Why won't my LDS even inspect these tanks?

[bletso]

"Why do you want to own your own cylinders anyway?"

One has to do a lot of diving to justify owning your own. If you own a lot of them then you should also be able to maintain them as far as costs go. The only reason I tell anyone to buy their own cylinders is for convenience. As an example my local LDS closed at 1800. I got off work at 1700 and they were a 30 min drive. I usually would have to make 2 trips to get my cylinders filled for the weekend.

Solution, buy more cylinders, then become an instructor and buy more cylinders and then be a dive shop, compressor and buy even more. Then become a hydro station and ..... It never really ends. BTW, you still have to maintain them and it takes discipline and time. There is nothing worse then packing for a trip and find one or two of the cylinders you want to take just ran out of hydro. Oh well ...

AS far as the original OP's question, running a hydro facility we see a lot of older cylinders. Most of them are medical. The point is that we find a lot of cracks. see http://www.engineeredinspection.com/hydro1.html As they are only required to be visually inspected at hydro (5 yr intervals) we just stopped testing them. I don't trust the manufacturer's statements as to crack growth as anecdotal evidence has shown that it takes less time for cracks to grow to failure. My experience with dive shop's efficacy in annual inspections is that in many cases I am not impressed.

Safe Diving

 

[chrpai]

One has to do a lot of diving to justify owning your own. If you own a lot of them then you should also be able to maintain them as far as costs go. The only reason I tell anyone to buy their own cylinders is for convenience.
Safe Diving

I partially agree. Convenience is a huge factor. Another factor can be wanting tanks that aren't available via rental such as DIN/Pro valves and/or steel / higher capacity sizes.

But I don't agree about you have to dive a lot to justify it. If you pick up a used tank at a good price you'll be able to sell it for what you bought it for. Heck, I frequently "flip" tanks for a modest profit. The real cost is the holding costs. $20 every five years for Hydro and $20 for VIP every year. For two tanks that works out to be $50 a year to have tanks at the ready for wherever and whenever. While I dive 100+ dives a year locally, I'd think someone diving locally even 10 times a year can benefit from having their own tanks. For one, having all your gear ready at a minutes notice encourages more diving. Two, my LDS charges $7 for a rental or fill. But fill cards are available for less: $5. So do 12 dives and you paid for your hydro and vis. 24 dives if you own 2 tanks.

 

[spectrum]

Let me know what you think!

-Scott

That cylinder is doomed with a double whammy.

As has been mentioned it of the 6351 alloy and is prone to sustained load cracking. Thecnically this can be managed with heightened inspection/testing but there is a charge for this. There are shops that will process these cylinders but you can go down the street or travel and be denied a fill despite a valid test outcome. This begins to make it a battle not worth fighting.

Secondly there is a growing sentiment to condem ANY aluminum cyclinder when it is 20 years old. This is far less rooted in techical fact but ti is becoming the law of the lad per the folks that own the compressors.

All things considered "just say no" and find another cylinder.
--------------------------------------------------
Regarding the comments as to "why own" or "convenience being you only good reason". I think those stem from personal situations certainly not applicable to many divers.

Conveneince is a big word and in many cases inconvenient translates to unfeasible. Sure I could rent but the constraints that pouts on my coming and going with the tides and opprtunites along with milleage for multiple trips and extra rental time as shops are not 24/7 operations makes it a l;losing propsition.

A dynamic dive scchedule that allows for quick dives with no shop proximity means lost opportunity without cylinders standing by.

HP steel cylinders we consider highly desirable simply are not for rent in this market, I want what I want.

Pony cylinders, larger cylinders and other less than mainstream versions are very hard to come by and again pretty much need to be owned if you want them.

I do see situations where instructors or divemasters make the the same dives in the same places from the same shop with feee air and an AL80 from the rental pile works. I'm sure it's the same for a lot of quarry divers that come and go on the operations schedule and just rent what they need for that defined day.

The less regimented your diving schedule is the more essential ownership is. With any decent usage cost is a no brainer. Acquisition is amortized over the life of ownership, Hydro over 5 years and VIP is usually no more than 2 rentals and (here) includes a free fill. Oh, and especially if you buy steel the resale is pretty darned good if/when the time comes.

Pete

 

[BIG_KAHUNA]

Thanks for all the input guys, really appreciate it. As for the whole owning your own tank deal, I can think of only one major reason. When you rent a tank, or at least here at my LDS, it might only be $15 but thats at a per day rate. Not all of the springs we dive have dive shops on site, that can get pricey quickly. We also plan to do a lot of local diving off the coast of St. Petersburg and Sarasota area. We'll be on a friends sailboat making a multiple day trip out of it. Not so easy to dock and get to a LDS from a marina ya know? So given my circumstances I thought it was very practical to buy a couple of tanks.

 

[JahJahwarrior]

Ahh I missed that...LUXFER4A87 - even after awap highlighted it...

Suffering from some SPC there, eh? Sustained Post Commenting isn't necessarily dangerous, but it can be. See, posts suffering from SPC require special handling, but look just like posts that aren't. And, sometimes posts suffering from SPC blow up under pressure!

On topic, I know there is some disagreement over how dangerous the tanks are, but as long as scuba tanks are relatively cheap used that aren't made from 6351, and as long as 6351 tanks make great umbrella stands, door holders, windchimes and mailboxes, I'm supportive of scrapping them.

 

[spectrum]

Ahh I missed that...LUXFER4A87 - even after awap highlighted it...

I almost missed it in the OP and posted accordingly. I was drawn to the lattter date.

 

[protohuman]

Try a different shop.

 

[tracydr]

Since we own over 30 of them, I suppose I ought to be able to answer this . . . there is a great deal of convenience in having your own cylinders. You can have the size you want and the material you want. They are readily at hand, full, when you want to go diving, and you don't have to run back to the dive shop that evening or the next morning to return them. There is a small advantage in costs, especially if you dive regularly, because the yearly VIP and five year hydro get amortized over a great many dives, and may still be cheaper than paying to rent a tank AND fill it.

We own about 10 tanks. Since we do lots of shore diving without a shop it makes sense to own our own tanks. When we go to the lake or CA, why would we want to rent enough tanks for an entire day?
I think it makes sense if all somebody does is dive charters to simply use the boats tanks each time but not everybody dives strictly from charters. Which, I know TSandM knows since she lives in a great place for shore diving and has her own boat.

 

[diversteve]

Suffering from some SPC there, eh? Sustained Post Commenting isn't necessarily dangerous, but it can be. See, posts suffering from SPC require special handling, but look just like posts that aren't. And, sometimes posts suffering from SPC blow up under pressure!

mindless babble...from someone who's younger than some of my gear...

before anyone reports this, JahJah and I "work" here.

 

[chrpai]

before anyone reports this, JahJah and I "work" here.

Translation: Staff are allowed to be abusive.