kawasakign
Registered
If I have a vis stick that is punched April 07....is it good until May 1, 08..or April 1, 08??
Can't find an answer in the books anywhere.
Can't find an answer in the books anywhere.
Simple VIS question
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It's good THROUGH April 08.
Scared Silly
Contributor
There is no good through date, the scuba industry standard is to have this inspection performed once a year.
The date punch is the date on which it was inspected and found to be in accordance with standards (or at least one hopes - but that is another topic). That is all it means - nothing else.
As such, there is nothing preventing (except the owner saying no) a fill stations from wanted to vis earlier if they suspect something. So if your cylinder is pretty beat up and the last inspection was March 07 I would want to inspect it before filling it. Others might not care.
The date punch is the date on which it was inspected and found to be in accordance with standards (or at least one hopes - but that is another topic). That is all it means - nothing else.
As such, there is nothing preventing (except the owner saying no) a fill stations from wanted to vis earlier if they suspect something. So if your cylinder is pretty beat up and the last inspection was March 07 I would want to inspect it before filling it. Others might not care.
kawasakign:
Divedivedivecfl:
Even a simple question may not be simple.Scared Silly:
A quote from the PSI Cylinder Inspection training course material: Federal DOT considers the End of the month. PSI recommends at the beginning of the month. The emphasis added is mine, not PSIs. So, depending on the point of view of the shop filling the tank, a cylinder with an EOI sticker punched April 07 should be inspected again by either April 1 08, or May 1 08, which is the essence of your question. Personally, I will fill a cylinder through the end of the sticker month (April 30 in your case), remind the customer that a visual needs to be done within X days, and offer to do it within a day, since I already have the cylinder there. A visual usually takes a a modest amount of time for most cylinders.
It varies but in general I hear more that it expires at the begiining of the month indicated.
One explanation regarded people who stored cylinders at a vacation home for use 1 month per year.
If I go to the shop in July 1 of 2007 for VIPs and then start diving I could return in July of 2008 and dive for a 13th month and not reinspect until I returned in 2009. I would not be able to get air fills for the period after July 2008. Since anyone can store full cylinders after expiration what remains is this small loophole and protection of the revenue stream.
Pete
One explanation regarded people who stored cylinders at a vacation home for use 1 month per year.
If I go to the shop in July 1 of 2007 for VIPs and then start diving I could return in July of 2008 and dive for a 13th month and not reinspect until I returned in 2009. I would not be able to get air fills for the period after July 2008. Since anyone can store full cylinders after expiration what remains is this small loophole and protection of the revenue stream.
Pete
oxyhacker
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This runs straight into what we at Airspeed Press like to call Scuba Tank Paradox #2 - that since visual tank inspection is an informal procedure with no basis in law, there can be no definitive answer to any questions regarding it. This means everyone is free to have his or her own interpretation - but whoever's hands are on the fill whip gets the last say!
I've argued and discussed the first-or-last-day-expiration question with numerous PSI functionaries at DEMA over the years. The PSI position seems to be based on a fear that, if the sticker expires at the end of the month rather than the beginning, by adroit manipulation of when they take the tank in, a few people might manage to squeeze 13 MONTHS out of a sticker. Horrors!
I can see two major arguements against this. The first is that aircraft and auto inspections, hydrotests, drivers licenses, and just about anything where the exact day isn't specified, tend to go by the end of the month rather than the beginning, so why should visual inspections be different?
The other is that, if an inspection is good for a year, then logic and common sense say you ought to be able to take your tank in for inspection on the same day (let's say your birthday!) each year, and have the tank be constantly in inspection. With the PSI interpretation, it won't be - you'll have to bring in in one month earlier every year! So in return for keeping the few divers obsessive enough to try to game the system from from getting 13 months out of their inspections, the first-of-the-month people would have everyone else get only 11!
Fortunately, most dive shops seem to see the logic, and go by the last of the month rather than the first.
I've argued and discussed the first-or-last-day-expiration question with numerous PSI functionaries at DEMA over the years. The PSI position seems to be based on a fear that, if the sticker expires at the end of the month rather than the beginning, by adroit manipulation of when they take the tank in, a few people might manage to squeeze 13 MONTHS out of a sticker. Horrors!
I can see two major arguements against this. The first is that aircraft and auto inspections, hydrotests, drivers licenses, and just about anything where the exact day isn't specified, tend to go by the end of the month rather than the beginning, so why should visual inspections be different?
The other is that, if an inspection is good for a year, then logic and common sense say you ought to be able to take your tank in for inspection on the same day (let's say your birthday!) each year, and have the tank be constantly in inspection. With the PSI interpretation, it won't be - you'll have to bring in in one month earlier every year! So in return for keeping the few divers obsessive enough to try to game the system from from getting 13 months out of their inspections, the first-of-the-month people would have everyone else get only 11!
Fortunately, most dive shops seem to see the logic, and go by the last of the month rather than the first.
What are the other scuba tank paradoxes???
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I'll take a shot at this one...
SCUBA paradox #1...
As the need for a rapid turnaround on your fill increases, so does the chance that your VIP is out of date!
SCUBA paradox #1...
As the need for a rapid turnaround on your fill increases, so does the chance that your VIP is out of date!
oxyhacker
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Only one other at this time. #1 is that, while we in the dive world usually act as if DOT regulations cover all scuba tanks, and are the last word on what is permissable and what is not, they actually do not apply to privately owned tanks not being used commercially, and the owners of those tanks are pretty much free to do anything they like with them.
progrower
Registered
I just had this happen to me as my stickers are only marked with the month and not the actual date. I took my tanks to a different shop then where the actual inspections were done and was refused fills. I told them they were inspected on July 31 so they were still good but still no fills. I feel the owner was splitting hairs and he was the first to use this method for date expiration. I took my tanks to another shop and got them filled. What do others experience on the inspection stickers? Do most shops put the actual date?
