VisualEddy

[Scared Silly]

Nutshell:

A visual eddy is required by DOT ONLY on cylinders made from 6351 -

The affected cylinders:
Notice No. 94-7; Safety Advisory; High Pressure Aluminum Seamless and Aluminum Composite Hoop-Wrapped Cylinders

The rules for the requal:

Hazardous Materials: Aluminum Cylinders Manufactured of Aluminum Alloy 6351-T6 Used in SCUBA, SCBA, and Oxygen Services--Revised Requalification and Use Criteria | Federal Register Environmental Documents | USEPA

Now WTF the dive shop requires could be nothing, every 2.5 years per Luxfer, annually, or something else like them doing it.

BTW If indeed the hydro facility did do a VE test then the hydro date would be followed by "VE". If not then they did it for fun and are blowing smoke with the sticker.


HOWEVER, Catalina never made cylinders using 6351 as such NONE of this additional testing applies and if the hydro shop charged to extra for the visual eddy test go back and talk to the manager and get the extra back.

 

[mbs]

Yea this is why I was asking... These folks cater to fire/police. Having never gone thru the hydro process before I didn't know any better. So when they said they could do the vis as well I just assumed they meant the usual vis and they assumed I meant the ve. Learning experience for both of us Oh yea there was an additional charge over the hydros. However they halved the charge since I made a couple of trips and the hydro price was reasonable. I'm sure they were not trying to screw me, just not scuba folks.

 

[PhilEllis]

Nutshell:

A visual eddy is required by DOT ONLY on cylinders made from 6351 -

The affected cylinders:
Notice No. 94-7; Safety Advisory; High Pressure Aluminum Seamless and Aluminum Composite Hoop-Wrapped Cylinders

The rules for the requal:

Hazardous Materials: Aluminum Cylinders Manufactured of Aluminum Alloy 6351-T6 Used in SCUBA, SCBA, and Oxygen Services--Revised Requalification and Use Criteria | Federal Register Environmental Documents | USEPA

Now WTF the dive shop requires could be nothing, every 2.5 years per Luxfer, annually, or something else like them doing it.

BTW If indeed the hydro facility did do a VE test then the hydro date would be followed by "VE". If not then they did it for fun and are blowing smoke with the sticker.


HOWEVER, Catalina never made cylinders using 6351 as such NONE of this additional testing applies and if the hydro shop charged to extra for the visual eddy test go back and talk to the manager and get the extra back.

There are "adhesive" Visual Eddy inspection stickers on the market and I have encountered one hydro facility that used them to indicate that a Visual Eddy test was performed on the cylinder. Interestingly enough, they have no date stamp. I guess they only do the inspection when the hydro is done, so there is no need for a second date. Remember, there are probes and software for those machines available for both 60601T6 and 6351T6 alloys. MANY government and bulk cylinder managers may "prefer" a thread area inspection via electronic means, and this may well be what the hydro facility considers the "additional inspection". It doesn't make it a rip off and it doesn't make it a scam.....and it certainly doesn't make the inspection "unnecessary".

For further notes, many facilities only put the VE on the 6351T6 cylinders because that the is one where the DOT requires it. On others, they simply put the sticker.

Phil Ellis
Discount Scuba Gear at DiveSports.com - Buy Scuba Diving Equipment & Snorkeling Equipment

 

[mbs]

There are "adhesive" Visual Eddy inspection stickers on the market and I have encountered one hydro facility that used them to indicate that a Visual Eddy test was performed on the cylinder. Interestingly enough, they have no date stamp. I guess they only do the inspection when the hydro is done, so there is no need for a second date. Remember, there are probes and software for those machines available for both 60601T6 and 6351T6 alloys. MANY government and bulk cylinder managers may "prefer" a thread area inspection via electronic means, and this may well be what the hydro facility considers the "additional inspection". It doesn't make it a rip off and it doesn't make it a scam.....and it certainly doesn't make the inspection "unnecessary".

For further notes, many facilities only put the VE on the 6351T6 cylinders because that the is one where the DOT requires it. On others, they simply put the sticker.

Phil Ellis
Discount Scuba Gear at DiveSports.com - Buy Scuba Diving Equipment & Snorkeling Equipment

I honestly don't believe these folks were trying to rip me off. I think to them "vis" meant VE. So it's more a matter of them not knowing scuba and me not knowing their business. However I do disagree, this VE WAS unnecessary and it leaves me with tanks that will most likely not be filled by any shop. Lesson learned - I've moved on

 

[Stu S.]

Eddy current testing finds cracks or faults in metal using a magnetic field. It is a worthwhile test, and as stated, mandatory on older aluminum cylinders. A dive shop VIP will look at the interior of the cylinder for contamination or corrosion, as well as looking for those cracks or faults, visually.

A dive shop VIP costs $7 here, and now that's all you need for dive shop fills. Many dive shops take cylinders to a facility like you did and add lots of profit to that price. You my still have come out ahead, money-wise, doing what you did.

Have fun with them.

 

[deep in jersey]

Dive shops will not fill your tanks .The visual inspection is a thing that is enforced by the padi naui etc.There is no law requiring the annual inspection.But the person doing the visual has to be certified.

 

[dl348]

Dive shops will not fill your tanks .The visual inspection is a thing that is enforced by the padi naui etc.There is no law requiring the annual inspection.But the person doing the visual has to be certified.

The dive shop employee "should" be certified to perform VIPs, often times they are not. Here in NJ, many of the dive shops that I've done business with don't have any formal VIP/VCI training.

 

[rcontrera]

The dive shop employee "should" be certified to perform VIPs, often times they are not. Here in NJ, many of the dive shops that I've done business with don't have any formal VIP/VCI training.

That has kind of stuck in my craw as well! When I started in the biz in 1981, our training consisted of buying the DOT manual (what a boring nightmare of a book that was!). In the mid 80s SSI came out with a real book and a training video. That was a vast improvement, but only available to SSI dealers. Since PSI started formal training a few years ago, there really is no reason for these "inspectors" to not be formally trained.

One of my dive shop customers told me that they have only one of their people that took PSI training but none of the others. Of course, that one person works in the office or on the sales floor most of the time and the kids in the back do the inspections.