Visual Inspection on Aluminum 80?

[av8er23]

Now that diving season is starting up it is time for my annual visual inspection on my tank. This is the first time I have had to shop around for this because I purchased the tank a little over a year ago. I have found out those shops Charge 5-30 dollars for a visual inspection on aluminum 80. That is quite a range. I had one dive shop tell me that if they were charging less than 15 they were not certified. As usual I take this question to the scubaboard where I know I will get honest advice.

From what I understand a visual inspection is simply looking inside the tank with a light looking for oblivious problems such as rust, moisture, or small cracks. I have been informed that the inspections take less than 5 min. I am very temped to go to the shop that costs 5 bucks because I feel that I am wasting my money with the others.

 

[Jimmer]

With an aluminum tank, they should also be doing a Visual Plus, which uses a sort of current to identify tiny neck cracks in the Aluminum that might not be seen by the naked eye.

 

[av8er23]

is this something I should ask the shop about? Is is like an electrical current?

 

[Wayward Son]

VIP+ is only needed on older AL tanks made from a specific alloy. Not an issue with a 1 yo tank.

Service charges for everything varies widely, from region & even from shop to shop. My LDS charges $12 for a VIP with an air fill, about $15 for nitrox instead of air. Doesn't matter if it's a straight VIP or a VIP+ (that's what a VIP with Eddy's current test is often called) on one of my older tanks, charge is the same.

But another shop, another town, who knows? They'll charge whatever they charge. I wouldn't pay $30 for one by choice, but $15 or so doesn't seem unreasonable.

 

[Jimmer]

VIP+ is only needed on older AL tanks made from a specific alloy. Not an issue with a 1 yo tank.

My mistake, I was under the impression this needed to be done on all Al tanks. I only own one Al tank, and it's less than 3 weeks old lol, all the rest are steel. But I do agree either way that $30 seems rather high.

 

[tedtim]

$20 for VIP+ including a fill (either air or Nitrox). I don't consider this a high price. They do the VIP+ on all tanks.

 

[redacted]

The annual visual inspection is a scuba quirk. As such, "regulations" are what ever the particular shop wants them to be. Although most shops will honor inspections from other shops with a signed sticker including the inspector's name and cert #, they don't have to. So if you decide to have the inexpensive guy do the inspection and the expensive guy do your fills, you may be in for a disappointment when you go to get fills. I suggest you select a shop that has a PSI certified inspector to get your tanks filled and inspected. I think I'm paying $12 for an inspection and air fill. I'm not sure whether he runs an eddy test or not. He does not "fail" a newer tank for a neck crack unless he can see it so the eddy is just an aide if used. I assume he will fail the "old recipe" Al that is the known problem based soley on the eddy test???

 

[Wayward Son]

I could be mistaken, but I don't think it's required on anything but the older alloy. However, that could be wrong & even if it's not, some shops may have decided to just do it to all of them, as it won't hurt anything.

I have one such tank due for a VIP now, I should ask George when I take it in if they're now required to do all of them. I read that DOT rule but don't recall this specifically.

 

[tedtim]

You would be hard pressed to get a fill of any type in my area without a current VIP sticker on your tank. It is not a law in Canada AFAIK, but an industry standard.

 

[Ber Rabbit]

Just an FYI on the Eddy Current test. I took our older tanks (1976-1987) for hydro/vis/eddy a couple years ago. Four of the tanks passed, the fifth had double cracks in the bottom two threads of the neck that were NOT caught by the Eddy Current but the tech had seen them on the visual. He told me the Eddy Current machine doesn't go deep enough into the neck to catch cracks in the lower two threads...I don't know if that's machine specific. He showed me the cracks and they were easy to see. He said since the tank passed Eddy Current and hydro I was welcome to take it elsewhere for a second opinion. I told him to drill the tank, his visual evaluation and the fact he showed me the cracks were good enough for me since I fill my own tanks at the university.

Like the others mentioned, there are shops that will not fill a tank without a Visual+ sticker and that's their prerogative. Figure out what the fill station you will use the most wants as far as visuals and find someone you trust (whether cheap or expensive) to provide that service.
Ber :lilbunny: