Seattle area VIP prices

[boat sju]

I just moved to the Seattle area from Michigan and my steel 100 HP (used with Nitrox) needs a VIP. What should I expect to pay for that here?

 

[g2]

I've been paying $32 for a nitrox tank vis, before fill costs.

 

[justinthedeeps]

Could be ~$15 at some shops when linked to other services

 

[davehicks]

I just paid $25 a tank for VIP at my dive shop Eight, just south of Seattle.

 

[boat sju]

Thanks guys. I paid $25 for a vis on my AL pony that requires an Eddy test. Paid more for an EAN vis on the steel 100. I did find some pricing on-line that shows the $25 is about right for a typical VIP out here. It may be interesting when I ask what more I got for the EAN VIP. I didn't encounter that in Michigan. Back in the day some shops said tanks needed to be O2 clean for nitrox. But that was before Nitrox was always banked.

 

[Seaweed Doc]

Thanks guys. I paid $25 for a vis on my AL pony that requires an Eddy test. Paid more for an EAN vis on the steel 100. I did find some pricing on-line that shows the $25 is about right for a typical VIP out here. It may be interesting when I ask what more I got for the EAN VIP. I didn't encounter that in Michigan. Back in the day some shops said tanks needed to be O2 clean for nitrox. But that was before Nitrox was always banked.

Welcome to the neighborhood!

I'm not sure it's reliable to say that nitrox is always banked. Sure, at most shops it is. But once a shop certifies the tank for nitrox, you might take it to your old buddy weird Harold for his home-brewed nitrox and who knows what he's doing.

To my understanding, the main difference is where they make the call on "good enough" vs. "needs a whip or tumble." In fact, one of my cylinders just this past weekend got "good enoughed" for air, but I'm having them whip it for nitrox. But I'm not sure that really merits a higher charge. Maybe their Nitrox VIP stickers cost them more than the plain air ones.

 

[boat sju]

But once a shop certifies the tank for nitrox, you might take it to your old buddy weird Harold for his home-brewed nitrox and who knows what he's doing.

Doc,
This was kind of my point. I've never seen "certified for nitrox" in Michigan or Florida. Certainly not in Bonaire. My tanks have always been used interchangeably for nitrox (below 40%) and air. And it's not just weird Harold filling them.

Now if we're talking O2 clean tanks and partial pressure blending that's a whole different beast.

 

[Seaweed Doc]

Doc,
This was kind of my point. I've never seen "certified for nitrox" in Michigan or Florida. Certainly not in Bonaire. My tanks have always been used interchangeably for nitrox (below 40%) and air. And it's not just weird Harold filling them.

Now if we're talking O2 clean tanks and partial pressure blending that's a whole different beast.

Interesting. Will shops fill a tank that doesn't have a nitrox label on it?

My own nitrox training and how I teach it now say that tanks have to be labelled. You could quibble about whether the VIP sticker should be different, though.

 

[Johnoly]

Interesting. Will shops fill a tank that doesn't have a nitrox label on it?

I'm just posting about what I see in S.E. Florida for the "BIG Nitrox Sticker". The only sticker fillers look for is the VIP sticker and whether it's punched out for "O2 Clean" or some wording related to EAN>but doesn't mention O2. No filler cares about the big green sticker and 90% of steel tanks seen at fill stations don't have one. On the other hand almost all aluminum nitrox tanks I see "DO HAVE" a big green nitrox band sticker.

But overall, none of the fillers "require" the big nitrox band in order to get a 22% up to 40% fill. They do require anything above 40% to have some kind of big label for what's in that tank (50%/100%/etc)

 

[boat sju]

Interesting. Will shops fill a tank that doesn't have a nitrox label on it?

My own nitrox training and how I teach it now say that tanks have to be labelled. You could quibble about whether the VIP sticker should be different, though.

My HP steel tank has had a big green sticker on it for years. The explanation I got for that was to indicate there might be nitrox in it so someone else doesn't go to use it not knowing. Think of a pile of tanks being used at a fun dive where anyone from the group may grab it. Of course it being my personal tank that won't happen. The blue masking tape with the mix sharpied on it is common practice. I'm not saying I disagree with a green sticker of some sort. I'm just curious what I'm paying for with a nitrox VIP.