UW Sports Seattle - Requiring 6" Nitrox Sticker ---ARRRGH!

[Doc Intrepid]

right on.

un-screw the situation and move on.





Tyler,

Having experienced a similar situation a few years ago, I'm wildly curious as to the possible logic behind such a policy (e.g. "we do not fill tanks that do not have a 6" sticker on them (even if they do have some other sticker on them)". I'm certain there must be some rationale behind a decision like that, but I confess it is beyond me. Can you enlighten me?

Thanks in advance, and welcome to the board.

Doc

 

[tyfo17]

The logic behind it is that we are a PADI dive shop and those are PADI's standards. We are kind of meeting people half way though. There must be a band on the tank saying that the tank has something besides 21%, but it does not have to be the 6" standard PADI nitrox sticker. I hope that clears things up a little more. Oh yes, thank you for the welcome as well.

 

[MXGratefulDiver]

... fortunately, there are dive shops in the area where non-PADI divers can go for parts and service.

Bottom line, as always ... if the dive shop doesn't suit your needs, go somewhere else. In the Seattle area, we have plenty of alternatives to choose from ...

... Bob (Grateful Diver)

 

[stu_in_fl]

...There must be a band on the tank saying that the tank has something besides 21%, but it does not have to be the 6" standard PADI nitrox sticker.

- so the VooDoo gas labels would be ok ?

and welcome !

 

[tyfo17]

I'm not exactly sure about the voodoo stickers. I will ask tomorow. I like them though, and kind of want to get some.

 

[Blackfish]

Tyler -

Thanks for following up with management---I appreciate it. I realize that you are just doing your job & look forward to bumping into you again---nice work & welcome to scuba board.

Hi. I am the guy at underwater sports who wouldn't fill your tank. I am sorry for the confusion about the 6 inch sitcker. I talked it over with the person in charge of all fills and he said that we can allow tanks with the two inch bands. It is a policy that has just recently been enforced and there is still some comfusion on what is allowed. Also if you would have stayed and talked to me about it instead of storming off and writing stuff on the web I would have given you a free nitrox sticker (they aren't $20). So if you do ever come back into our store I will pay for your fill myself and if you have a problem then you should talk to me about it first. By the way my name is Tyler and if you introduce yourself I will remember. Once again sorry for the misunderstanding.

 

[tyfo17]

Just to clarify...

The reason that UWS requires banding on any cylinder that contains gas other than air is for safety. The point is not to follow PADI standards... UWS feels that for the safety of other divers (especially newer divers), a cylinder containing Nitrox (or Argon for that matter) could cause serious problems if someone were to hook up on it by mistake.

As far as the question about the 'Voodoo Gas' stickers... as long as a cylinder has a sticker that designates that the contents are not air it is OK to fill.

As far as hot fills go... the best way to get a cold fill is to drop your cylinder off and give us some time to fill it... We ask for 24 hours on Nitrox and 12 hours on Argon. If you'd like a great fill on air drop your tank off, wander around the store, go get something to eat, use the hose outside to rinse your equipment, etc. and we'll get you a cold, full fill.

One other quick point about staff longevity:

Ken - 15+ years
James - 10+ years
Dane - 8 years
Mikey - 3 years
Brittany - 2 years
Scotty - 3 years
Jon - 5 years
Myself - ~1 year
It isn't always possible to keep sales staff long term... but we do tend to keep our staff longer than most dive stores... unless you count stores whose only employee also owns the joint.

Thanks to all. You are all welcome to come and see me and I'll make sure you're taken care of.

Ty

 

[Doc Intrepid]

Tyler,

Thank you for the clarification.

Given that many single tanks may look alike - especially to newer divers during a class/cattleboat operation, this may be a valid point.

I'm curious regarding whether this policy also applies to doubles?

(In my case the owner of the shop refused to fill a set of E8-130s with EAN30 because my sets of doubles do not have 6" decals. He wanted me to purchase two decals and put one on each tank. I declined to acquiesce. I no longer patronize his establishment...)

In my humble opinion a diver who cannot recognize a set of E8-130s as "not his/her gas" has issues far beyond the capacity of a decal to resolve, and is an obvious candidate for a Darwin Award.

Therefore I'm curious as to whether your store's policy also applies to sets of large steels, or whether it only applies to single tanks.

Thanks,

Doc

 

[H2oVolk]

I guess I don't understand what the issue is...
If you are diving gas - mark your tanks. This isn't a policy that is NW specific... shops from NY to FL also have this requirement. One of the reasons that larger operations do this is b/c they have to have such a large number of employees that it is difficult to explain that this cylinder must be marked, this one doesn't require it... most dive shop employees are kids who are working their way through school.
As far as the argument that says "stickers trap water and cause corrosion" I really don't think this holds any water (pun intended) - a sticker that is put on correctly will leave no room for water to seep under it. Just my $0.02...

 

[MXGratefulDiver]

I guess I don't understand what the issue is...
If you are diving gas - mark your tanks. This isn't a policy that is NW specific... shops from NY to FL also have this requirement. One of the reasons that larger operations do this is b/c they have to have such a large number of employees that it is difficult to explain that this cylinder must be marked, this one doesn't require it... most dive shop employees are kids who are working their way through school.
As far as the argument that says "stickers trap water and cause corrosion" I really don't think this holds any water (pun intended) - a sticker that is put on correctly will leave no room for water to seep under it. Just my $0.02...

I don't think anyone's disputing that nitrox tanks must be marked ... that's a given. All of mine have a piece of tape along the crown that designate both the mix (measured by me to the nearest tenth of a percent) and the MOD. Other than a current VIP sticker ... quite frankly ... that's all the marking that's required ... and it's basic safety protocols to mark your cylinders in this fashion.

All of my tanks also have my name prominently displayed on the crown ... so there's no excuse for anyone else on a boat to grab one of my cylinders by mistake.

What we're really discussing here is a shop policy that requires banner ads displayed across the side of the tank. If the markings I mentioned above are present, and your cylinders are identified as your own, these banner ads are superfluous and serve no real purpose.

Whether I want them on my cylinders or not is really not a matter of safety ... it's a matter of choice. If a shop wants to enforce a policy that they won't fill a tank without them, that's their choice. My response will be to take my business to a different shop.

It's really that simple ...

... Bob (Grateful Diver)