Tank PSI - Over Filled, Drain or Dive?

[lindenbruce]

Given the tank was an HP100 steel, I'm not to worried about the fill the OP received. Heck, a set of HP100 doubles I dove two weeks ago in Florida from Fill Express were at 3800psi. Thanks Didier!!!!

My real concern here is the tank is a rental and the attitude of the rental operator. If they are treating their tanks like this, what does the rest of their rental fleet look like? Not paying attention to a tank while filling could indicate other "inattentive" issues with that operator's gear. Given it was a yoke connection and the fact it sat out in the sun under pressure is not surprising the o-ring blew. Heck, I have seen yoke o-rings blow under normal pressure while the rig was being moved around on dive boats. That's why DIN is a much better system of connection. B.

 

[The Chairman]

Heck, a set of HP100 doubles I dove two weeks ago in Florida from Fill Express were at 3800psi. Thanks Didier!!!!

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Not paying attention to a tank while filling could indicate other "inattentive" issues with that operator's gear.

I don't understand. It's great for one shop to over fill (they get a kudos) but it's negligence for another to do this? I bet they were hoping for a "kudos" for delivering an over full tank.

 

[chrpai]

I don't understand. It's great for one shop to over fill (they get a kudos) but it's negligence for another to do this? I bet they were hoping for a "kudos" for delivering an over full tank.

Right or wrong, I'd assume informed consent should be involved. I wouldn't want to give a "civilian" a cave fill. I know I was a bit freaked out when I was handed 2 AL80's with 3800 PSI in it. They were too since they didn't realize they did it...

Now if my + rated LP95's had 3800 in them I'd just be smiling all the way to Lake Travis.

 

[bl6394]

I don't understand. It's great for one shop to over fill (they get a kudos) but it's negligence for another to do this? I bet they were hoping for a "kudos" for delivering an over full tank.

Yeah - I could see that. Same fact - different context. In one context - it represents good customer service ... while in the other - a potential indication of carelessness or inattention. Context is important.

Bjorn

 

[chrpai]

I liken it to CPU overclocking. Years ago ( Think Intel Pentium II 300MHZ SL2W8 days) I knew a shop that would prescreen their OEM CPU's and bin them on whether they could run stable at 450MHZ or not.

If a civilian came in, they were given the 300MHZ pieces. If a bit head came in they were charged $10 extra and given the 450MHZ tested part.

It's all about knowing your customer and what their priorities and risk tolerances are. It increased their profit margins and decresed their return rates.

 

[The Chairman]

Same fact - different context.

Perhaps. Perhaps it's more of a different perception. I just thought it peculiar that one shop gets kudos and the other gets criticized for the same thing. But then, divers can be a fickle lot. It's fine when they break the rules, but not so much if they see someone else doing it.

 

[NW Dive Dawg]

In my opinion, this is really not an issue at all. In my working days, 4K hot fills on HP Steels was SOP.... after the cool down, hitting the water with 3,700 or 3,800 was the norm. If we had time to wait for a full cool down in the dip tank, we'd still top off to 4K.

DIN...only DIN.

 

[MrChen]

Why isn't din the standard? Is the industry heading this way at all?

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[Peter69_56]

I think unfortunately the industry loves the mix of DIN and K fittings. More sales, in particular those who start with K during recreational diving and then progress to Technical and inevitably swap to DIN. The manufacturer appears to make all the primary regs to 300 BAR and then simply adds the fitting required for the valve so manufacture costs are cheap, however making 3 different regulators because of the attachment to the valve is good business sense. It makes sure the manufacturer gets their share in every market, and also ensures they will sell later into the tech market.

We could all exist quite happily on 300BAR DIN regulators and for those who have LP DIN cylinders, they still fit no problem. For those who have K valve cylinders a simple converter gets a solution at a very cheap price. My recommendation to all new divers is to buy a 300BAR DIN reg with a K valve converter. Always try and get a DIN cylinder if possible but if not then you can attach to a K valve. You then have a regulator for life and not something which is outdated in a few years time.

I particularly dislike manufacturers who make special fittings just for their product so you have to buy their gear. Case in point is the Oceanic delta 4 secondary reg with swivel hose. A special hose which if you blow cannot be replaced simply by a generic LP reg hose (in particular if you are in a remote location), also the Oceanic dive computer quick disconnect fitting. The fitting for the computer can be removed from the hose, but once again its a special HP hose so when mine blew at Truk I was screwed. Its not a matter of buying Oceanic or generic but a matter of simple replacement when not near the corner LDS.

I have 3 Delta 4 regs and all have had their swivel hoses removed and reg fitting replaced to allow a standard hose to be attached. If I couldn't do this I would refuse to buy Oceanic regs and go for another brand. So for Oceanic I would suggest if you continue to try and force the consumer to buy your special gear buy having Oceanic only fittings, in the end you will back yourself into a corner and people will buy other brands on the basis of simple repairs. I like your gear, don't make me go elsewhere because of your sales method.

 

[lindenbruce]

Maybe I wasn't clear. I did not mean to say I was concerned about the 4000psi fill as stated by the OP yet a 3800psi fill was okay. I was merely concerned with the attitude of the rental shop that supplied the OP with their rental as per the OP's statements. I have been around compressed gases my whole life. I know a 400psi or 600psi over fill is not really an issue. It would not bother me because I know when a tank is just filled it is hot and as such will read a higher than normal pressure. If tanks can't take such a small overpressure without failing then there would be a problem with the tanks' rating and testing system. Which should be re-evaluated. So hopefully I wasn't being slammed here. But then again, that's also a problem with the written word. Intent and any slight has to be interpreted by the reader, be it real or imagined. And miss-communication in the written word happens more than some realize. B.