Jim,
First off let me apologize for the misunderstanding regarding SafeAir cleaning your equipment. It may not have been made clear to you during your Nitrox Classes, that all equipment must meet three very clear standards for SafeAir/Nitrox use. I do not know where you took your EAN Classes at.
1. The equipment must be engineered for oxygen enriched gas use. Luxfer, Catalina, and PST all give us approval for cleaning their newer cylinders. Once cleaned all equipment must be properly tagged. The SafeAir six inch stickers are priced at $12 and have been for over ten years. The contents tags are priced at $6 and also have been the sam for ten years. The VIP+ is not just simply looking into your cylinders. Due to the fact they are aluminum, we are required by the industry to use an Eddy Current Machine to check for microscopic cracks in the necks of the cylinders. If they were steel, the VIP is $6 as the steel cylinders do not require this added computerized process. VIP+ is $15 per aluminum cylinder. The standard of the industry is anytime a cylinder is emptied a full VIP is required. With aluminum cylinders you cannot simply put a light inside the tank and hope for the best. This is not an "O2 VIP".
2. The Equipment must be oxygen cleaned. The process is physically time consuming and equipment consuming. To do this we use a oxygen approved detergent called Blue Gold. The Blue Gold is heated up then poured into the tanks and whipped with a carbide whip for ten minutes each. Then they are washed completely and heat dried. The valves are cooked in Blue Gold in a Ultra Sonic Cleaner for thirty minutes. Once cleaned they are handled with latex gloves to prevent oil from our bodies from getting on the valves. All seating surfaces are coated with crystal lube which is an oxygen compatable lubricant.
3. Only Oxygen Compatable Materials Can Be Used- We use only the highest grade materials available for any of our oxygen enriched air equipment. Viton orings, segregated Snap On Tools for use only with cleaned surfaces, MCG Crystal Lube and Oxygen Compatible Air. Our gas is tested every quarter by Trace Analytics in Texas. Our gas is certified Oxygen Compatable Air, so we must charge $10 per EAN fill just to cover the costs of cleaning the gas, testing the gas, and giving you some oxygen on top of it.Does your freind's store have certified pure air? Probably not. We do not just pull the gas out of thin air. If we gave the gas away for free what would be the purpose of selling it in the first place?
One of the other reasons we prefer to sell the PST E-Cylinders is that they come prepared for and Oxygen Enriched Environment. Just purchasing the cylinder would have saved you the cost of cleaning and the VIP+. You got what you paid for.
Our way of doing business is to do it right the first time. We spare no expense in the training of our Service Technicians or the equipment that is used in the preparation for SafeAir/Nitrox use. Simply put we do not cut corners. SSA has been in business for over forty years and takes great pride in the quality of instruction, service, and equipment found no where else in Southern California. We are the offical dive store for Universal Studios, The Local 80 Motion Picture Divers Union , Antimite, Terminix and many other reputable business for one reason only...we do things the right way and we do things promptly.
I would encourage you to sit in on one of our Service Technician Courses, free of charge, and truly understand what goes into the preparation of SafeAir/Nitrox equipment. I would also highly recommend that you sit through one of our SafeAir/Nitrox Divers programs so you also have a better apreciation of what the gas is, how it is blended, and why it is kept clean.
We are not a sporting goods store or a mom and pop business. I know of no other store in Southern California that can service every type of diving equipment usually the same day with only authorized parts from an authorized service technician from that manufacturer.
Once again I apologize for the misunderstanding and encourage you to come in and get educated on the why's, the what's, and the how's of SafeAir/Nitrox use and requirements. Scuba Schools of America's guideline for Enriched Air Cleaning are consistant with the Compressed Gas Association, The National Fire Prevention Association, NASA, NOAA and more importantly American Nitrox Divers International, (ANDI). To do things the right way costs more. If you want a cheaper way of diving, dive on regular old air and deal with dirty gas, shorter bottom times, longer surface intervals, and a higher cost per dive base upon less time.
SSA's way of doing business is to do it right the first time. Thank you for your time and I I look forward to your reply.
Warmest Regards,
