refuse to fill

[Nemrod]

I run into this, especially in Flariduh, they simply will not fill the older tanks, steel, aluminum, they do not care.

I had put a vintage Voit sticker on two brand new Faber LP85s and was refused a fill because they were too old. Yeah, some dive equipment retail outlets will fill the 72s, more and more will not. In fact, I would say, I was refused fills by 8 out of 10 stores for my 72s last summer throughout Flariduh.

N

 

[Texfrazer]

What's great about Florida is that since I stuck an "Aluminum 80" sticker on my Steel 104's, I usually get nice fills.

 

[oxyhacker]

And I stuck some big Genesis tank stickers on some old 72 doubles for joke, and came back to find them filled to 3500. So it works both ways.

The funny thing was this was long after Sherwood lost the Genesis HP tank line, and the stickers were actuallynormally used for Genesis Alu 80s so there really wasn't any excuse for the mix up.

I had put a vintage Voit sticker on two brand new Faber LP85s and was refused a fill because they were too old..

N

 

[Thalassamania]

Stupid is as stupid does.

 

[mstudley]

I love my set of 72's. I've never had any issues getting them filled. Great second dive doubles.

 

[DA Aquamaster]

And I stuck some big Genesis tank stickers on some old 72 doubles for joke, and came back to find them filled to 3500. So it works both ways.

I used to have a few 1800 psi steel 50 cu ft tanks for my son. They were the same height as AL 50's but 6.9" in diameter rather than 7.25". It was pretty common for them to get filled to 3000 psi. 3000 psi also happened to be the test pressure. This was of course in shops that would not even think of filling my steel 72's to a full 2475 psi even with the plus rating. Consequently my son's steel 45's would hold 75 cu ft while my steel 72s would only get 65 cu ft.

 

[DogHouseDiver]

Every now and then my local Open Water dive shop sells off some of their Steel 72's as they continue to swap out old training tanks. I snatch them up for $40 each, and they ensure the vis is current. I avoid them if the hydro is close to coming up. I swap the old valves out for some I prefer for sidemount and they work great. Rated to 2250, I get fills at an average of 2600 in cave country and NW Florida, AND my tanks have a born on date of 1958, 1962, etc. They're phenomenal, and I have had two O2 cleaned with the new valves. I got 3200 once.

It all depends on the shop, anywhere up/down I75 in FL or across I10 you should get awesome fills. But I agree with your frustration, my closest local shop (not the one above) is not a tech shop and they won't put Nitrox in an O2 clean tank tank unless it has a big NITROX sticker on it, they claim it is a DOT transportation issue, not a dive issue. Its their call and I don't argue but it is frustrating. And I'm not putting stickers on the steel tanks that I just cleaned, trapping moisture and rust behind a plastic barrier. So I tough it out, give my local tank jock my AL's, and non-Nitrox Steel 72 fills, but he won't give me "cave fills". Best case, I get them topped off before leaving cave country and don't monkey with local fills unless the good places are closed on my way out.

No matter what their reason, if the guys have an attitude of "I'm not getting my legs blown up for an $8 fill..." there's no point in schooling them and straining the relationship. I DO like the idea of finding the senior man/woman or perhaps their gear replacement person/most trained and having a talk, then getting that info rolled down hill to those who need the info. That's probably the best friendly way of dealing.

If not, I'll take em. May even swap you a straight AL80 for your Steel 72's if you find you're in a place that's not worth the hassles of that drive.

 

[Nemrod]

It is a shame, perfectly safe tanks being turned down for fills by people who don't want to bother to educate themselves about the industry they are employed in.

N

 

[fab50diver]

I should preface this question with the disclaimer that I am a complete newbie when it comes to dive equipment and tanks. My brother's friend was cleaning his garage and gave me three steel tanks. I dropped them off at my LDS for a hydro, vis and fill. The shop owner had their worker call me Tues. to tell me that they wouldn't send the largest tank for a hydro because it was too old (born on date in the 70's). He did offer a $40 discount toward a new cylinder. All three tanks looked like new but hadn't had a hydro or vis since the 90's because the previous owner filled his own.
I wish I had more info on the one that was rejected but it's still at the shop. I'll post again when I can get it back to collect the specific information but, in the meantime, please weigh-in with your thoughts.

 

[halocline]

MAKE SURE that the dive shop does not mark or deface the tank in any way. If they do, they owe you a new tank.

The short answer is that you need a different shop. You'll need to find a shop that has some clue about older steel tanks. It's really sad how so many shops are so mis-informed. When you get your tanks back, copy all the numbers off them and post them here, someone can easily tell you about the tank specs.

Older aluminum tanks, basically (but not always) pre-1980 were made out of an alloy that has since proven to be defective. While there are tests for these tanks, most shops simply refuse to deal with them. Since the results of a catastrophic failure during fill are very dangerous, it is understandable that they would simply avoid these tanks.

But, not knowing the difference between steel and aluminum tanks, or simply lumping all old tanks into the same category, is amazingly ignorant for a so called professional. And these are the same people we're supposed to trust with our "life support" gear?

Sorry, I get worked up about this too easily......