox in tanks that don't have a Nitrox band.
Are you being lied to? Well, yeah, but it may not be intentional, so "lied" may be a bit strong... they may just be passing along bad info that they believe to be good.
(4) Unless you do an awful lot of diving, you won't be able to fill your own tanks with Nitrox for $7 a pop. Trust me on this.
Rick

 

[akscubainst]

I don't know what they were doing with the cleaning it should be alot more than looking inside them. The Nitrox bands are an industry standard but not necessarily a law. They are doing some CYA. Without the label, the theory is someone could get ahold of your tank not knowing that it had Nitrox in it and have a problem or your tank could get non-O2 clean gas put in it on accident.

That said, unless you have a RIX compressor, plan on spending some cash on a filter to refilter your compressors output to make it O2 compatible before mixing it yourself.

Dave

 

[kb2ehj]

Get yourself a copy of the Oxygen Hackers handbook from airspeed press. It's worth the $30.00 and they ship priority mail.

Mixing and cleaning your own stuff isn't as hard as some make it out to be.

 

[SDAnderson]

I got my tanks O2 cleaned. Actually, I watched them do it- to clean the tank foir O2 service, they looked in it, said "Yep, it looks clean." and then put the stickers on it. For $35. When I asked them not to put the "Nitrox" bands on them, they told me if they do not, it would be illegal to fill them with anything but air.

I asked around and all the local LDS are saying the same. Am I being lied to? If it is illegal, can someone point me to the applicable law?

Cause I gotta say that at $35 for O2 cleaning, plus $7 per fill, I am ready to fill my own. I already have a compressor- can't cost THAT much to get aviator's oxygen....

• Your tanks were NOT O2 cleaned. Without going into detail, the process involves, you know, actually cleaning the tanks. $35 is a great price for O2 cleaning, very expensive for an inspection.
• There is no law that says you have to have the nitrox tank bands installed. It's an old NOAA standard that refuses to die and shops can make their own rules up but there is no law. These days, most shops are satisfied with a small sticker that certifies that the tanks were cleaned and inspected for oxygen service in accordance with CGA and OSHA standards. Of course, yours weren't...

I'm very surprised that a shop so close to cave country would be having these kinds of issues. You should do the dive community in Orlando a favor and post the name of the shop that did this to you.

 

[TechBlack]

It seems funny to me that a shop cannot read a O2 clean/nitrox clean VIP sticker. There have been a few similar incidents here, but they are also no the most reputable shops going. It seems to me that the nitrox band is a training agency "law", because i know of at least 1 agency that does not reccomend them.

It seems as if you were charged alot for nothing, here tanks that get O2 cleaned, get sent for steam cleaning to eliminate the hydrocarbons. Valves then get dismantled, cleaned and reassembled with O2 compatible grease and components. I would have the tank inspected elsewhere to be sure that it is truly O2 clean, and not just nitrox clean, there is a big difference....

 

[padiscubapro]

I got my tanks O2 cleaned. Actually, I watched them do it- to clean the tank foir O2 service, they looked in it, said "Yep, it looks clean." and then put the stickers on it. For $35. When I asked them not to put the "Nitrox" bands on them, they told me if they do not, it would be illegal to fill them with anything but air.

I asked around and all the local LDS are saying the same. Am I being lied to? If it is illegal, can someone point me to the applicable law?

Cause I gotta say that at $35 for O2 cleaning, plus $7 per fill, I am ready to fill my own. I already have a compressor- can't cost THAT much to get aviator's oxygen....

The "bands" aren't a law, but depending on the dive shops liability coverage it might as well be...
NOAA rules are the recognized standard, and they are specific.. If anything happens any good lawer would get these admitted as the rules without any problems..

Most insurance policies have wording to the effect that all recognized standards and agency standards must bne adhered to.. All the major training agencies require the bands.. If a shop chooses to ignore this requirement and there is some type of accident involving that cylinder they are SOL.

Its not a law its a business decision..

I know I will not fill Nitrox tanks without a band becasue there is an established standard, BUT if the tanks are marked for Trimix, Its not a problems since there is no agreed upon standard for marking these cylinders.

 

[sharpenu]

The tank is oxygen clean, not just Nitrox. The LDS does not bank, they blend.

It was a brand new PST E7-100. I bought one from Scuba toys and one from the LDS.

They took the valve off, looked in it, and then put the stickers on it. Total time from the purchase to leaving the store with a full tank: less than 30 minutes.

 

[SDAnderson]

I know I will not fill Nitrox tanks without a band becasue there is an established standard, BUT if the tanks are marked for Trimix, Its not a problems since there is no agreed upon standard for marking these cylinders.

Obviously an issue, since tanks labeled for nitrox shouldn't be filled with trimix. Since there is no standard for marking a cylinder for trimix, what would you accept as a practical example?