Extremely difficult to get overseas tanks filled in New Zealand - a word of warning

Where to start...

After watching me dive on a hookah for more years than the average age of this group my 65 year old wife decided to take up scuba and talked me into taking the PADI OW class with her. So far so good - we both got certified last year. Still diving almost exclusively on the hookah however because it's easy and we can go out on our own boat for a week without having to worry about fills.

Now that the wife's diving with me I got religion and bought two shiny new 13 cubic foot pony bottles off eBay along with regs and pressure gauges as redundant air sources in case the hookah stops.

When we went to get the pony bottled filled we were told it was illegal because they don't have New Zealand "LAB" numbers. These are brand new Catalina bottles but no LAB numbers so tough luck.

A lot of yachties sail into New Zealand from all over the world with their own dive bottles and have the same problem. Of course when you then move on to Australia or XYZstan they will then have their own different standards and not let you fill your overseas bottles there either.

Now filling our pony bottles ourselves from a 15 liter (approx. 120 cubic foot tank) New Zealand tank with a LAB number.

Cheers,

Bert

Australia has the same rules as far as I'm aware. If it wasn't made here, don't even bother trying.

My Faber and Catalina cylinders are ok for fills in OZ. I think neither are manufactured here.

Perhaps its about ensuring they meet the specific country standards. If they haven't gone through formal procedure to have their product certified for the country then its not seen as a certified product thus no fill.

It is possible to get OS tanks stamped for filling in Australia - not necessarily financially viable though. The same issue exists pretty much everywhere. The US requires DOT markings for example. The tanks are all made in the same factories (catalina, faber etc) but they are made to a certain countries standards and stamped accordingly. Have a look here - this shows how not all 12L steels are identical. A 178mm diameter 12L steel tank with a 232 bar fill pressure varies in weight from 12.8kg to 14.2kg...

rent tanks, dont travel with them! it's cheap! if you travel via your own sailboat and want to dive with your own tanks when and where you want, then you can afford a compressor.

We have the same issues here. I live less than 100 miles from the Canadian border, and just north of that border is some of the best cold-water diving in the world. But if you're planning on taking your cylinders up there, they'd better have a TC (Transport Canada) stamp on them. Otherwise, you're going to have a hard time finding someone to fill them for you.

Likewise, Canadians coming across the border need DOT (Dept. of Transportation) stamped on their cylinders if they want to get them filled in the USA ...

... Bob (Grateful Diver)

I must be lucky. Haven't had any issue getting my cylinders filled in Canada. Several places in fact.

humuhumunukunuku:

rent tanks, dont travel with them! it's cheap! if you travel via your own sailboat and want to dive with your own tanks when and where you want, then you can afford a compressor.

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Yes renting is easier, however can be expensive if a lot of diving, compared to going on a holiday where the cost is built into a dive holiday. In any regard, buying my own compressor so I can do my own fills and get around all the bureaucracy rubbish. Also doing a course to test and inspect cylinders. I like being independent and not relying on anyone if possible.

You should get a compressor and do your own fills, just be aware though that the air may be somewhat saltier than inland fills.

From experience, it seems it tends to put salt deposits in aluminium cylinders over time and they block the primary regulator cinter filter. If you hear marbles in your tank it needs emptying, washing and perhaps a tumble to clear out the buildup. I suspect it would be even nastier for a steel tank.