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I make sure the Hydro test is done on all my tanks every 5 years. I don’t visually inspect my tanks - ever.
BTW - a visual is not a DOT or any other agency requirement, it is done at the discretion of the dive shop. First it is a money maker but secondly for an LDS it is a small insurance that someone is looking at the tanks to ensure they are not being abused and could possibly hurt their fill equipment or employees through a ruptured tank. But think about this - firemen use SCBA all the time and NEVER do a visual inspection - they do Hyrdo’s...
I am lucky - I fill my own tanks and on vacation I bring my tanks or rent...
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The sticker is good for the entire month. The same way your car registration sticker is good till the end of the month and a vehicle inspection sticker is good for the entire month. If it wasnt your normal dive shop they just trying to squeeze you for a few bucks.
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I once had a LDS, now gone because of stuff like this who wouldn’t fill my tanks because I only had a VIP and not a VIP+ which is funny because they were not inspecting or servicing their own compressor and they were pumping water into everyones tanks :(
The only issue I ever had with stickers is when a LDS ran out and made one of their own with a hand written date. The Florida shop did fill it but probably because they knew me.
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They were being weird. A few days don’t matter. I never saw a sticker that included the day of month it was inspected. I’ve had fills at probably 20+ air pumps and they would fill up until the last day of the month. The owner of the fill station makes the rules. It may not be right but there’s not much you can do about it.
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Every place ive ever filled went til the end of the month.
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I didn’t know Vis was optional
I think you would get the boot from most shops without a VIS
because it seems to be a standard. Even the PADI training tells you a VIS every year
That being said I don’t winter dive so at the end on the season I fill my tanks.
I can either get one dive out of them in the beginning of the next season or just eat the air fill.
I figure its worth throwing away an air fill to know the tanks are filled with dry air.
Im only paying $10 for the VIS air is free or I pay for the % of O2 I order.
Im glad to throw NES the $12 for each tank.
They put up with all my dumb questions from when I started diving.
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Not worth $12 when your tank or valve blows out at 100’. my buddy’s tank just got caught on a vis with corrosion and a crack forming in the neck.
Cigarettes $9 a pack
Vis $12 a years.
Do the math, which would you rather die from?
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The statute your quoting refers to visual inspection at the time a tank is hydroed once every ten years or in the case of scuba tanks every 5. The yearly vip required by dive shops is not law its only scuba industry standard. Not a bad idea. For all the people that complain about the cost isnt your life worth 13$ a year? Ive got more then a dozen tanks and finally just started doing all my own maint to help save cash but fir those of u that only have 3 or 4 tanks is it really that much of an expense compared to what you pay for other gear.
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And with as much biz that ur lds has lost to the internet how does everyone expect them to survive without service work
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Has anyone thats bitchen about the cost priced a tank tumbler,whip,tank drying rack,ceramic media, or chemicals to servive ur tanks
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I guess if your just renting 1 alum 80 at a time for u it makes sense. We often take 4 or more depending on the dive and i like not havin to run for tanks or worry about the return. Rentals here r 10$ single 22$ for doubles for me its cheaper to do my own tank work short of hydro and pay my lds to slap the sticker on. U may not give 2 craps about the guy behind the counter or how much he makes but he is the one that owns and maintains the compressor thats pumpin ur air and when he is gone how far will you have to drive to get fills.for me it would be close to 90 min round trip not including fill time ......on 6 to 8 tanks if i take my buddys with me........and im in fl were dive shops r abundant. Jus sayin. Is yearly vip a scam on steels ...yep i think so. Alum prob not a bad idea. Ive seen more then a few with cracked necks. Id rather know that for the cost of the stickers the guy can afford to change the filters when the clock ticks off
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I also wonder what shops do if they inspect this month? Do they put the punch the next month as the date. Seems silly to ever have the possibility of denying a customer of a month when you can keep a customer coming back. The shop that wouldn’t fill my tank is now out of business.
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So if it’s a liability issue the actual day needs to be on there.Otherwise I guess I better keep my receipt to show the actual date to not only protect myself but the shop.
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