What's a cave fill?

[Dive-aholic]

Not yet started to service my own regs, but I wonder how these higher pressures affect the longevity of our equipment? I don't yet cave dive, but never realized 4K was common practice.

Ken

4k is not common practice...as this thread is revealing...

 

[jimdiverman]

4k is not common practice...as this thread is revealing...

I've never had a 4k fill... not even at places where I think I am getting great fills. I have gotten 3900 hot that turns into 3600 in the water, but that is as close to 4000 as I have ever seen.

 

[karstdvr]

I remember the days of the chill fills at Steamboat in Branford. There was a refrigeration unit in the fill vat at 45 F. We'd get the tanks filled to 3600,and during the dive at Little River (back when it had strong flow),you'd be in the Mud tunnel and the needle on the spg had gone down.

 

[ucfdiver]

I remember the days of the chill fills at Steamboat in Branford. There was a refrigeration unit in the fill vat at 45 F. We'd get the tanks filled to 3600,and during the dive at Little River (back when it had strong flow),you'd be in the Mud tunnel and the needle on the spg had gone up.

I remember those too, every time we went in there, Dustin offered anyone $100 to sit in the tank bath for 1 minutes.

I think the gas per cu ft has since all but killed steamboat, last time I was in there, all they stocked were "save a dive" items. Also the dive shop next to Branford springs is no more, any idea when that happened?

 

[karstdvr]

I remember those too, every time we went in there, Dustin offered anyone $100 to sit in the tank bath for 1 minutes.

I think the gas per cu ft has since all but killed steamboat, last time I was in there, all they stocked were "save a dive" items. Also the dive shop next to Branford springs is no more, any idea when that happened?

Dustin had been on his way out for years,plus with the loss of Branford Dive Center,nobody would know that Branford was the "Spring Diving Capital of the World"

 

[LiteHedded]

my tanks are not strangers to 4000+ psi
they seem to enjoy it

 

[packman]

My fills down there tend to run 3500-3600...which always seems to translate to 3300 by the time I reach the water.

 

[sskasser]

My typical fills in cave country are 3800 hot/3600 cool. I'm with Freddie, I have a psychological thing with that extra 200...I don't like seeing 4000psi on the gauge. Of course, those are steels. I had an issue with my AL80 getting 3800....didn't like that one bit.

As for gear problems related to the higher pressures, my regular gear hasn't experienced any issues that I would attribute to pressure. I do have a couple of chintzy regs I use in the pool that won't deal with the higher pressures very gracefully.

 

[BabyDuck]

bob, send polly in with the tanks next time...

 

[Gombessa]

Here's another slant: Do LP tanks regularly filled to 4k (and especially with those stored at 4k) have any trouble with retaining/re-earning plus-ratings? If a facility did explicitly perform a plus-test and the tank failed, would it stop you from getting cave fills on those tanks?