Dryglove
Contributor
D_O_H:
It was $50.00 per tank. I dropped them off one week and picked them up the next week. Air fills are 5 bucks and nitrox fills are 8 bucks.
SF/Monterey HP Fills
- Thread starter D_O_H
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It was $50.00 per tank. I dropped them off one week and picked them up the next week. Air fills are 5 bucks and nitrox fills are 8 bucks.
liberato
Guest
It is pretty silly to clean a new PST tank. They are already Nitrox ready.
Dryglove
Contributor
liberato:
Not for partial pressure blending. The valve still has to be O2 cleaned to be compatible as it only comes nitrox ready for mixes upto 40%. I emailed PST and asked why the tank comes O2 clean and the valve doesnt. I cant blame manta ray for cleaning the tank too as it is their safety at stake when PP filling these tanks. There have been some reports of PST tanks arriving with a black substance inside the tank. Also manta ray requires the O2 cleaning to be repeated every hydro where some shops require them to be done yearly.
mossym
Contributor
liberato:
not silly at all, the shop i get 90% of my fills at does partial pressure blending, it would be even sillier to not clean it...if you're only ever going to get banked nitrox then thats a different story....
mweitz
Contributor
Just as an FYI, I got my newish E7 series tanks O2 cleaned at Manta. Diver Dan's wouldn't fill them without taking the valves apart and double checking them themselves. There was a small part in there that they wanted to change (I looked like a burst disk, but wasn't that). Not a big deal, but it took 3 hours (for 4 tanks) and was another 12.00 per tank. Not to say that Manta did anything wrong per say, just to be aware that different shops have different standards and not to be surprised if something like this happens. As far as Im concerned, if I ask someone to put pure O2 in my tanks they call the shots. My ultimate recommendation is to have the shop where you will get most of your fills do the O2 cleaning.
Ca Dive Center and Wallins also do Nitrox fills. Wallins does partial pressure fills and wants the tanks left (at least) overnight since they just started doing them and only have a couple of guys trained currently. I'm not sure about Ca Dive Center. I would think both of them would do O2 cleaning as well.
I would personally only use partial pressure fills on my O2 clean tanks. I think some of the other systems could "contaminate" them.
I have received HP fills (3500) from:
Ca Dive Center - Does Nitrox
Wallins - Does Nitrox
Diver Dans - Does Nitrox
MBDC - Does Nitrox
Manta - Does Nitrox
Glenn's Aquarius II - I don't think they do Nitrox
As far as I know, Manta is the only one who doesn't drain your tanks and start from scratch for Nitrox, so you can generally get Nitrox blends there much quicker than the other places.
Mark
Ca Dive Center and Wallins also do Nitrox fills. Wallins does partial pressure fills and wants the tanks left (at least) overnight since they just started doing them and only have a couple of guys trained currently. I'm not sure about Ca Dive Center. I would think both of them would do O2 cleaning as well.
I would personally only use partial pressure fills on my O2 clean tanks. I think some of the other systems could "contaminate" them.
I have received HP fills (3500) from:
Ca Dive Center - Does Nitrox
Wallins - Does Nitrox
Diver Dans - Does Nitrox
MBDC - Does Nitrox
Manta - Does Nitrox
Glenn's Aquarius II - I don't think they do Nitrox
As far as I know, Manta is the only one who doesn't drain your tanks and start from scratch for Nitrox, so you can generally get Nitrox blends there much quicker than the other places.
Mark
OP
D_O_H
Contributor
Thanks for all the helpful advice. Sounds like I'll go with Manta and keep clear of the filling station while O2 is going in just in case Dan's is on to something with the little valve part 
.
.
Manta has a 12-fill Nitrox card that will bring the cost down below
$8 per fill.
$8 per fill.
CALI68
Contributor
Chuck Tribolet:
Cool! I never knew that.
liberato
Guest
Ask the shop who wants you to pay extra to clean your new Nitrox-ready PST tank Thermo Pro valve to see their clean room.
