Rred
Contributor
tbone-
"@Rred the shops don't usually put VIP stickers on "
Uh, save the ampersand, that only works on what, Twitter?
If you mean the hydro shops don't put on VIP stickers, THEY DON'T HAVE TO. They put the metal stamp on your tank, and that stamp proves a complete hydro--including a VIP--was done. No additional sticker is necessary, under DOT regulation. The o-ring is nice, yes, but paying an extra $22 for a fifty cent o-ring....Thanks, I can change my own.
Scuba spuds? I hate to tell you how many five star shops have just taken a hammer and whacked the valve handle to spin it out on every tank I've seen. Most don't even look to see if an old valve has the flats that let you use a plain crow's foot wrench on it. Hammering sideways on a valve handle...OUCH.
rh-
Yeah, the + stamp is another good industry scam. There's a DOT formal reply letter online someplace, and I've communicated with them directly last year, and would urge you to do the same. Basically? If a tank originally had a + stamp, and it has a "REE" number stamped on the tank neck as well, then any hydro shop can retest the cylinder, and if that residual expansion (REE) number comes out right, they can RESTAMP IT with a plus rating for the next hundred years. Many shops don't want to bother looking up numbers, many don't know how to train the monkeys, and the SCUBA shops...I'm sorry, I don't know of any that even ASK "Would you like that retested for a + stamp?" because then they'd have two price levels and more confusion.
FUD. Easier for the shops to almost all say "Oh no, that's not legal" which is a flat-out lie. And then they can try to upsell you on a NEW tank which still is + rated.
I wasn't always a cynic, but after many years of hard work by many fine trainers, I got made into one.
"@Rred the shops don't usually put VIP stickers on "
Uh, save the ampersand, that only works on what, Twitter?
If you mean the hydro shops don't put on VIP stickers, THEY DON'T HAVE TO. They put the metal stamp on your tank, and that stamp proves a complete hydro--including a VIP--was done. No additional sticker is necessary, under DOT regulation. The o-ring is nice, yes, but paying an extra $22 for a fifty cent o-ring....Thanks, I can change my own.
Scuba spuds? I hate to tell you how many five star shops have just taken a hammer and whacked the valve handle to spin it out on every tank I've seen. Most don't even look to see if an old valve has the flats that let you use a plain crow's foot wrench on it. Hammering sideways on a valve handle...OUCH.
rh-
Yeah, the + stamp is another good industry scam. There's a DOT formal reply letter online someplace, and I've communicated with them directly last year, and would urge you to do the same. Basically? If a tank originally had a + stamp, and it has a "REE" number stamped on the tank neck as well, then any hydro shop can retest the cylinder, and if that residual expansion (REE) number comes out right, they can RESTAMP IT with a plus rating for the next hundred years. Many shops don't want to bother looking up numbers, many don't know how to train the monkeys, and the SCUBA shops...I'm sorry, I don't know of any that even ASK "Would you like that retested for a + stamp?" because then they'd have two price levels and more confusion.
FUD. Easier for the shops to almost all say "Oh no, that's not legal" which is a flat-out lie. And then they can try to upsell you on a NEW tank which still is + rated.
I wasn't always a cynic, but after many years of hard work by many fine trainers, I got made into one.