Whats a good fill?

[Jeff Pack]

when you have your own compressor, philosophies don't matter.

[BASSMAN]

when you have your own compressor, philosophies don't matter.

But safety does!

[CaptnJack]

when you have your own compressor, philosophies don't matter.

But safety does!

Safety is all relative

[Diver_Dave]

Safety???

[Jeff Pack]

When I die, I'm gonna die with a Slurpy in one hand, and Big Mac in the other...

The rest doesnt matter.

[rcontrera]

When I die, I'm gonna die with a Slurpy in one hand, and Big Mac in the other...

The rest doesnt matter.

Not me! I am gonna be 85+ years old and get shot off a barstool by a jealous husband.

[Dusty2]

Anything over 3500 is good.....

Anything over 3500 in the water is good,

3800 is better!

[Diver_Dave]

Blew my 1st 5000lb burst disc..

[Jeff Pack]

thats a serious cave fill

[Diver_Dave]

thats a serious cave fill

I'm ready to do it again...

[Jeff Pack]

You should look into a GEM, my 95 is now almost a 360 without cave filling it.

[Desert Diver]

LP tanks were always a challenge at my old shop because they'd come in very low, and the steel tanks seemed to heat up faster than the AL. I always thought this seemed strange (wouldn't steel, as a better conductor than AL, be better at conducting the heat away? Maybe it holds the heat better?) I usually had to fill LP steels twice, and HPs sometimes three times. If you have a plus rating and you're in a new place, point it out. If the "new guy" is filling it s/he might not know yet. Also, if you are at a shop you aren't yet familiar with check your tank before you leave. If they have a problem with you checking, or won't top it off if it is low, then find another shop.

Aluminum is a much better conductor than steel of both heat and electricity. Takes a big welder to weld thick aluminum because the heat just moves away.

Brian

[Dusty2]

My question or maybe comment is if overfills are so common in Florida and no one obsesses over it and no one gets blown up in there hot weather why is it such a pain to get a good fill in Washington ? HP steels are hydroed at well over 5000 psi so what is the big deal filling them to 4000? I'm sure their compressors and fill stations are no different than the ones in the shops here. The only reason the shops get away with it here is that people tolerate it. Any good compressor can do 4000 and if they aren't enforcing the rules in Florida you know they aren't here either and the liability can't be any greater here.

[Tom Nic]

[kdupreez]

Its just plain liability.

If someone overfilled and something happened, its their fault and insurance wont cover it since the rules were not followed.

If you have your own system, its obviously your own choice to overfill and you assume all associated risk and the chances of the actual tank rupturing prior to the burst disk is quite remote, unless you double-disk..

But that said, heres a stupid example, I left my overfilled tanks in my truck and a couple of weeks ago in the blazing sun at alki and the burst disk blew.. the double tanks were secured and didnt move an inch and were doubles, so they cant roll around.. a few people on the street was intrigued and feathers got ruffled, but no big deal.. just some noise.

Same thing happens while you are driving on the freeway and your single tank aint secured and somehow it goes flying off the truck and kills someone, they find out you overfilled, you are in some serious doodoo.

I dont know any dive shop or compressor owner that will fill someone else's tanks for them beyond the rated limits..

BUT - If you happen to have a good relationship with someone that has a compressor and they let you fill your own tanks, then of course its your own liability.

[Dusty2]

But that said, heres a stupid example, I left my overfilled tanks in my truck and a couple of weeks ago in the blazing sun at alki and the burst disk blew.. the double tanks were secured and didnt move an inch and were doubles, so they cant roll around.. a few people on the street was intrigued and feathers got ruffled, but no big deal.. just some noise.

Same thing happens while you are driving on the freeway and your single tank aint secured and somehow it goes flying off the truck and kills someone, they find out you overfilled, you are in some serious doodoo.

That's just too many what if's and maybe's and such. The kind of fills you give people is your business and I have no right to question it. But "If" the same thing happens while I'm driving down the freeway and by some unbelievable freak of nature it gets out of my truck and injures someone. Just how in the heck are they going to 1, know it was overfilled and 2, who filled it? They are going after me for not properly securing my load which in Washington is a serious no no. I have never had so much as a burst disk go let lone a tank fail and my tanks are definitely filled. If a shop puts 4000 psi in my tanks by the time I'm a few blocks away they will have cooled to rated pressure or maybe a 100 or so over. My high pressure 120's will loose 4 to 5 hundred psi from what the shop put in unless they are filled in a cold water bath. As long as my tanks are at rated pressure in the water I'm happy but if they are at 3000psi I'll be one unhappy diver.

[Bric Martin]

no one gets blown up in there hot weather

Almost no one.


http://www2.tbo.com/news/breaking-news/ ... ar-256967/

[kdupreez]

That's just too many what if's and maybe's and such.

yeah, totally random example.. but fact remains if ANYTHING happens due to an overfill and a dive shop didnt follow rules. they are liable. dont matter how stupid you were in handling the tank..

when someone uses my fill station its 100% at their own risk and whatever and how much of it they put in their tanks is not my business. But If I was a dive shop and I filled tanks for someone.. it aint going past rated pressure out of the door..

[Dusty2]

no one gets blown up in there hot weather

Almost no one.


http://www2.tbo.com/news/breaking-news/ ... -ar-256967

/

Good try, I read that article too but he was simply carrying it from his apartment to his car so it was probably cool as very few people in Florida have non air-conditioned apartments and no one said it was overfilled. We will probably never know what really caused it. I have a hunch it was an old aluminum 80 that just gave out. Pretty impressive damages though. Hard to believe a single tank could cause that kind of damage if it only had air in it.

[eliseaboo]

Those things are filled to 3000 pounds per square inch. Of course they can cause that kind of damage...

[fishb0y]

I find it funny when people don't get a fill that exceeds the rated pressure of a tank. I actually get upset at times because it shows that the person filling the tank isn't paying the kind of attention that they should. If you want a good fill, leave it over night and top it off the next day. Water baths are really not that affective, and can cause uneven heating on a tank which could place some unwanted stresses on a tank. If that small amount of air is that precious to you, spend the extra dough and get a bigger tank.

[Linedog]

I find it funny when people don't get a fill that exceeds the rated pressure of a tank. I actually get upset at times because it shows that the person filling the tank isn't paying the kind of attention that they should. If you want a good fill, leave it over night and top it off the next day. Water baths are really not that affective, and can cause uneven heating on a tank which could place some unwanted stresses on a tank. If that small amount of air is that precious to you, spend the extra dough and get a bigger tank.

+1

That's why I now dive 130's

[defied]

no one gets blown up in there hot weather

Almost no one.


http://www2.tbo.com/news/breaking-news/ ... -ar-256967

/

Good try, I read that article too but he was simply carrying it from his apartment to his car so it was probably cool as very few people in Florida have non air-conditioned apartments and no one said it was overfilled. We will probably never know what really caused it. I have a hunch it was an old aluminum 80 that just gave out. Pretty impressive damages though. Hard to believe a single tank could cause that kind of damage if it only had air in it.

It was an O2 bottle, and it went up in his kitchen while he was grabbing bottles to load into his vehicle. It was over pressurized, but had been sitting for at least a few days after being filled. His roommates were in the next room.

D

[Tangfish]

A good fill is where they ask you what you want your tanks filled to and you give a non-foolish answer.

[spatman]

this is a good fill. (especially on lp85s)