From Fill Express:
What do Nitrox Ready and Suitable for Oxygen Service mean?
When the SCUBA diving community prepares an item for use with breathing gases containing high oxygen percentages or pure oxygen, they generally think in terms of washing it with detergents, replacing rubber parts such as O-rings and seals with oxygen-compatible equivalents and reassembling with oxygen-compatible lubricants. However, most other industries working with high pressure oxygen have a very different standard known as oxygen service.
Oxygen service means the materials are both:
* Oyxgen Compatible -- compatible with high concentrations of oxygen.
* Oxygen Clean -- free of hydrocarbon contamination and particulate matter.
True oxygen cleaning of an oxygen compatible component takes place in a special clean room, whose atmosphere is free of dust and contaminants. Once the component is free of hydrocarbons and other combustible elements, it is sealed within a sterile environment and never again exposed to normal atmospheric dust, moisture, and contaminants. Only then is the item said to be suitable for oxygen service.
Some manufacturers offer diving products labeled Nitrox Ready, whose oxygen-compatible components are free of hydrocarbons and other flammable contaminants. The lubricant used in assembly is Christo-Lube® or other oxygen-compatible lubricants. The O-rings are made from Viton® or other oxygen-compatible materials. These components are not, however, assembled in a clean room or sealed in a sterile environment. As a result, the manufacturers do not label the products as suitable for oxygen service, although they meet the most commonly used oxygen service criteria in the diving community.
How do I get my cylinder and valve to be Nitrox Ready?
Many valves are delivered from the factory containing O-rings and lubricants that are not oxygen-compatible. Most cylinders that have been in use have some level of hydrocarbon contamination. To make a cylinder and valve suitable for oxygen service, they must be disassembled and cleaned of hydrocarbon contamination and reassembled with oxygen-compatible O-rings and lubricant. This process requires training, special materials and is time-consuming. For a very reasonable fee, Fill Express can prepare your cylinder and valve for nitrox service.
How do I know that my cylinder and valve are nitrox ready?
Once a cylinder and valve have been prepared for nitrox service, a special sticker (or often a special version of the evidence of visual inspection sticker) is affixed to the cylinder. Unless the sticker explicitly states that a cylinder and valve are suitable for nitrox service, they are not. If the cylinder is ever filled with anything other than Oxygen-Compatible breathing gases, it is no longer suitable for nitrox service, and the sticker should be removed. Even with the best quality fills, hydrocarbon contamination can build up over time. Fill Express recommends that the cylinder and valve should be prepared for nitrox service each time the cylinder is hydrostatically tested.
When does my cylinder or valve need to be suitable for nitrox service?
Your cylinder and valve must be suitable for nitrox service any time that they will be exposed to a gas mixture containing more than 40% oxygen. While sport diving Nitrox and technical diving Trimix don't absolutely require that the cylinder and valve be suitable for nitrox service, many fill stations blend directly in the tank by first adding 100% oxygen and then topping off with air. This process, known as partial-pressure blending, requires that the cylinder and valve be suitable for nitrox service. In practice, almost all Nitrox and Trimix cylinders are suitable for nitrox service because partial-pressure filling is so common.
Does Fill Express require that my Nitrox cylinder be suitable for nitrox service?
Sometimes. Any Nitrox mixture, premix or custom blend, at Fill Express less than or equal to 40%, does NOT require that your cylinder and valve be suitable for oxygen service because our Nitrox is generated using membrane separation, not partial-pressure blending. Any Nitrox exceeding 40%, including our premix 50% and 80% Nitrox, would require that your cylinder and valve be suitable for nitrox service.
Does Fill Express require my Trimix cylinder be suitable for nitrox service?
Sometimes. Because our standard Trimix blends are produced using a continuous atmospheric entrainment blending system, hyperoxic gases do not come in contact with your cylinder. Thus, at Fill Express our Trimix fills with standard blends do NOT require that your cylinder and valve be suitable for nitrox service. Any custom Trimix blends would require that your cylinder and valve be suitable for nitrox service.
