O2 cleaning question

[James R]

If I am going to service regs, and O2 clean them at the same time, the biggest difference is basically making sure the solution is not contaminated before I use it. I will use the same (o2 compatible!) lube & (o2 compatible) service kits either way.

Tanks...that's a different situation. O2 cleaning tanks adds a lot of extra steps/work especially if they've got some rust/gunk in them.

 

[JahJahwarrior]

JahJahwarrior, While I have said that this was nothing but a rip off and that people were distorting what I said and not telling the whole truth and implying there was more to O2 cleaning then would be done in a normal overhaul I never called anyone a thief or a lier or any other name. The only ones calling people names here so far have been you and fire_diver.

1. I feel I have demonstrated that charging service fees of $50 or so (about what I expect to pay per stage for service) is perfectly reasonable, and do not see why you feel it is a rip off. Certainly, it is a lot of money, but it's also a lot of specialized tools and training, along with costs for materials, which are not, as you claim, insignificant. You have offered nothing to combat my arguments aside from saying "it's a rip off." I've asked twice for you to provide potential financial statements that show how it is a rip off, and you have not done so. However, I have spent a decent amount of time showing you various costs and how I feel they might relate to the end cost of an overhaul.

2. We have quoted you. We have perhaps bolded or italicized your words, but we have not edited them. Is this really some distortion?

3. I've told you several times now that for me, a normal overhaul is an o2 clean overhaul. I've also told you that o2 cleaning involves more work than is needed for an air overhaul, and explained why a proper service costs so much.

4. Did I call you a thief? I did tell you that you were spreading incorrect facts about a product. I'm not sure if that's a lie, or merely defamation and slander You have countered with some supposed scheme I have to rip people off, which makes me like the people on Wall St. who have engaged in deceitful business processes to make money on other's misfortune. Maybe you didn't call me a thief, or a liar, but you did imply that I'm a scumbag.

 

[Tortuga68]

I never called anyone a thief or a lier or any other name. The only ones calling people names here so far have been you and fire_diver.

So you got into the business to over charge people a little less while still ripping them off? Where do you go from here? Wall St? That place is full of people who think just like you and look at what that has done to the economy. People like you will someday cause this industry to come under government regulation

 

[Crowley]

I don't understand why this has turned into a flame war...

O2 service is a long and involved process - you have to scrub with several different solvents, use an ultrasound bath, and put every component involved in the process through an ultroviolet scan to ensure there are no contaminants present.

The most important part of the process are the tank valves and - if you're going to clean a regulator to 02 service standards, the first stage. This is where the gas is compressed and heated to its highest degree - through tight narrow passages where the flow of gas is constricted and accelerated (think squeezing a water hosepipe)

The insides of a tank are important but somewhat secondary to ensuring that the components upstream are 02 clean. Using the same service kits for a regulator or tank valve through which pure oxygen under high pressure must pass is stupid. If it's just a service and the tank/valve/regulator is going to be used with regular air or less than 40% nitrox then a regular service is fine, but anything less than a full 02 cleaning for regs and tank valves through which high pressure oxygen must pass is potentially dangerous.

Some dive shops, I am sure, are ripping people off for nitrox fills, but in my experience, most are not. I refer people to one of my original posts - properly cleaning tanks and valves to 02 standards takes a great deal of time, and requires a significant investment in equipment and labour. FFS, plumbers charge 50 bucks per hour to fix your drains, and your LDS charges you an extra 20 dollars per fill to make sure you don't spontaneously combust?

As I said before, at a high volume dive centre, the cost is absorbed by the volume of custom, but at a small place where 02 cleaning is requested by the customer, somebody has to pay for basic safety, and the fact that some poor Shmo (like me, in one former job) has to spend 8 hours cleaning a bunch of metal and picking out wasted plastic that customers will later complain took too long and cost too much.

Get over it folks, diving isn't free, and if you think it should be, start your own dive centre and kiss your kids goodbye to welfare.

And after that rant - safe diving - whichever gas you choose

C.

 

[Rich Keller]

Tortuga68, Both the quotes you put up were edited.

 

[Tortuga68]

...your LDS charges you an extra 20 dollars per fill to make sure you don't spontaneously combust?

I wanna see a tank explode. Or a goat. Or a titanium reg catch on fire

 

[Tortuga68]

Tortuga68, Both the quotes you put up were edited.

What's your point

 

[JahJahwarrior]

I never called anyone a thief or a lier or any other name. The only ones calling people names here so far have been you and fire_diver.

Originally Posted by richkeller
I never called anyone a thief or a lier or any other name. The only ones calling people names here so far have been you and fire_diver.

Tortuga68, Both the quotes you put up were edited.

Hmm...what was edited here? He didn't quote everything you said, but it looks to me like he quoted you word for word. I suspect the same is true for the other quote.

 

[Rich Keller]

Edited as in only part of each quote was posted.

 

[Tortuga68]

I think you need to look up quote in the dictionary