Shipping a VIP'd tank?

[split0101]

The other day I ran into a little bit of a quandary at my local LDS. I recently bought a 30 cu ft tank from Scuba Toys. It came with the valve off, and a VIP sticker. I took the tank to my workshop, and tightened the valve on the tank to the manufactures specifications (40~50lbs of torque). I then went to my LDS to get the tank filled.

The first comment the guy said to me was about the online "VIP" sticker. Then he took the tank over to the filling station, and hooked it up. He noticed that there was no air in the tank, and then proceeded to give me a lecture about breathing a tank dry. I told him this was a new tank, and that it did not have air in it. At that point he stopped the fill, and started to yell at me that he was filling a tank that could have exploded. I told him that I torqued the valve onto the tank according to the manufactures specification. He then said there was no way he was going to fill a tank without him VIP'ing it. I asked him why since the tank was already VIP'd. He then said that the tank could have been damaged during shipping, and that no shop should ever ship a tank with a VIP on it.

So at this point, I just wanted my tank filled, so I told him to VIP it. After about 30 min he came back with a new VIP sticker and fill. I asked if there was anything wrong with the tank and he said no. Then he went on and on about buying gear online, and that he could have offered me a deal, but thats a separate thread....

So I guess my questions are:
1. Should a online retailer sell tanks with VIP stickers already on them?
2. Did this LDS give me a hard time for no reason? or was it valid? I understand the safety point of view, I certainly did not want a tank that could be damaged in the back seat of my car with 3000 psi in it.

Thanks in advance.

 

[royalediver]

You can ship a tank with upto 40 lbs air pressure with no problem. Above that you are into HAZMAT

 

[HowardE]

VIP is to check for rust inside the cylinder.

The guy at the shop just made a sale.

 

[plwtwo]

Actually, You now have to remove valves to ship tanks. So a VIP before shipping would be useless after...

 

[crpntr133]

It doesn't make a difference if the tank is new or not. If the tank is empty a new VIP is suppose to be done. The dive shop covered his butt.
BTW, howarde, it is for more than just rust when the tank is new. There are several threads on the same subject and people have found bugs and pieces of plastic in the tanks. These were new tanks with the valve off. Personally I wouldn't want a piece of plastic in my tank.

 

[Jim Lapenta]

Standar procedure with our shop is to VIP any tanks that come in empty regardless of age. If you are a regular customer we will give you a break on cost but there are too many things that can go wrong with a tank that has NO air in it. If you are someone we don't know then how can we be sure that nothing got in there, that the oring is in good shape, etc. It's not a big deal really and covers our butt as well as yours. When I bought my pony from ST I did not even bother to put the valve on since I knew the lds would want to vis it anyway. This was before I started working there. Even now with a new tank I always let the owner verify things.

 

[shark.byte.usa]

My understanding is if a valve is removed or the tank is emptied then the industry standard is for a re-VIP. My tank from Scubatoys came with valve ON and a little air in it.

Actually, You now have to remove valves to ship tanks. So a VIP before shipping would be useless after...

As I understand it the valve only has to be removed if it's being shipped by air, not ground, different carriers may have their own rules.

As for offering you a deal vs buying online...Well they always say that in hindsight don't they :shakehead

-Garrett

 

[captain]

Easy way to solve the dumb LDS issue is to get a transfill whip and put a 100psi or so in the tank from another one before bringing it to get filled. Every diver should have a transfill whip.

 

[crpntr133]

As for offering you a deal vs buying online...Well they always say that in hindsight don't they :shakehead

-Garrett

From experience, I spent $10 more per tank on my lp-85's by buying from the LDS. But throw in the VIP and I saved money. My LDS charges MSRP and nothing less.
For the most part, if you have an LDS and can get the tank you want buy it from them and save yourself the hassle.

 

[Stu S.]

Some of our dive stores do the partial pressure Nitrox fill. They want you to bring in your cylinder empty, ready to fill. They do not VIP the thing, they start adding oxygen.

What's the difference?