Is a VIS required if the valve is removed?

[Couv]

So many shops play by their own rules, despite the facts. If you add a little air first they will just re-fill it. Empty, it may cause you some grief.

Agree,

See this thread for a few ideas on inexpensive ways to do that.

http://www.scubaboard.com/forums/do-yourself-diy/228353-cheap-equalization-hose.html

 

[charlesml3]

Gang,

Every place I've been to with my pony understands the airline requirement to remove the valve. I've never been required to do a new visual as a result.

-Charles

 

[Nemrod]

Bombshell!!!!!a Viz is not required at all.

N

 

[cummings66]

The answer as to whether a vis is due or not is complex. It is due when it's due, a vis is not good for a year, day, or even hour. If you drop the cylinder on the way out the door after a vis it's now due again. If you dent it, it's due again. Anything that makes an inspector think something changed means the vis is due again.

However, in your case it's different. Assuming you were on a flight and had to air it for that reason alone I would merely look inside to see if there are foreign objects in there, cap it up and fill it. If it was to get a PP fill of Nitrox I'd want to check it better than that. At every fill the operator is supposed to do a basic external visual and if something is off not fill it and suggest a visual inspection done before it can get filled. A cylinder presented for a PP Nitrox fill with no valve would make me want to see if it's still O2 clean. That's about all I can say about the deal.

Legally though, a vis would not be required.

 

[ianr33]

Legally though, a vis would not be required.

It is my understanding that a viz is not legally required at all.Ever.

Visual inspections are merely a Dive Industry requirement,they have no basis in law.

 

[diveat4850]

Wow, this has been very informative. I took the cylinder to the LDS and asked them to to reinstall the valve and fill the tank. "If the VIS sticker on the tank is current you only need to reinstall the valve." I paid the shop a nominal labor fee to install the valve, they threw in a quick visual inside to make sure no critter had found a new home and filled the tank.

Regarding Nitrox and O2 clean I will deal with that when I train on mix gases. For now it is just air.

Thanks for the enlightenment.

 

[cummings66]

It is my understanding that a viz is not legally required at all.Ever.

You are correct which is why I said legally it's not required. For diving purposes, the individual diver does not need to comply with the visual inspection process. He may never get it filled but it's not a legal requirement and he can do as he pleases.

 

[SDAnderson]

Visual inspections are merely a Dive Industry requirement, they have no basis in law.

The same thing is true about the C-card, for that matter.

 

[NudeDiver]

I'm just curious how much your dive shop charged you for the three seconds it takes to screw a valve on to a cylinder.

 

[RonFrank]

I can only provide my experience. I've traveled to Coz, and FL, and never had to get a new VIP to get a fill on a pony. Most places understand the need to empty the tank for travel. They did a quick flashlight inspection just to see if the tank was clean, or at least in FL they did. In Coz, I have no idea. I just dropped the tank off with the DiveOp, and the next day it was back full.

Upon returning home, I also had no issues. They just filled it up!

Dive Ops can Absolutely charge you for a vis on an empty tank, unless it is brand new. Sometimes they even charge in that case as they are pissed off about folks purchasing online. I know folks at our local dive Op, and they have never been jerks about this, but it is within their right to charge.