A tank for non-breating air?

[Belzelbub]

He doesn't appear to want to know why it failed viz. He just wants to fill it anyway.

Certainly appears that way. These tanks can’t possibly be worth the aggravation at this point.

Why does this all seem so odd?

It is indeed odd. He has the tanks back from the original shop. Presumably, he’s had an opportunity to take them to another shop for a second opinion on the Vis. It appears that either that didn’t happen, or the second opinion confirmed the first.

As stated, the contents of the tank are not the issue, it’s the act of filling to pressure that will be the issue. If the tanks have a current hydro stamp, they could technically be filled, but a Scuba shop most likely won’t. Getting a scuba tank filled with a non-breathable gas at an industrial place is also highly unlikely. Industrial cylinders have different valves to prevent misuse. So unless he has his own compressor, these tanks will most likely not be getting filled.

They don’t appear to be worth the aggravation at this point. Sign by the side of the road, recycler, or converting them to wind chimes, mailboxes, etc. would be my suggestions.

 

[Waterwulf]

I took my two tanks to The Dive Shop in Tucson today to get them Visually inspected and filled. One was brand new with a current Hydro but no Viz sticker. (Mail order) The other one was one of the free ones that I picked up and was part of the issue with the other shop. Per them: It passed the Hydro but was awful inside so it failed the Viz. This is the one that I was asking about how to make it a non breathing tank so i can use it on the road to fill my RV tires. I had already decided to convert it to Nitrogen gas which I can get filled easy and use for my tires but I decided to get it inspected again.

What a difference this visit was! A different dive shop and totally different experience. First: When I asked about getting my two tanks Visually Inspected and filled and how long it would take, I was told ten minutes for the Viz's and "a little while" to fill them but it would be pretty quick. I could wait for them both. Shocker! Minutes, not days. Then the nice lady actually filled out a work order where I had to give my name and other info. Nothing at all like the other shop where they barely even asked my name. The nice man took my tanks into the back to do the work. I heard him explaining to the other person about the proper way to fill a tank with a J Valve. They already had me sold when they did the work order but they knew about I valves too.

A little while later, the man brought my tanks out and both had Passed Inspection stickers on them. I asked about the steel 72 and he told me that it was one of the best looking steel tanks that he's seen in a long time. I knew it looked great on the outside with good looking Galvanizing but I assumed it was rusty inside someplace that I did not find when I scoped it. Nope. It looked fine per him. Both tanks were filled. I paid and actually got a print out receipt.

I have multiple takeaways from this issue. I think the other shop was trying to sell me new tanks but besides that, they were nowhere as organized as this shop. Second, those tanks are heavy when you have to lug them across a hot parking lot. And lastly, there are some people on this Board that need to get out more! You need to spend more time breathing canned air and less time on the computer looking for conspiracy theories.

 

[Still Kicking]

I took my two tanks to The Dive Shop in Tucson today to get them Visually inspected and filled. One was brand new with a current Hydro but no Viz sticker. (Mail order) The other one was one of the free ones that I picked up and was part of the issue with the other shop. Per them: It passed the Hydro but was awful inside so it failed the Viz. This is the one that I was asking about how to make it a non breathing tank so i can use it on the road to fill my RV tires. I had already decided to convert it to Nitrogen gas which I can get filled easy and use for my tires but I decided to get it inspected again.

What a difference this visit was! A different dive shop and totally different experience. First: When I asked about getting my two tanks Visually Inspected and filled and how long it would take, I was told ten minutes for the Viz's and "a little while" to fill them but it would be pretty quick. I could wait for them both. Shocker! Minutes, not days. Then the nice lady actually filled out a work order where I had to give my name and other info. Nothing at all like the other shop where they barely even asked my name. The nice man took my tanks into the back to do the work. I heard him explaining to the other person about the proper way to fill a tank with a J Valve. They already had me sold when they did the work order but they knew about I valves too.

