How easy to remove/replace pony valves when traveling?

[PeterNBiddle]

Bottom line: if you can't easily get the valve on and off it's too tight.

You don't need to fear catastrophic failure if you are only hand tightening - the valve will leak a stream of bubbles if it's loose and if that happens tighten it or thumb the dive. It's not going to rupture or anything.

 

[CaptainPietro]

I agree w Kharon..about removing valve etc.....this is a non issue. Fills have never been a problem, I just drop it off at the shop the day I arrive. And you only really get it filled once. I travel w a 19 frequently. For me it comes down to the available baggage weight. When I've rented a pony it cost between 5-10 $ US per day, which can be the cost of a new pony tank. Bottom line, I take the pony if i can spare the weight.

 

[drbill]

I've never traveled with my pony (but rode a horse once). My understanding is that technically the cylinder should receive a VIP if the valve has been removed. That would incur a cost of $30-40 (2 VIPs) for each flight.

 

[Kharon]

I've never traveled with my pony (but rode a horse once). My understanding is that technically the cylinder should receive a VIP if the valve has been removed. That would incur a cost of $30-40 (2 VIPs) for each flight.

Yeah - TECHNICALLY - which is total bushwah and is solely for the enrichment of dive shops to do totally unnecessary, and trivial "work" - which they may or may not actually do. My pony has a current VIP sticker that doesnt fall off if I remove the valve. Taking the valve off and putting it back on has absolutely no effect on the interior of the tank. This is just more crap to put money in dive shop coffers.

 

[Doc Harry]

Bottom line: if you can't easily get the valve on and off it's too tight.

Bottom line: If you can remove the valve without tools, it's not torqued tight enough.

You can get a torque wrench and judge for yourself. 50-foot pounds is a bit tighter than what I can achieve by hand. Your experience may be different.

Yeah - TECHNICALLY - which is total bushwah and is solely for the enrichment of dive shops to do totally unnecessary, and trivial "work"

It's not a total bushwah, but a full VIP may not be required either, especially is you're filling with just air. As someone who fills cylinders, I am not going to take anyone's word that a cylinder is "safe."

If someone removed the valve of an air cylinder, and it otherwise had a current VIP, then I would just eyeball the inside of the cylinder and the valve threads before filling the cylinder again.

Removing the valve of a cylinder that's certified O2 clean invalidates the VIP sticker and requires re-cleaning and a new VIP. Period.

The reason that dive shops have "ridiculous" VIP requirement is because of all of the unethical lawyers and scuba divers who hire unnethical lawyers. If dive shops didn't have to worry about getting sued just because they used common sense and deviated slightly from "industry standards," then common sense would prevail.

Unfortunately, lawyers are greedy and unethical.

 

[maniago]

Bottom line: If you can remove the valve without tools, it's not torqued tight enough.

You can get a torque wrench and judge for yourself. 50-foot pounds is a bit tighter than what I can achieve by hand. Your experience may be different.

BS. Go torque your lug nuts with your hand and drive off down the road.

50in-lbs, yeah I'll buy that.

 

[Doc Harry]

Lug nuts are not high-pressure cylinders. Apple and oranges.

I cannot tighten to 50-foot pounds by hand, and I cannot unscrew a valve by hand that's been torqued to 50 ft-lbs.


Your experience may be different.

 

[maniago]

Lug nuts are not high-pressure cylinders. Apple and oranges.

I cannot tighten to 50-foot pounds by hand, and I cannot unscrew a valve by hand that's been torqued to 50 ft-lbs.


Your experience may be different.

No torque is torque - whether applied to an apple or an orange its the same.

But you just made two opposite statements. 50ftlbs you can do by hand, and 50 ft lbs is not what you can do by hand. Either way, noone can even get close with ones hand.

Maybe you meant something else, I dunno, but ORB fittings are just slightly more than hand tight - its the o-ring that seals the pressure load, not the threads.

 

[bullfroger]

the last time I flew off the pony bottle didn't take the valve off you just have to open it and show him there's nothing in it

 

[teknitroxdiver]

the last time I flew off the pony bottle didn't take the valve off you just have to open it and show him there's nothing in it

That's definitely not what you should expect again. The TSA regs specifically state no valve may be installed. If they let you through with it on it was a mistake by the agent.