Do a visual after you get a visual.

[Jesus-fish]

So I picked up my tanks after having a visual inspection done. I then went home to pick up my wife and load up the rest of the gear. After driving four hours to the dive site, I straped on my tank, put the regs on, and cracked open the valve. There was no air in the tank.....was the valve bumped open during loading or along the drive????? .....Ohh Maybe it has something to do with the string that is hanging out of the tank from under the valve. There was about a one inch long piece of string hanging out between the valve and the tank. They tied a tag with my name on it to the valve when I dropped the tanks off. Apparently when they put the valve back on the string from the tag was hanging down and fell half way into the tank. I was pretty upset, It would have been more upsetting if I didn't bring an extra tank.

I now know to take a better look at my tanks after inspections.


Has this ever happened to anyone else?

Could this have been a serious problem if it had presure and I actually got into the water?
Could the part of the string that was in the tank, block the air from coming out of the valve and basicly cause me to have no air half way through the dive?

Any thoughts or suggestions?

 

[Scuba_Noob]

Weird. Sounds like you have a legitimate reason to complain to that shop and not use that shop anymore. Did they agree to fill up the tank with the visual? Maybe they just didn't fill it either - it seems strange that no one noticed that area was leaking, especially during the fill process.

I don't know if the string could have blocked the air, but that seems unlikely - I'm assuming the string wasn't that large.

 

[Hatul]

If nothing else it shows carelessness on their part, and I would get my tanks done elsewhere.

 

[scubadiver888]

I have to agree with everyone. This is careless and makes me wonder what else wasn't done properly. I'd go back to the shop and see what their reaction is. Anything other than extremely apologetic and I'd take my business somewhere else. Nothing like this has ever happen to me.

I have seen o-rings fail but this always happened when the tank was being filled. When you get a leak it is obvious. I think you would have heard it if the tank was leaking when you picked it up. I would guess that it was leaking when it was sitting in the shop but with the compressor going and other tanks being drained they wouldn't hear the tank leaking. By the time you picked it up it was probably already empty.

A valve has a tube which extends down into the tank. It is there to prevent dirty from getting into the valve but it would also reduce the chance the string would go into the valve as well. That said, it is possible the string could have found its way into the valve and cut off or reduced your air supply.

I'd not worry so much about the string getting in the valve. I'd more worry about, did they make sure the dip tube was securely in place? Did they let something fall in the tank after it was inspected? Are there other issues? I definitely would not let them service my regulators.

 

[Peter_C]

Doesn't the dive shop check pressure when you pick your tanks up? Do they offer a pressure checker for YOU to check your tanks, when you pick them up?

Tanks can leak, things can happen...so I would ask the question does the tank hold air over a long period?

Since the tank is empty it would also be a great time for you to do your own visual inspection. Take the valve off and with a flashlight look around to see how much rust or flash rust there is if it is steel, or corrosion if any inside of an AL tank.

 

[elan]

If the string goes into the tank between the valve and the tank neck it is unlikely they could even fill it as the neck oring will not seal properly and it will start leaking.
I would not destroy the evidence and just take the tank as is back and let them fix it.

 

[Peter_C]

I would not destroy the evidence and just take the tank as is back and let them fix it.

Wouldn't you like to know why something happened? At this point can the shop be trusted? Guess since I fall into the DIY persona, I like to see things for myself. *shrugs*

 

[Teamcasa]

I always pop the valve and check or replace the oring and re-torgue the valve after a vis or hydro test. I simply don't trust anyone else to do it properly. Btw, most of the time I find the oring chafed or dry and the valve not properly torqued.

 

[Divejones]

slow leak would take more time than you traveled, any hiss at all you would have heard, it is better to check pressure before leaving the shop, some shops cut short on the pressure they fill up, all IMHO

 

[Spg01]

Another reason to always check the pressure before you leave the shop. You would have probably noticed the tag and tried to remove/move it while checking the pressure and noticed something wrong or low air pressure. Where I get fills there is one guy who always tries to tell me he just filled it and it is fine. I just check it anyway, even if it does annoy him