divemaster_jim:
O.K. I'm still curious, Has there been a run of bad tanks recently? Not passing hydro or vis?
Of course not. But this is yet another nail in the coffin for the “self-regulating” SCUBA industry. I’ve said this before and I’ll continue to say it until (hopefully) someone in the SCUBA industry wakes up and solves the problem before it goes too far (probably too late already, but I can always hope).
Sustained load cracking (SLC) is a known problem. It takes
years for a crack to become dangerous(1), which means that multiple visuals have to be poorly done not to catch a developing crack. The fact that cylinders are failing from SLC indicates a systemic problem in the SCUBA industry(1).
Any shop that refuses to fill 6351 cylinders is admitting to the fact that this is a systemic problem – they’re worried (rightfully so) that XYZ shop down the street has some tank monkey inspecting cylinders that doesn’t know what he’s doing and is therefore passing cylinders that should be retired from service due to SLC.
What the “self regulating” SCUBA industry is
not doing is self-regulating! Instead of going after XYZ shop for not performing their job according to standards, they shift the burden back onto the customer for the industry's own failures and make the customer pay in the form of having to buy new cylinders! Excuse me, not buy – they’re being “exchanged” for a “nominal fee”.
The first nail has been hammered home. Due to the SCUBA industry’s failure to “self regulate” the DOT has just recently added the requirement that an eddy test be performed by a regulated entity – a licensed hydrostatic facility – when an AL cylinder is hydro tested. If things continue as they have throughout this 6351 debacle, it’s just a matter of time before inspections are taken completely out of the shop’s hands and we’ll have to go to a licensed facility every year (with its corresponding high costs) to get our cylinders inspected. We, the customer, lose in this case as well.
All because the “self regulating” SCUBA industry is too scared to “self regulate”. They should be actively and aggressively be going after the sloppy shops, but they’re just too scared to do so, so they pussyfoot around the problem and pass their failures onto you, the customer, and make you buy new cylinders. Excuse me again – I can’t seem to get this one right – it’s “exchange” your cylinder for a “nominal fee”.
How big is this problem? It’s tiny. In fact, “tiny” doesn’t even begin to describe how absolutely
minuscule the problem is. In the last 20 years there have been 17 6351 failures worldwide(1) over 25.4 million cylinders(1). If you assume a conservative 100 fills average for each cylinder, this puts the probability of a failure about par with winning the power ball lottery. In other words the shop owners should be more worried about their employees driving home (about a 0.1% chance of being injured) rather than cylinders failing from SLC (0.0000007% chance). But even those failures would not have happened if the cylinders had been properly inspected.
But they’re
not being properly inspected. And instead of your LDS stepping up to the plate and solving
their problem, they’re passing the cost of their failures on to you, the customer. Such is the state of the SCUBA industry today. Bury your head in the sand, don’t self regulate and shaft the customer instead.
To quote a document to be found on the PSI page(1):
“Can SLC related ruptures be stopped? Yes they can.
The solution is a team effort by knowledgeable technicians
and owners who handle, inspect and use the cylinders.”
Note it does
not say, “Don’t fill 6351 cylinders and make the customer buy new cylinders.” It says you gotta get rid of the tank monkeys in the SCUBA industry and have trained inspectors doing the work. Self regulating SCUBA industry – you gonna step up to the plate and go after the “bad” shops or continue to shaft your customer to all our detriment?
The choice is yours. But I’m not holding my breath.
Roger
(1) From the same source that John pointed you to, the PSI page:
http://www.psicylinders.com/library/Current/cracking.htm
