Weights & Measures

[spectrum]

Where I live as in most places I imagine there is a department of weights and measures. A guy goes to the gas station to make sure each pump dispenses a gallon when a gallon is indicated and puts a seal on the pump. He goes to the market and makes sure that the scale calls a pound a pound and so forth.

It seems like most dive shop fill panels I see have bogus instruments. Some have a red line on the gauge where they think 3000 PSI really is. Other have a mental fudge factor and others pull out an equally unverified tank checker because they have no confidence in what the fill panel is doing.

So my question to all of you divers from hither and yon... Is there any oversight of the fill control instrumentation in your locality?

Pete

 

[Doc]

We're worrying about what... 200 p.s.i.?

Just wondering.

 

[akscubainst]

If I had to have calibrated gauges and routine inspections, it would raise the cost of airfills dramatically. My customers are encouraged to check pressure before they leave and get a topoff if necessary. Once they leave they are accepting the fill as is. I have a gauge available for their use and I have no problem with them using their own. Oftentimes I check them myself before I hand the tank over.

The other issue is that my airfills are per fill not per cf. If you are selling by the cf then you could be subject to weights and measures, because you are guaranteeing a quantity of something, but when selling per fill there is more leeway because you aren't selling a measurable amount.

Sort of like when you go to the deli and order a combo plate, it's a flat fee and how much you get is determined by who's serving. But if you order 1lb of the same thing, it get measured on a certified scale.

DM