Would you dive with these tanks?

[W W Meixner]

Thanks Warren, That was my point. We don't have any solid evidence that any steel scuba cylinder, in hydro and vis, has ever failed. There are a few that MAY have been in hydro and vis.

Edit: As to whether I would dive the tanks, I probably would. I know the outside has been subjected to continual saltwater but the inside may be fine. A beautiful shiny tank might have had saltwater inside and the inside scares me more than the outside because of the possibility of rust stopping my air. I am not at all concerned about one blowing up while on my back.

BRT...

Point taken...and I agree...my primary concern is as yours...that being my expertly maintained set of expensive regulators being loaded up with tank scale...compounded by charcoal dust from a bad compressor filter...if that operator's compressor is in as sorry a state as his tanks...

If there was no other option than to dive with these tanks...I would certainly want to confirm both mix and CO...even if the tanks were filled with 21%...with ''my analyzers''...after seeing these tanks...I'd have a hard time trusting anything this operator had...and full service charter operators have many items...not to mention their knowledge/skills and training that you need to rely on to get you back to the dock safely...

Best...

Warren

 

[markmud]

Mark...BRT...

The list does not provide that detail...other than steel storage cylinders that failed...of which there were three...only one of the 20 recorded actually identified a steel consumer scuba cylinder as failing...do to an overfill...resulting in one fatality...and one moderate injury...none of the 20 recorded incidents provide any information regarding being either in or out of hydro/re-hydro...or being in or out of annual visual inspection...

This list at the beginning of the PSI Training manual...was primarily provided to students to give numbers...and not investigative detail...similar to the way the news media/police reports provide the public with motor vehicle accident statistics...we as the listening public are supposed to be ''shocked into reality by numbers''...the higher the numbers...the higher the shock value...without all the specific details...a fifty car pile-up with multiple fatalities has significantly more inpact than one car going off the road and into a ditch...but both are recorded by their numbers...in this case totalling fifty one...the number...51...is all most of us will ever be made aware of...

We as enthusiasts never wanted our industry to be ''strictly'' regulated...we preferred self regulation...having to suffer the effects of missing details is part of the consequences...how many scuba related fatalities are officially listed as ''drowning'' when the actual root cause was likely something quite different...

The original OP's question was ''would you dive with these tanks''...the answers are obviously...yes and no...

Best...

Warren

Thanks so much Warren,

That was a cognitive response! And I agree with what you wrote.

The original OP's question was ''would you dive with these tanks''...the answers are obviously...yes and no...

To iterate: No, I would not dive those tanks because if the patent use/abuse issues evident on the outside are reflective of the treatment and maintenance regimen on the inside, they are dangerous tanks. At best, rust or rusty water will impede your regulators ability to function as warranted.

cheers,
markm

 

[markmud]

This:

If there was no other option than to dive with these tanks...I would certainly want to confirm both mix and CO...even if the tanks were filled with 21%...with ''my analyzers''...after seeing these tanks...I'd have a hard time trusting anything this operator had...and full service charter operators have many items...not to mention their knowledge/skills and training that you need to rely on to get you back to the dock safely...

Perfect...and based on human nature. An organization that fails at one or two safety protocols/paradigms, usually fails at many.


markm

 

[Alan Browne]

I wouldn't walk away. I'd run.

 

[TheGraveyardDiver]

I wouldn't pass them on VIP so I wouldn't dive with them.

 

[MaxE]

I was at the dock in question in June. I thought back to all the discussion about how dangerous these tanks were, how they were ticking time bombs. Someone there must be monitoring this forum, or not

 

[BRT]

View attachment 535676 View attachment 535675 I was at the dock in question in June. I thought back to all the discussion about how dangerous these tanks were, how they were ticking time bombs. Someone there must be monitoring this forum, or not

I'm sure several of them have exploded and the others have killed people breathing the air in them.

 

[broncobowsher]

So the hose clamp is holding a sacrificial anode on the tank. I'm actually impressed. I bet they are taken care of better than people are giving them credit for.