Complaint about filling new tanks

A customer sent in a complaint about our staff not filling a brand new tank he had bought in Florida. Since it was a new tank, he did not feel it needed to have a Visual Inspection. He took the tank and left without getting it filled.

I am sorry that he did not understand the need for inspections of even new tanks. We have discused this before but I want to review the reasons again.

When a tank is manufactured it is subjected to extremes of heat and pressure (we have a video of the process at the store). The cylinders are hydrostatically and given a "hydro" inspection (NOT a Scuba quality inspection)and then shipped to the distributor. They are again shipped to the store for sale. Most shipping is done with the valves out.

D. O. T., PSI and we require the inspection for your safety AND ours. The inspection at the factory is nowhere near as complete as a Scuba inspection. Plus the tank has been exposed to possibile contamination throughout the shipping and storage portion of the journey. We are inspecting to protect you from contamination due to oils, manufacturing processes, and other foreign materials.

Just as important to me is to protect the staff. More than one person has said he doesn't need a VIP becasue he "trusts" his tanks and will take the risk. That person is not the one taking the risks. Most cylinder failures occur during the fill process. I have not heard of a tank rupturing during a dive in decades, if ever. But I do hear of deaths every year while filling a tank. That cylinder owner is asking the staff to take the risks of filling an uninspected tank so the cylinder owner can save a few bucks.

We have returned brand new cylinders to the manufacturer every year except the last 2. A 2 year history of good tanks is not enough for me to put my life on the line.

I am sorry we lost that customer, but better a lost customer than an injured staff or diver.