02 cleaning question

[NAVY21]

I know the basic knowledge behind this, but my LDS is "weird"...by weird I mean the guy at the counter never seems to know the exact service price and the service guy...well he is like the ninja of scuba service as I have never even seen him, but things magically get done and have been to that shop like 50 times. Since I don't wanna get hit with a huge bill, I am comtemplating bringing them back to my old diveshop where I know the guy when I move back home in a week. I've got 2 alum 80s, o2 clean needing a vis. But on to my questions:

1. Will they have to re-o2 clean them after a vis? o2 clean was done less then a year ago.

2. How often do you have to do an o2 clean?

3. I would like to double my 2 deco 80's as singles for things like shore and recreational dives. If I put air in them will it void the o2 clean? I heard if you call around and look for o2 compliant air or premium air or something it would be fine...what's everyone's thoughts on that?

3.5 Where the hell is that service guy!?! haha j/k

 

[ppo2_diver]

I always O2 clean my stuff when I do the visuals.

 

[NAVY21]

okay, whats fair price for 1 tank o2 clean? or does it depend where you are?

 

[ppo2_diver]

$0, I do it myself. When I was paying a LDS, prices ranged from $30 a tank to $60 a tank. I guess it could depend on where you are.

 

[NAVY21]

mainly though...what is the deal with flipflopping between air and nitrox mixes. I'd rather not buy any more tanks so if I could have them cleaned and use air in them too that would be perfect. LDS says that is okay so long as it is clean air...I think I'm gonna go pick their brains now after work but I was just wondering....

 

[Gil57usa]

mainly though...what is the deal with flipflopping between air and nitrox mixes. I'd rather not buy any more tanks so if I could have them cleaned and use air in them too that would be perfect. LDS says that is okay so long as it is clean air...I think I'm gonna go pick their brains now after work but I was just wondering....

If you use what is called "hyper air" there is no problem. This is air that has been filtered to O2 specs. If you use regular compressed air, there is a chance of slight oil contamination from the compressor that would compromise the O2 clean condition. Another way around it is to use your tanks with air and buy nitrox that is "banked" meaning pre-mixed. It is only when doing partial pressure blending (adding pure O2) that you really need O2 clean tanks.

 

[crpntr133]

Don't know what the details are on voiding a O2 clean tank. But you may not need dedicate a tank or two to nitrox just depends upon how the LDS blends and the percentage. This has been discussed a lot lately.

 

[Mark Vlahos]

I know the basic knowledge behind this, but my LDS is "weird"...by weird I mean the guy at the counter never seems to know the exact service price and the service guy...well he is like the ninja of scuba service as I have never even seen him, but things magically get done and have been to that shop like 50 times. Since I don't wanna get hit with a huge bill, I am comtemplating bringing them back to my old diveshop where I know the guy when I move back home in a week. I've got 2 alum 80s, o2 clean needing a vis. But on to my questions:

1. Will they have to re-o2 clean them after a vis? o2 clean was done less then a year ago.

That depends on the shop, some shops may not even need to clean the cylinders. Of course this depends on how clean you have kept them. If in the process of doing the inspection they might use a blacklight to verify the O2 cleanliness just as they would following an O2 cleaning; they might find that the cylinders and valves are fine. Of course they might not feel that any cylinder is clean unless they have done the work themselves. I would be prepared to need to pay for O2 cleaning as part of the inspection.

2. How often do you have to do an o2 clean?

Most shops would require it with every inspection.

3. I would like to double my 2 deco 80's as singles for things like shore and recreational dives. If I put air in them will it void the o2 clean? I heard if you call around and look for o2 compliant air or premium air or something it would be fine...what's everyone's thoughts on that?

If you put the same hyperfiltered air that is used as part of the Partial Pressure Blending process it will have absolutely no effect on the cleanliness of the cylinders. If however you get a fill with normal compressed air that is NOT hyperfiltered it may effect the cleanliness of your cylinders.

3.5 Where the hell is that service guy!?! haha j/k

 

[NAVY21]

Hey thanks guys, saw the LDS today and he told me the same thing as you guys...hahah doesn't it seem like all air should be hyperfiltered? oil, even slight oil sounds like a good thing to avoid hahaha.

 

[cummings66]

The filters for that are expensive and from what I was told you can only get so many fills out of one, it's less than the normal filters from what I recall. So they tend to save them for EANx fills.