A little while later, the man brought my tanks out and both had Passed Inspection stickers on them. I asked about the steel 72 and he told me that it was one of the best looking steel tanks that he's seen in a long time. I knew it looked great on the outside with good looking Galvanizing but I assumed it was rusty inside someplace that I did not find when I scoped it. Nope. It looked fine per him. Both tanks were filled. I paid and actually got a print out receipt.

I have multiple takeaways from this issue. I think the other shop was trying to sell me new tanks but besides that, they were nowhere as organized as this shop. Second, those tanks are heavy when you have to lug them across a hot parking lot. And lastly, there are some people on this Board that need to get out more! You need to spend more time breathing canned air and less time on the computer looking for conspiracy theories.

So much drama for something that should be absolutely routine. Too bad you didn't support the new (good) shop by buying a tank from them instead of mail order.

 

[Belzelbub]

So much drama for something that should be absolutely routine. Too bad you didn't support the new (good) shop by buying a tank from them instead of mail order.

Exactly. I do mail order some things, but my local shop is really quite competitive on many items. A while back I was looking to get some HP120s. I checked one of the shops locally during an annual sale they have. Price still looked higher than I thought. While there, I checked the price on Scuba.com, and even with the added cost of shipping and a Viz and fill, the Scuba.com price was better than this shop's sale price. I also called my preferred local shop. Best price out of the three.

Absolutely, way too much drama for something that is so routine. My preferred local shop is definitely not the closest to me. There are at least 3, and possibly up to 6 that are closer. I go to them primarily because of the way they treat me, and negative experiences at the other shops. Despite those experiences, I don't feel the need to bash them. I just won't do business with them any more.

 

[rhwestfall]

When my local shop was $200 more than eCommerce for some steel tanks, I asked them how close they could get? Their answer, "Get them at that eCommerce site"...

 

[Waterwulf]

So much drama for something that should be absolutely routine. Too bad you didn't support the new (good) shop by buying a tank from them instead of mail order.

Yeah, supporting a local shop is a good thing but not when it costs eighty dollars more. I did support them by taking them my business and talking good about them.

 

[Waterwulf]

All of this drama about a friggin' tank? Insults, conspiracy theories, snide comments, etc. Keyboard Commandos. Experts on everything except how to be nice to others. Worse than a pack of old gossipers at the fence. Although I have to admit that I am having fun reading some of this pablum.

 

[boulderjohn]

This thread has really run its intended course, so I will participate in the off-topic discussion comparing local shops to online shops. I will do this through two stories that illustrate the problem.

1. As the new Tech instructor for a local shop, I needed a trimix/oxygen analyzer, and those are expensive items. Here in Colorado, the market for any analyzer is about zero, so the shop did not have a relationship with any supplier. They told me they would sell one to me for dealer cost, and I was cc'd on every email they made trying to set it up. Analox finally agreed to sell them their analyzer for a certain dealer price, but only if they would sign a contract requiring them to sell 5 Analox analyzers a year. There was no way they were going to sell that many, so the shop told me to check online. I found that online retailers were routinely selling those analyzers for well before the dealer price Analox was offering our shop, and one of them sold it to me at an additional discount from that advertised price.

2. About 14 years ago, the shop I worked for contracted to become an official dealer for UTD branded products. I was a relatively new tech diver then, and I wanted a good canister light. Our shop offered employees the opportunity to purchase any item for 20% over dealer cost. The buyer and I sat down and looked at the UTD catalog, where we found three models. I wrote down the dealer prices and then went to the UTD website to get the details so I could make a choice. I discovered that UTD's website sold all their gear direct to the public. For 2 of the 3 lights, I could purchase them for just a little over our dealer cost, much cheaper than the 20% deal our shop was offering employees. For the third model, the price UTD was asking for any Schmo off the street was less than our dealer cost. UTD was underselling its own dealers with its online sales! I refused to buy for that reason.

SUMMARY: In many cases, local dive shops cannot possibly offer you prices competitive with large online outlets because of the huge volume discounts they get. In many cases, local shops would have to offer you prices below their dealer prices. You can't stay in business offering to sell gear for less than you are paying for it.