Newbie Question: Filling Nitrox Tanks

[shopboy]

So I've found myself helping my friend who's just found herself taking over a local dive shop.

I'm completely new to diving. My friend is a passionate small businesswoman, thoroughly committed to safety and recreation... but also, basically, from outside the field, and overwhelmed with work in every other aspect of keeping this dive shop, well, afloat.

So I may need some outside help to work things out. Be gentle?

Stumbling block number one: Filling nitrox tanks.

You take the tanks and attach them to the compressor. When do you turn the tanks on relative to the compressor? If you turn the tanks on just before turning on the compressor, will the tension in the hoses keep the air inside?

Some nitrox mix probably escaped. Should I go back to the partial fill cylinders? If so, how?

I apologize if this is confusing to you. It's even more confusing to me! But I have to start somewhere. Thank you in advance.

[Cave Diver]

In all seriousness, this really should be done by someone who is experienced. The basics of filling tanks is not that hard, but the little nuances, such as making sure that tanks are in current vis and hydro could be important. Also interpreting tank markings to make sure they are filled to the proper pressure, knowing how fast you can fill them etc.

There is a lot of potential danger filling a tank. Find someone that knows what they're doing and let them teach you. Maybe your friend/owner can find an experienced local diver that is willing to help out in exchange for free fills or something?

[rjack321]

You need proper training.

Seriously there are OSHA (or authorized state) rules dealing with high pressure gases and cylinders as an employee.

[Aquaventurewhitetip]

As a Tri-Mix Gas Blender Instructor I am not going to fill the page with instructions or the does and don'ts.

Please get some training and follow what local laws apply to your area.

Good luck to you and your friend at the shop, but please don't run before you can walk. Funny though not being a mechanic I would not buy a garage or autoshop.

[Doc Harry]

Be gentle?

Those are some scary questions you are asking. I recommend a course in fill station operation and gas mixing before you maim yourself or someone else. Be safe, please.

IANTD offers some courses. But, like anything else, the course is really dependent on the instructor. Get some instruction from a qualified instructor who has a compressor/fill station equivalent to the complexity of your fill station.

Nitrox Blending & Life Support Services Technician

[veriqster]

no wonder where the term "tank monkey" comes from, ....
and then some of them get offended, start debating and blame it all on bad economy and picky customers.

dude, PLEASE don't release the name of the dive shop, at least if you don't plan to close it in the next couple of months.

as a dive shop you are supposed to be able to service regulators, inspect tanks, hydro them possibly, provide instruction, help people adopt safe practices, give them sound equipment advice, direct them to dive sites that are within their capabilities and experience, etc, etc, etc.

perhaps you should ask if anybody on this board can write you up a curriculum of theoretical and practical training courses that you need to go through and it would be nice if you would at least go "internship" with somebody who actually know what they are doing.

i personally ended up with 3500psi in a pair of LP104 doubles from a shop that is far more qualified than you, not that i am complaining (it was a NICE, deep dive), but, imagine this sequence: one plugs the discs, sells the tanks, they get inspected by somebody who overlooks it, a shop like this fills them and the unknowing diver leaves them in the direct sunlight in the back of a hatchback on a 90+ day (around here they usually submerge the tanks in ice cold water while filling them), next to a beach where people are packed like sardines. you are simply asking for trouble my friend, when you should actually ask for training.

my personal advice is to start diving yourself, get all the training you can and THEN start doing this for a living.
GOOD LUCK!!!

P.S. PP nitrox fills at your level of expertise is a russian roulette with 5 bulets in the chamber, at least get a good life insurance if you engage into this.

So I've found myself helping my friend who's just found herself taking over a local dive shop.

I'm completely new to diving. My friend is a passionate small businesswoman, thoroughly committed to safety and recreation... but also, basically, from outside the field, and overwhelmed with work in every other aspect of keeping this dive shop, well, afloat.

So I may need some outside help to work things out. Be gentle?

Stumbling block number one: Filling nitrox tanks.

You take the tanks and attach them to the compressor. When do you turn the tanks on relative to the compressor? If you turn the tanks on just before turning on the compressor, will the tension in the hoses keep the air inside?

Some nitrox mix probably escaped. Should I go back to the partial fill cylinders? If so, how?

I apologize if this is confusing to you. It's even more confusing to me! But I have to start somewhere. Thank you in advance.