Scuba tank failed visual. Was I was sold a lemon?

[wahoowad]

I bought a used 120 cf steel scuba tank from a dive shop last year for $210. The owner said it was a tank from one of his long time customers, was previously used for Nitrox and would still be good for that, that he was having it properly cleaned and rebuilt (?), would be hydro-tested and be good to go. I only use it with regular air and had it filled several times since I bought it a year ago.

I took it somewhere new (but reliable) to have it filled with regular air again. They wanted to perform a visual since it had been over a year and I agreed. They say it fails due to bad pitting inside and is no good! I paid $100 for the tank and $110 for the 'rebuild/service' and it was only good for a year. I just feel screwed.

Would you expect the original dive shop owner to replace the tank or refund my money, or otherwise do something to help me get into another tank? He gave me no formal warranty but I think it should have lasted longer than a year.

 

[HowardE]

take it somewhere else for a VIP. why did it fail?

 

[Texfrazer]

Always get a 2nd opinion on a tank visual that "fails". There could be a large pit that was missed by the previous dive shop (in which case I would be talking to them about making amends), but you never know until you've confirmed.

Also, it's always a good idea for you to get the dive shop that failed the tank to show you the pitting that failed the tank. That way, when you get your 2nd opinion, you'll know what the potential issue is.

 

[halocline]

Go back to the first dive shop with the tank and the report from the second shop. At some point you'll need to learn to look inside steel tanks yourself; it's really not that hard. Maybe you can do that with the original guy. You can also ask the second shop to let you see inside and they'll show you what they say is wrong with it. One of three things happened, IMO from most likely to least:
1) the original shop sold you a pitted tank and either didn't know or care
2) the second shop is mistaking a few spots of surface rust for pits
3) the tank got pitted badly during this last year from a bad fill

Here is the problem with the whole VIP business. It's not a law, just an informal industry standard, and it basically comes down to whoever works at a dive shop having access to a compressor and a stack of stickers. Sometimes the people doing the inspection know what they're doing, sometimes they don't. BTW, if the second shop permanently marked your tank as failed in any way, they owe you a replacement unless they are a licensed DOT inspection shop (with hydrotest equipment). Dive shops can certainly refuse to fill a tank or put a sticker on it, but they cannot deface the tank just because they think it's not safe.

 

[drbill]

I gave up on HP120 steel tanks when one of mine failed hydro (over expansion due to hot fills on land) and another failed its second VIP (bad rust due to wet fills on dive boats). I dive neutral buoyancy Al tanks now.

 

[Wookie]

First of all, the original shop owes you nothing. It is entirely conceivable that tank-failing pitting could occur in a single year. If you only filled the cylinder at one shop, you need to discuss with them the quality of their air fills. There are several threads on SB discussing dive ops that get water in tanks. Aluminum tanks are very forgiving, steel not so much. One drop of water injected into a steel tank during the fill process will completely coat the inside of the cylinder with rust in a matter of days.

Next, you need to learn to inspect your own cylinders. Courses are offered at local dive shops sponsored by Professional Scuba Inspectors as well as Technical Diving International. You are taking the course for your own education, not so you can pout the local dive shop out of the VIP business. This will give you the ability to check the shop's work, as well as put your own sticker on the cylinder.

Third, you need a second opinion. This could include the shop where you bought the cylinder in the first place. They have an interest in keeping you happy, because you might post nasty things about them on the internet if you aren't

 

[wahoowad]

I am waiting to receive a written report from the place that just did the visual but this is what they said over the phone. The tank had 1/2" of liquid in the bottom when they inspected it which caused obvious erosion in the bottom. They did not see how a compressor could introduce that much liquid especially given I had only filled it twice with them.

They did not mark the tank other than said they removed the visual sticker with the dates on it. They offered me a $40 trade-in to give them the steel tank and buy one of their AL80 tanks.

 

[halocline]

I am waiting to receive a written report from the place that just did the visual but this is what they said over the phone. The tank had 1/2" of liquid in the bottom when they inspected it which caused obvious erosion in the bottom. They did not see how a compressor could introduce that much liquid especially given I had only filled it twice with them.

Well, that definitely changes things. You got a bad fill, assuming the 1st shop didn't sell you a tank with water left over from the hydro test still in the tank. It has happened.....

Yet another story of dive shop insanity with regards to cylinders, testing, filling...you just don't know which shop. I assume that the tank has never been entirely empty since you've owned it, correct?

 

[Capt.Gene]

Crack the tank valve open both before hooking to a fill whip or the regulator.

 

[divezonescuba]

We have seen some steel tanks that wouldn't pass VIP. However, after internal cleaning (sandblasting) they have come out ok. You might also want to try that. We use a fiber optic camera to get images whenever there may be a problem, so we can show them to the customer.