Ah, the joys of tank ownership.
(ETA: It’s really more accurate to say: Ah, the joys of your average local dive shop…)
It’s traditional that if a valve is removed from the tank that you need a new visual inspection. Do you
really need a new inspection? Well, seeing as there are no legal rules surrounding said inspection, it is up to the shop to determine what they want to do.
If you’re buying the tank from DGX, it’s going to come with a visual inspection sticker with it. Put the valve on, you’re good to go. Again, whether the dive shop is going to accept that or not, who knows?
If you’re going to get the tank filled at the dive shop, I would spend the $10 and put their sticker on it. I wouldn’t spend $20 or $40… But $10 isn’t bad at all. Especially because it sounds like you’ve had a conversation with them, telling them you’re buying this tank online, etc. If you show up with the new tank with the new sticker they’re going to know the valve was off and wasn’t actually reinspected. $10 for a smoother relationship is probably worth it.
By the way, all of the nonsense that I’m describing is why I own my own compressor…
ETA: And if that $10 includes them putting the valve on, putting the yoke insert in, etc — and it very much should —it’s clearly worth it. Ask them to watch how it’s done, so you will feel comfortable doing yourself next time. It’s trivially easy. Just remember it’s made out of soft brass and there is an O-ring to do the sealing so it only needs to be tight enough to hold itself in place. You’re not trying to seal the tank/insert by tightening it: the O-rings do that.
