Shop Owners/Staff - do you fill 6351 alloy?

Shop owners - do you fill/service 6351 alloy cylinders?

  • No.

    Votes: 7 38.9%
  • Yes.

    Votes: 7 38.9%
  • Yes, but only if we have inspected them.

    Votes: 2 11.1%
  • No, and we don't fill any AL cylinder more than 20 years old.

    Votes: 2 11.1%

  • Total voters
    18

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owlbill

Contributor
Scuba Instructor
Messages
252
Reaction score
2
Location
Ottawa, ON. CAN
# of dives
500 - 999
Please take a moment and answer this poll question. There is no need (but feel free) to elaborate as to your decision as there are many threads covering this topic already. I am just trying to get a feel for the percentage of shops filling or not filling these cylinders.

(yes, I know that only a few shop owners are on the forum, and not all will reply, just trying to get a feel as I said)


Shop staff are invited to vote (please, try to have only 1 vote per shop though)
 
Yes we do there is really nothing that wrong with the alloy, there were over 25 million tanks made with the 6351 alloy and only I think 12 or 15 tanks have blown. If you fill them properly (slowly and not over filled) then there will be no problem
 
Yes we do there is really nothing that wrong with the alloy, there were over 25 million tanks made with the 6351 alloy and only I think 12 or 15 tanks have blown. If you fill them properly (slowly and not over filled) then there will be no problem


I used to say the same thing.


Until I saw one at a shop owned by a friend that passed hydro and passed Eddy VisPlus, but half way through filling it, it developed a fine tiny hairline crack in the neck and started to leak.

luckily they noticed it and were able to stop it before it reached high enough pressure to explode. But I'm confident it would have.


So now that I've seen one that was properly inspected with an issue that could have killed people, I can agree with shop owners who won't fill them.
 
I used to say the same thing.


Until I saw one at a shop owned by a friend that passed hydro and passed Eddy VisPlus, but half way through filling it, it developed a fine tiny hairline crack in the neck and started to leak.

luckily they noticed it and were able to stop it before it reached high enough pressure to explode. But I'm confident it would have.


So now that I've seen one that was properly inspected with an issue that could have killed people, I can agree with shop owners who won't fill them.

You make the assumption it would have exploded and not just leaked, as per the design failure mode. I don't agree with your conclusion.

Explosions happen due to catastrophic failure at full/high pressure - yours would never have gotten there - the leak would have opened and prevented the pressure from building.

- Tim
 
I, personally, will not fill one - and - it is our shop's posted policy.



All the best, James
 
:popcorn:
 
You make the assumption it would have exploded and not just leaked,


You're making an assumption that it would have not exploded, or at least the neck would have not ruptured, without even seeing what size crack it was.....

you know what they say about assumptions..... :popcorn:
 
  • Like
Reactions: Jax
Until I saw one at a shop owned by a friend that passed hydro and passed Eddy VisPlus, but half way through filling it, it developed a fine tiny hairline crack in the neck and started to leak....... So now that I've seen one that was properly inspected with an issue that could have killed people,...

Well I guess that says about all there is to say regarding the science and function of electronic void detection.

We fill them, live well, stay fit, die anyway, I say.
 
You're making an assumption that it would have not exploded, or at least the neck would have not ruptured, without even seeing what size crack it was.....

you know what they say about assumptions..... :popcorn:

Cracking and pressure release is the designed failure mode in a tank - exploding isn't. No matter the size, starting with an empty (or near) should not present a risk - the tank is already breached, so unless the filler is a real moron, between the pressure release and loud noise, it isn't going to full pressure.

The designed in failure mode isn't an assumption - it's an engineering fact . . . Unlike the "chicken littles" and 6351 in general . . .

- Tim
 
https://www.shearwater.com/products/swift/

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