Air in eanx marked tank?

[Wookie]

and requires a hazmat CDL if you are transporting cylinders for commerce. I.e. an instructor who is teaching can't carry rental cylinders for students. Thankfully no one really knows/understands/cares about that law....

The point was that it's not right to call the tank money a liar when he's a; following shop policy and b; is correct about labeling cylinders even if no one else follows the law.

 

[tbone1004]

The point was that it's not right to call the tank money a liar when he's a; following shop policy and b; is correct about labeling cylinders even if no one else follows the law.

ahh, but does a standard nitrox label fulfill those requirements? last I checked they do not....

 

[Wookie]

ahh, but does a standard nitrox label fulfill those requirements? last I checked they do not....

They do not, of course. Still, the tank monkey didn't lie.

Look, I am neither defending the shops practices nor do I think they are correct. Nor did I use those practices when I operated a fill station in commerce. But where I come from, calling someone out as a liar is a big deal. The FSO didn't lie, he was repeating what he had been taught, and what he had been taught was/is technically correct.

When was the last time you went to the gas house for a T of ABO and they just handed you a cylinder with a CGA-540 valve on it? My bet is that they had a label somewhere on the cylinder with the nomenclature Oxygen, Aviators Breathing and a Division 2.2 mini-placard on it. And if they didn't, would you have bought it?

 

[buckled plates]

The young man filling my tanks pointed to an 8 x 10 notice pinned to the wall that said it was an OSHA regulation (no air fill of nitrox marked tanks). Somewhere else in the shop, as I recall, it said DOT. Whatever. Captain Hooks doesn't do nitrox at Big Pine anyway (my mistake thinking - hoping- they did). Nice people, clean, well equipped shop, but a dumb policy IMHO.

 

[W W Meixner]

The shops in the Keys are often annoying like that, that is why my trips down there involve a trunk full of tanks so I can avoid getting fills there. Tanks really pay for them themselves quickly when you are avoiding $18 per a tank for high pressure nitrox fills.

MD...

That's why it always pays to ''plan ahead''...a couple of phone calls to your destination shop prior to leaving home will save a lot of aggravation...and a lot of un-necessary gear packing...tanks especially...and...especially when multiple divers are travelling in the same vehicle...

I own only four small tanks...I'm tank service certified...with all the tools/equipment/dryer/stickers/bands...I'm happy to clean and label them any way the destination dive operator wants...

A little pre-trip prep...no hassles on site...has always served me well...

Finally...I have never had the on site tank spec problems some of you seem to be experiencing...and I'm including Florida...

Best...

Warren

 

[TrimixToo]

Gawd. If I ever go to the Keys to dive, I'm bringing a trailer full of tanks.

 

[Manatee Diver]

That's why it always pays to ''plan ahead''...a couple of phone calls to your destination shop prior to leaving home will save a lot of aggravation...and a lot of un-necessary gear packing...tanks especially...and...especially when multiple divers are travelling in the same vehicle...

I own only four small tanks...I'm tank service certified...with all the tools/equipment/dryer/stickers/bands...I'm happy to clean and label them any way the destination dive operator wants...

A little pre-trip prep...no hassles on site...has always served me well...

Finally...I have never had the on site tank spec problems some of you seem to be experiencing...and I'm including Florida...

I just find the byzantine chain of different rules at destinations annoying to deal with. One shop won't fill tanks any aluminum tanks older than 20 years old. Another won't fill any tanks older than 20 years old. One shop I walked in for a fill, the tech checked my burst disc. Another shop won't accept vis stickers unless it is from a dive shop, one dive site in Georgia won't accept vis stickers unless it is a local shop. And then you get to the cost, which is much higher at some destinations, and certainly higher than the cost that I get on fill cards. Finally you have to actually deal with getting the fills, short fills, incorrect mixes, rushing to the shop before it closes, etc etc.

My solution is, with exception of cave country and Pompano Dive Center, I don't get fills away from home if I can avoid it.

 

[ams511]

I went and spoke to Bob at lunch. What Buckled Plates found is indeed shop rules. If you have a nitrox tank, they will put in nitrox and only nitrox. If you have a tank not labeled, they will put in air only. If you want air in a nitrox tank, they will drain the tank, remove the sticker, and fill it with air. They do not do nitrox 21, or any blend they don't bank.

Their shop, their rules.

What is his reasoning behind this policy? You mentioned in a latter post that he is not following the letter of the law either.

 

[chillyinCanada]

and requires a hazmat CDL if you are transporting cylinders for commerce. I.e. an instructor who is teaching can't carry rental cylinders for students. Thankfully no one really knows/understands/cares about that law....

Sigh, there goes my plan for a hotshot service.

 

[W W Meixner]

BD...

Again...I've never had any of the problems you're describing...but it would appear to me that most if not all of what you're describing is due to the fact the shop(s) is/are on the verge of collapse...and are doing anything possible to generate revenue...

I buy my annual visual stickers from TDI/SDI...they're light blue in colour...have all the standard inspection requirement punch points...and have never come into question...at any of the Canadian/NC/Florida locations I visit...and I'll match my cylinder inspection/cleaning protocols with anyone...

I always fill at dive destination centers...although it has never happened to me...I have heard of divers crossing from Canada into the US...and having to drain their tanks as ordered by US Customs officials...that's an expensive drain if the tanks are filled with TRIMIX...

I've paid anywhere from eight...to twenty dollars for NITROX fills...I pay what the operators charge...no questions asked...I always travel with my own analyzer...and AWAYS check my mix myself...

I'm of the opinion...as related in your above post...if the burst disc nut is removed...the burst disc should be changed...if your valves are O2 cleaned...the above mentioned tech is not doing you/your tanks any favour by unscrewing your BD nut...visually inspecting the BD...and re-assembling as is without proper cleaning...and resealing...this isn't inspection...as much as it is tampering...and he/she wouldn't be opening up my valves...fill or no fill...

On a busy ''fill day'' this tech is going to be run off his/her feet opening up every BD nut on every tank that comes into the shop for a fill...I wonder how many are going to leak...following his/her tampering...

There's lots of shops in FLA...and the major city centers...especially along the coasts are not that far apart...I'd be finding another shop...in a hurry...

Don't let anyone tamper with your gear...

Best...

Warren