Question Visual Inspection Expiration Date

[Wibble]

Think of the money…

It’s always about the money. Dressing it up as safety makes no difference, it’s always about the money.

FWIW, in the UK date stamps are always interpreted as the end of the month even though ours is 60 months for a hydro, 30 months for a visual and 15 months for an O2 clean.

 

[BoltSnap]

Personally I find this ludicrous. It puts way too much emphasis on the safety value of a VIP and the argument that 1 months makes a difference from a safety perspective is laughable.

You aren't an expert of even close to it. Where does it stop, 2 months, 1 week or what Mr. Expert?

 

[Divin'Papaw]

You aren't an expert of even close to it. Where does it stop, 2 months, 1 week or what Mr. Expert?

Simple. 30 days. If I get a VIP on July 1 let’s say, I expect it to be good through the entire month of July the following year. That VIP would be good for exactly 30 days beyond 12 months. That’s a ‘worst case’.

To do otherwise and treat the VIP as expiring on the first of the month means almost no one gots a full 12-month VIP. Not fair to the consumer but certainly benefits the shop.

Given that the VIP is an industry program/practice and not regulation driven by actual data (in the US), 30 days is a completely irrelevant period of time from a safety perspective. If you think otherwise, prove it.

 

[BoltSnap]

Given that the VIP is an industry program/practice and not regulation driven by actual data (in the US), 30 days is a completely irrelevant period of time from a safety perspective. If you think otherwise, prove it.

May not be a regulation but "an industry standard" and all subject matter experts say so. Look up the implications of this issue with legal experts (real expert, not arm chair experts like you).

 

[BoltSnap]

Not fair to the consumer but certainly benefits the shop.

Yes, the dive shop/dive industry conspiracy theory again. Making millions from PSI's few days early.

You know that the true/first victim of Tank explosions because of improper state of the cylinder are these same racketeering dive shop owners who are trying to protect themselves, their staff, their customers and their properties? The Tanks explosions are most likely to happen during filling not when the owner/diver of the tank using them while diving?

 

[rhwestfall]

A shop filling a tank can elect to pull a valve at any time if feels necessary to look inside a tank. It is not any rule, only a SCUBA industry "practice" from the early days...

The day that tank leaves the shop, it becomes an unknown condition..... maybe it should have a visual inspection at every fill?

And we even have shops not recognizing stickers other than their own...

So much has changed since this practice began, it is an archaic practice, and lends to stupid things like this thread is discussing...

 

[BoltSnap]

A shop filling a tank can elect to pull a valve at any time if feels necessary to look inside a tank. It is not any rule, only a SCUBA industry "practice" from the early days...

The day that tank leaves the shop, it becomes an unknown condition..... maybe it should have a visual inspection at every fill?

And we even have shops not recognizing stickers other than their own...

So much has changed since this practice began, it is an archaic practice, and lends to stupid things like this thread is discussing...

I totally disagree with you and I am supported by the experts including the most respected expert in the industry, Bill High.

I am not going to get into a "tit for tat" in this subject since the true subject matter experts are not here, you aren't one and I am certainly not one (I am a certified PSI inspector since circa 1988 by Bill High and renewed by others).

I am going diving now. A beautiful day with beautiful sea conditions and awesome dive site (site for a sea port built by an unknown ancient civilization). You guys continue this senseless debate while I am enjoying myself looking at antiquities underwater and chasing fish

 

[ScubaBunga]

A shop filling a tank can elect to pull a valve at any time if feels necessary to look inside a tank. It is not any rule, only a SCUBA industry "practice" from the early days...

The day that tank leaves the shop, it becomes an unknown condition..... maybe it should have a visual inspection at every fill?

And we even have shops not recognizing stickers other than their own...

So much has changed since this practice began, it is an archaic practice, and lends to stupid things like this thread is discussing...

I don't run a shop and only VIP my own tanks - but the guides do say the VIP is good for up to one year - there are several additional qualifiers that say vips should be done earlier (shorter time frame) depending on use or any doubts. So yep, LDS can pull the valve at any time to take a peek to ensure (at least cursory) tank looks good. The 1st or end of month (from the book/class) is a "recommendation" and I would personally vote with the customer on the end of the month. Does a day/week/month/etc make a difference - in almost every case, nope. But if running a shop, with ANY liability, I would probably go with 1st of month for that tiny sliver of a case that could end my business. On the shops not recognizing stickers - I've never had that issue with my online made stickers and it does have my PCI/PSI # on it, so they can look it up if they do have concerns. I guess I'd question going to any shop that has those concerns - although I also have old steel tanks and have to deal with tank ignorance at many shops - it's why I now do my own VIPs in the first place (had tank condemned - X'd out - for having a thin liner, with no rust in the tank).

 

[Still Kicking]

I totally disagree with you and I am supported by the experts including the most respected expert in the industry, Bill High.

I am inclined to agree with you, insofar as it is worth looking inside a tank on an annual basis just to catch any issues that arise. More than anything, it helps protect the tank owner from excessive rust from wet fills that might lead to the tank being condemned if it wasn't caught before the next hydro. Occasionally, you find a decent amount of water inside a tank that has been breathed empty underwater (eg. stages etc.)

Certainly no shop is making any money off VIPs.

Having said all that, I think it's worth noting that the party with the biggest stake in the VIP game is PSI (Bill High).

 

[Wibble]

Until you've got 30 plus tanks... You'll need a mortgage for the testing, no doubt an invite to the dive shop's daughter's wedding too.