What happened to PST

[SubMariner]

This last bit about the DOT/CT certs caught my eye because we have at least four PST tanks.

Dammit! All we want to do is be able to fill our tanks.... :shocked2:

 

[Graeme Tolton]

Not A Faber Cylinder fan?

Not particularly fond of the paint jobs on them... More importantly to me, Worthington cylinders are made in Canada, as was I. I do feel it very important to support your own economy when you can.

 

[Michael_Lambert]

This last bit about the DOT/CT certs caught my eye because we have at least four PST tanks.

Dammit! All we want to do is be able to fill our tanks.... :shocked2:

Reality is many dive shops don't even know better. I have a hard enough time getting my doubles filled to 3400 due to the shop operators not even reading the tanks pressures and assuming they are 2400 or 3000 psi fills.

 

[CompuDude]

Does a dive shop even care about tanks' exemption permits? Generally the process is 1) look for hydro stamp (sometimes) 2) look for vis sticker (usually), 3) fill tank. (I know I've had more than a few tanks filled for months before I noticed that the vis had expired a few months back!)

I can see why the hydro facility would care, and why we'd need that special permission letter along with the tank when getting them hydro'd (if PST doesn't renew), but I just don't see why a dive shop would care about any of that, as long as the hydro stamp is current.

 

[scubafanatic]

Does a dive shop even care about tanks' exemption permits? Generally the process is 1) look for hydro stamp (sometimes) 2) look for vis sticker (usually), 3) fill tank. (I know I've had more than a few tanks filled for months before I noticed that the vis had expired a few months back!)

I can see why the hydro facility would care, and why we'd need that special permission letter along with the tank when getting them hydro'd (if PST doesn't renew), but I just don't see why a dive shop would care about any of that, as long as the hydro stamp is current.

...some dive shops love to search for expired hydros/visuals as an easy revenue source...had one shop (now of business) that must have offered employees commissions/finder's fees based on how many expired hydros/visuals they spotted! This particular shop considered a visual to be expired on the FIRST day of the month, not the last day of the month......so a tank with a sticker originally inspected/punched 10/2008 has expired 10/01/09...not 10/31/09 ! They claimed it was 'illegal' since a visual is supposed to be good for no more than 365 days...and if you had a tank inspected say, 10/01/2008, to let a diver 'slide' until 10/31/09 would stretch out the annual for as much as 13 months....which was against tank inspection 'regulations' !

 

[scubafanatic]

This last bit about the DOT/CT certs caught my eye because we have at least four PST tanks.

Dammit! All we want to do is be able to fill our tanks.... :shocked2:

...I quite agree...it's completely absurd that we have to worry about this issue ! These tanks should never have been released as a legal product into the consumer market in the first place if the approval was really temporary/conditional...the DOT knowingly 'released' a potential defective product......why do these particular tanks have a finite shelf life but all the other scuba tanks on the market are considered to be good eternally ? Also, I don't remember being advised of this 'temporary' status when I was being sold the tanks in the first place!

 

[WD8CDH]

...I quite agree...it's completely absurd that we have to worry about this issue ! These tanks should never have been released as a legal product into the consumer market in the first place if the approval was really temporary/conditional...the DOT knowingly 'released' a potential defective product......why do these particular tanks have a finite shelf life but all the other scuba tanks on the market are considered to be good eternally ? Also, I don't remember being advised of this 'temporary' status when I was being sold the tanks in the first place!

3AA tanks are made with a known material, with a defined safety factor with a known long term reliability.

HP tanks are made with a stronger material, the same safety factor but with a calculated long term reliability. HP tanks are expected to have the same long term shelf life as 3AA tanks based on sound engineering calculations but until there is decades of experience with each SP design, the long term reliability is just estimated, not known.

Eventually, DOT will create an new designation for HP tanks, just like they eventually created 3AA and 3AL, and most likely DOT will grandfather many of the HP tanks into that new designation just like they did with some AL SP tanks into the 3AL catagory.

 

[Scott L]

Not particularly fond of the paint jobs on them... More importantly to me, Worthington cylinders are made in Canada, as was I. I do feel it very important to support your own economy when you can.

Can't argue with your sentiments and as well as your aversion to the horribly ugly white paint they use these days. I much preferred the old OMS batlle ship grey cylinders. By the way, I am selling two OMS grey (Faber) LP 98's, original hydro 2001, recent hydro 11/08. $165 each plus shipping. Florida deleivery free. Pictures upon request. Great condition! Scott

By the way, I have 4 Worthington cylinders. Pumping up our closest allies economy...

 

[WD8CDH]

...I quite agree...it's completely absurd that we have to worry about this issue ! These tanks should never have been released as a legal product into the consumer market in the first place if the approval was really temporary/conditional...the DOT knowingly 'released' a potential defective product......why do these particular tanks have a finite shelf life but all the other scuba tanks on the market are considered to be good eternally ? Also, I don't remember being advised of this 'temporary' status when I was being sold the tanks in the first place!

By the way, if DOT considers a SP design to be limited life, the SP will specify the life of the tank. As an example the SP for some composite tanks specify a 15 year maximum and others to be 30 year maximum.

None of the HP SCUBA tank SP's specify a lifetime limit.

 

[PhilEllis]

...some dive shops love to search for expired hydros/visuals as an easy revenue source

Would you prefer that they not search?

Phil Ellis
www.divesports.com