Active Dive Shops which fill tanks, MA,RI

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UnderH2OView

Registered
Messages
47
Reaction score
2
Location
Attleboro, MA
# of dives
100 - 199
Hello folks. Wife and I recently acquired our own gear. I have been getting my tanks filled by the LDS where we purchased gear, looking to fill them elsewhere since that location isn't always feasable. I have searched the Internet for dive shops, many have been closed down, or perhaps moved. The phone numbers ring to some other business, etc. (East Coast Divers, Framingham MA, Aqua Shack, Marlborough, MA) The challenge I face is that I'm trying to find a place, close to Westborough MA, to drop off tanks in the morning, pick them up after work for fills. I cannot bring tanks into the office for storage and the car gets rather hot. Looking to do a shore dive on the 4th, not sure what shops are open on that day for fills.
 
Very nice website Pete. It's been a struggle looking for a valid shop with close proximity.
 
The phone numbers ring to some other business, etc. (East Coast Divers, Framingham MA, Aqua Shack, Marlborough, MA)

Yes, these two closed a while ago.

Shops closest to Westborough are Mass Diving in Natick (508-651-0698) and Central Mass Scuba in Worcester (508-770-0689).

Oh, and Mass Diving is open all day on July 4th. I checked.
 
If you're willing to drive about 15 minutes past Mass Diving on the Pike, you can get free fills at PG Dive in Newton. Just another option.
 
Thanks folks for your help. I was aware of Mass Divers, great place, thorough training program. That's where my wife and I got certified, but Natick and Newton are the opposite direction of my commute heading to Attleboro. I contacted Central Mass Scuba in Worcester, they are open until 8 PM tommorrow night, plenty of time after work to get the tanks filled. Regarding tanks in hot cars, I was thinking of using a damp towel and wrapping it around the tanks to keep them cooler. But should I be concerned about keeping the tanks damp all day? These are Steel HP100's. Central Mass Scuba recommended just wrapping them in a dry towel, 70-80 degree day should be fine, but 100+ degree day could cause issues.(I think high pressure release was referenced?)
 
Thanks folks for your help. I was aware of Mass Divers, great place, thorough training program. That's where my wife and I got certified, but Natick and Newton are the opposite direction of my commute heading to Attleboro. I contacted Central Mass Scuba in Worcester, they are open until 8 PM tommorrow night, plenty of time after work to get the tanks filled. Regarding tanks in hot cars, I was thinking of using a damp towel and wrapping it around the tanks to keep them cooler. But should I be concerned about keeping the tanks damp all day? These are Steel HP100's. Central Mass Scuba recommended just wrapping them in a dry towel, 70-80 degree day should be fine, but 100+ degree day could cause issues.(I think high pressure release was referenced?)

The cylinders will be fine.
 
(I think high pressure release was referenced?)

If it is a Worthington/XS-Scuba or PST HP 100 the burst disk will usually be set to match the tank's test pressure (5250 psi) not the service pressure (3442 psi). Basically your car would have to catch fire to heat up enough for the pressure to go from 3442 to 5250.

The only concern is that as your tank heats up and the pressure goes up above the service pressure, it will accelerate metal fatigue just as if you were overfilling the tank. Over time as you do this repeatedly it will shorten the life of the tank and if you do it enough, it might someday fail a hydro test on you.

So essentially if you can avoid leaving your tanks out in a hot car it is better for them over the long term, but if not they are not going to blow on you either (unless of course something was already wrong with them).
 
I dont think there is a problem wit h metal tanks. Fill them and let them sit in a hot car and note the pressure. There may only be about a 300 PSI differential (not too serious).

Now aluminums may be different as aluminum is not as tough as steel in most cases. Also there have been theries that if in a fire, the pressure may build up so fast and will blow the tank before the vurst disk goes, I have not seen any conformed cases of this. Best is to get steel and only overfill them so much. Dont buy a diveshop saying they can be constantly overfilled as you may fail hydro at some point and need new tanks.

Beware of used steel tanks preowned by cave divers as its common to overfill tanks knowing thier lifespan will be reduced as a result but providing more air. In Europe there are cases of people putting slugs in for the burst disks and way over filling the tanks like some cave divers do.
 
The tanks are exposed to the heat in the car with 500 psi or so in them. After I got the tanks filled they were cooled down. I'm assuming the thermodynamics are worked out as the tank cools while its filled to end up with the service pressure at room temperature in the end. I don't plan on filling them to service pressure, then leaving them in the car to heat up.
 
https://www.shearwater.com/products/teric/

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