Jeff,
After I researched a little deeper into the subject, I noticed that most people don't truely pay attention to the details:including myself. I first should have looked at the problem itself and noticed the 3/4 NPSM was plainly on the manifold itself. I guess the problem first started with guy that wasn't paying enough attention to send the right manifold and snowballed into the floor rep at the dive shop who sold the unit to me, and then to me, who initially posted the problem.
Luckly for me, I like to investigate the nature of things and have the willingness to understand I will not always be right. The reason I posted the initial problem I observed.
Well, lets get back to your question. To further back my claim;that most people don't pay attention to detail, I did get my tanks filled that day.
To give you a little background, I worked in the biggest dive shop in Key Largo and have filled countless tanks. I religiously checked everything surrounding the tank, due to the fact I was daily dealing with rusted fill whips. Trust me I had my fingers crossed every day. To tell you a story, the dive shop I worked at in Key Largo was unfortunate enough to have a problem that began from someone not understanding and paying enough attention to detail in daily work. To make along story short, 7 years before I worked at this dive shop, a cage attendant and tank filler left a work environment that would shortly after explode. To everyones' luck no one was injured , but the airbanks flew for miles(including every other object near). I am not able to make a true hypothesis about the exact reason for the explosion, but I can say from working their, that no real protection was given by the owners for possible problems that could be catastrophic. no one was willing to adress and respond to rusty fill whips(just one Example) to pay attention to detail.
I guess what im trying to say is that people need to reallly understand the true nature of the sport they wish to whole HEARTEDLY pursue. I have seen people every day take advantage of the sport they love, including myself from time to time, all without paying attention to the small things that keep each other safe. Maybe im being a little to outward about the subject or maybe im not saying enough.
To conclude my open ended explanation to your problem Jeff. I will be able to fill my tanks almost everywhere,because most people don't pay enough attention to catch problems before they start. I am just glad that I was lucky enough to find the solution to my manifold mix up.
By the way, I only had my tanks filled to about 500 PSI. I also noticed the lady at the dive shop, never inspected the visual or the HYDRO before filling my tank. I would probably bet she wouldn't have asked for a dive card , if I would'nt have given it to her before hand.
No worries and safe dives ahead,
SCOTT IN FL
