Question about + rating.

[I Dive]

and my personal favorite, "the hydro shop told me he was required to stamp the words 'no plus' on your tanks because he didn't have the manufacturer's specs, so the tanks can never be plus rated."

Did they actually stamp that on your tanks?

 

[oxyhacker]

The guy's an idiot. But don't be too hard on him because there are a lot of dumb and convoluted tank regulations, and a lot of misinformation floating around. Since virtually all DOT 3AA tanks are LP, its easy for someone not too well informed to assume that 3AA and LP are therefore synonymous, which they of course aren't - you can make a 3AA tank to hold almost any pressure you like, but no one usually goes much above 3500 because they get too heavy. That didn't stop Heiser from making the undisputed king of the 3AAs, the Beauchat 190, which had a service pressure of 4350 psi, and if plus rated could be filled to 4785!

I have always found that dive shop people seem to feel they have to be right all the time, and get very defensive when you have to point out to them that they don't know what they are talking about. I usually try to take the soft path and not push to too hard, figuring that if I don't make them dig in too deep they will probably check it out the minute I leave, and have it right the next time I come by. But if I am in a bad mood I will demand they call the DOT on the spot, or offer to bet them $100 that they are wrong.

 

[halocline]

Did they actually stamp that on your tanks?

Yes they did. How about those industry professionals?

 

[JDMerk]

Yes they did. How about those industry professionals?

If you were so inclined and the "no plus" designation was undeserved you could probably drag them to small claims court and have them reimburse you for the tanks. They would have to prove that was a legit industry practice and that they failed the + test. If they never even performed the + test their kinda screwed.

 

[DA Aquamaster]

There is as far as I know also no DOT requirement to stamp the tank "no plus" if it failed the plus rating portion of the test due to excess elastic expansion - it just does not get a plus rating. I'd be tempted to hold him down and stamp his forehead "IDIOT"

 

[diver 85]

There is as far as I know also no DOT requirement to stamp the tank "no plus" if it failed the plus rating portion of the test due to excess elastic expansion - it just does not get a plus rating. I'd be tempted to hold him down and stamp his forehead "IDIOT"

best answer------------------right here.......

 

[halocline]

I checked with 3 other hydro facilities; the guy was not supposed to stamp that, and I probably could have taken him to court and forced him to pay damages equal to what I paid for the tanks. These are LP72s that I paid about $50 each for. I would not have been able to force him to provide me with new equivalent tanks, which I guess the closest thing would have been LP85s (7" tanks for doubles, neutral empty.) Maybe three used LP72s. In short, it wasn't worth it, and it would have definitely meant the end of my air fills at one of two dive shops in San Antonio. Since the tanks were painted over galvanizing, I just stripped the old paint, put a couple of coats of ZRC cold galvanizing (great stuff, BTW), and, umm, somehow the "no plus" is no longer visible.

The ironic thing is that while the hydro guy was telling me that he is required to stamp "no plus" on tanks that he can't qualify, I was looking at a friend's LP80 that he hydro'ed last year. On that tank the REE number is stamped on the tank. But, this guy gave it no plus rating (I'm sure it passed) and of course did not stamp "no plus" on it. In fact, when I asked him if he had a single example of any tank he had stamped like mine, he could not come up with one. What I'm sure actually happened was that I asked about the plus rating before the hydro, which I'm sure nobody else does at this dive shop because, as I mentioned before, the owner still thinks that the plus rating is only on the original hydro. So, the hydro guy thought if I was enough of a trouble maker to inquire about getting this rating, I might be enough of a trouble maker to stamp my own tank.

The other ironic thing is that this whole mess is about a measly 225 PSI. And it's important to note that the tanks did not fail the plus rating sue to excessive expansion. The hydro guy simply did not have the REE number to qualify them. Now, I have the PST document with the REE number, so I could call the hydro guy and see if he'll re-test the tanks and give them the plus rating. That means disassembling my doubles, driving them to the facility an hour away, etc. Maybe next year when they're due for vis and I have to take them apart anyways.

 

[captain]

I checked with 3 other hydro facilities; the guy was not supposed to stamp that, and I probably could have taken him to court and forced him to pay damages equal to what I paid for the tanks. These are LP72s that I paid about $50 each for. I would not have been able to force him to provide me with new equivalent tanks, which I guess the closest thing would have been LP85s (7" tanks for doubles, neutral empty.) Maybe three used LP72s. In short, it wasn't worth it, and it would have definitely meant the end of my air fills at one of two dive shops in San Antonio. Since the tanks were painted over galvanizing, I just stripped the old paint, put a couple of coats of ZRC cold galvanizing (great stuff, BTW), and, umm, somehow the "no plus" is no longer visible.

The ironic thing is that while the hydro guy was telling me that he is required to stamp "no plus" on tanks that he can't qualify, I was looking at a friend's LP80 that he hydro'ed last year. On that tank the REE number is stamped on the tank. But, this guy gave it no plus rating (I'm sure it passed) and of course did not stamp "no plus" on it. In fact, when I asked him if he had a single example of any tank he had stamped like mine, he could not come up with one. What I'm sure actually happened was that I asked about the plus rating before the hydro, which I'm sure nobody else does at this dive shop because, as I mentioned before, the owner still thinks that the plus rating is only on the original hydro. So, the hydro guy thought if I was enough of a trouble maker to inquire about getting this rating, I might be enough of a trouble maker to stamp my own tank.

The other ironic thing is that this whole mess is about a measly 225 PSI. And it's important to note that the tanks did not fail the plus rating sue to excessive expansion. The hydro guy simply did not have the REE number to qualify them. Now, I have the PST document with the REE number, so I could call the hydro guy and see if he'll re-test the tanks and give them the plus rating. That means disassembling my doubles, driving them to the facility an hour away, etc. Maybe next year when they're due for vis and I have to take them apart anyways.

You took this much better than I would have. I have little tolerance for incompetence.