From Fill Express:
What do Nitrox Ready and Suitable for Oxygen Service mean?
When the SCUBA diving community prepares an item for use with breathing gases containing high oxygen percentages or pure oxygen, they generally think in terms of washing it with detergents, replacing rubber parts such as O-rings and seals with oxygen-compatible equivalents and reassembling with oxygen-compatible lubricants. However, most other industries working with high pressure oxygen have a very different standard known as oxygen service.
Oxygen service means the materials are both:
* Oyxgen Compatible -- compatible with high concentrations of oxygen.
* Oxygen Clean -- free of hydrocarbon contamination and particulate matter.
True oxygen cleaning of an oxygen compatible component takes place in a special clean room, whose atmosphere is free of dust and contaminants. Once the component is free of hydrocarbons and other combustible elements, it is sealed within a sterile environment and never again exposed to normal atmospheric dust, moisture, and contaminants. Only then is the item said to be suitable for oxygen service.
Some manufacturers offer diving products labeled Nitrox Ready, whose oxygen-compatible components are free of hydrocarbons and other flammable contaminants. The lubricant used in assembly is Christo-Lube® or other oxygen-compatible lubricants. The O-rings are made from Viton® or other oxygen-compatible materials. These components are not, however, assembled in a clean room or sealed in a sterile environment. As a result, the manufacturers do not label the products as suitable for oxygen service, although they meet the most commonly used oxygen service criteria in the diving community.
How do I get my cylinder and valve to be Nitrox Ready?
Many valves are delivered from the factory containing O-rings and lubricants that are not oxygen-compatible. Most cylinders that have been in use have some level of hydrocarbon contamination. To make a cylinder and valve suitable for oxygen service, they must be disassembled and cleaned of hydrocarbon contamination and reassembled with oxygen-compatible O-rings and lubricant. This process requires training, special materials and is time-consuming. For a very reasonable fee, Fill Express can prepare your cylinder and valve for nitrox service.
How do I know that my cylinder and valve are nitrox ready?
Once a cylinder and valve have been prepared for nitrox service, a special sticker (or often a special version of the evidence of visual inspection sticker) is affixed to the cylinder. Unless the sticker explicitly states that a cylinder and valve are suitable for nitrox service, they are not. If the cylinder is ever filled with anything other than Oxygen-Compatible breathing gases, it is no longer suitable for nitrox service, and the sticker should be removed. Even with the best quality fills, hydrocarbon contamination can build up over time. Fill Express recommends that the cylinder and valve should be prepared for nitrox service each time the cylinder is hydrostatically tested.
When does my cylinder or valve need to be suitable for nitrox service?
Your cylinder and valve must be suitable for nitrox service any time that they will be exposed to a gas mixture containing more than 40% oxygen. While sport diving Nitrox and technical diving Trimix don't absolutely require that the cylinder and valve be suitable for nitrox service, many fill stations blend directly in the tank by first adding 100% oxygen and then topping off with air. This process, known as partial-pressure blending, requires that the cylinder and valve be suitable for nitrox service. In practice, almost all Nitrox and Trimix cylinders are suitable for nitrox service because partial-pressure filling is so common.
Does Fill Express require that my Nitrox cylinder be suitable for nitrox service?
Sometimes. Any Nitrox mixture, premix or custom blend, at Fill Express less than or equal to 40%, does NOT require that your cylinder and valve be suitable for oxygen service because our Nitrox is generated using membrane separation, not partial-pressure blending. Any Nitrox exceeding 40%, including our premix 50% and 80% Nitrox, would require that your cylinder and valve be suitable for nitrox service.
Does Fill Express require my Trimix cylinder be suitable for nitrox service?
Sometimes. Because our standard Trimix blends are produced using a continuous atmospheric entrainment blending system, hyperoxic gases do not come in contact with your cylinder. Thus, at Fill Express our Trimix fills with standard blends do NOT require that your cylinder and valve be suitable for nitrox service. Any custom Trimix blends would require that your cylinder and valve be suitable for nitrox service.
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