Strangest equipment failure ever!

[airsix]

Theory #2 - I don't know if anyone thought of this yet, but could the tank be almost empty?

Fixed it for you. But I know that's what you meant. ; )

[Fishstiq]

Theory #2 - I don't know if anyone thought of this yet, but could the tank be almost empty?

Fixed it for you. But I know that's what you meant. ; )

Thanx. It's good to know friends who've got yer back like a butt crack!

[Sounder]

All this logic and physics is too much to hande. Seriously, there is nothing wrong with the tank people!! Betty Lou is using the Force to haunt the 1st spgs. It's all Koos' fault. The tank is fine.

[LCF]

Cera, would you do us all a favor and take the tank in and have somebody service it? I really want to know what the answer is.

[Waynne Fowler]

Yeah.. we need an



just for Koo's

[Sounder]

Cera, would you do us all a favor and take the tank in and have somebody service it? I really want to know what the answer is.

EANvis has left the building.

[Cera]

Ok angry mob! I must apoligize because I did not know it would take me this long to get it in. We live 50 miles from the nearest shop and my husband just had surgery, so..... I dropped the tank off today. They were baffeled as well. After they let the air out of the tank (yes there was air in it! It took about 5 minutes for the all the air to come out too, just sayin') they are taking the valve apart. Hopefully we will know by Monday. They think that the tank stem valve may have broken? IDK? So the wait is almost over. Be patient grasshoppers... 2

[Sounder]

So after so many people asked what the psi remaining was, you just let them vent the tank completely without measuring it?

[ljjames]

to echo doug's comment, uh, y'all didn't put a pressure gauge on the tank to see what it was before dumping?

5 min is not very long. usually a full or half full tank takes far far longer than that if you are just 'opening the valve and letting air out' at a tolerable rate as opposed to setting up some second stage with a diffuser on it or a jacuzzi, even then it takes a bit of time to dump a 1/2 full tank. if you dump it fast enough to empty in 5 min if it was half full, the valve would have gotten totally covered in frost.

valve stem 'broken' ??

Ok angry mob! I must apoligize because I did not know it would take me this long to get it in. We live 50 miles from the nearest shop and my husband just had surgery, so..... I dropped the tank off today. They were baffeled as well. After they let the air out of the tank (yes there was air in it! It took about 5 minutes for the all the air to come out too, just sayin') they are taking the valve apart. Hopefully we will know by Monday. They think that the tank stem valve may have broken? IDK? So the wait is almost over. Be patient grasshoppers... 2

[airsix]

Oh well. Lets just all go diving now.

[nwbobber]

Yup. I would have liked to know how much pressure it took to move gas into the tank. That would have settled the issue of how much was in it. Oh, well. I hope whatever it was, is fixed for you.

[sitkadiver]

Now you realize why this is so bizzare, we thought that the HP ports had failed. It's a din vavle, No "J's" in sight.

I'm truely puzzled and cannot wait for the answer.... I've had two valve issues in the past, one was a frozen tank valve after water seeped into the valve in the middle of January up here. And the other issue was sorta wierd like yours, but I was using a yoke 1st stage on a pro valve. The O-ring slipped off and was making a buzzing noise. The o-ring and split and partially covered the yoke inlet part of my tank 1st stage, however, all my guages continued to work.

I looked at the APEX schematic and cannot see anything too obvious. Hopefully your LDS will hold in their hot little hands and be able to figure it out.

[lundysd]

In my experience, a tank with ~200psi will take at least 5 mins to drain if the valve is opened fully....

[Waynne Fowler]

They drained it without checking the pressure?

[Jeff Kruse]

That sure sounds like an empty tank (<200psi).

[whatevah]

In my experience, a tank with ~200psi will take at least 5 mins to drain if the valve is opened fully....

That doesn't sound right to me at all.

[ljjames]

Try it next time you have a tank to VIP

[Tom Nic]

Okey Dokey, this thread has run it's course, and is now degenerating fast. If you wish to discuss then discuss, anymore urinating in each other's general direction and I'm locking the thread.

[whatevah]

Try it next time you have a tank to VIP

I've drained my cylinders to inspect them, swap valves etc a bunch of times though - that's why the statement struck me as inaccurate. Just went out to the garage, located my emptiest cylinder - it was an LP72 at 490psi. Hooked up a reg and hit the 2nd stage purge - took about 30 seconds to run it down from 490psi to 210psi (pressures from my digital gauge). Removed the reg, opened the valve fully and it took 76 seconds to equalize to atmospheric. I would expect a HP100 to equalize slightly faster as the volume at 200psi is a little less. 76 seconds can feel like a long time when it's that noisy, but it's a long way from 5+ minutes.

[ljjames]

in a dive shop, with people standing around (noise hazard and obnoxious) i will hazard a guess that unless they took it to the repair area and popped the old first stage with hose-n-towel (AKA tank draining device) on it, they may have just opened it to a tolerable hissing. if that is the case, then 5 min is not long in the grand scheme of things.

anyhow, it's a moot point. none of us (who are yappin') were there. the valve is getting rebuilt. we'll never really know the answer, and that is ok.

[Tom Nic]

Agreed Laura, which is why the discussion should probably draw to a close.

Move along folks, this horse is dead.

[lundysd]

Whatevah -- do the same thing without a reg on and see how long it takes with the valve cracked.

[Cera]

Ok, gosh, you guys kill me. OF COURSE they put a gauge on and checked, it read 0. So he opened the vavle, let it run, heard the air, opened it farther, let it run. Said "that much air should have registered." (I did not time how long it was open, so now I assume you will find some issue with the diveshop employee now) He put the gague back on. Nothing. Took it off, opened it again all the way open. Closed. Went and got someone else, opened the valve all the way, now two people are scratching thier heads. Again out comes the gauge. I just skipped that part, seemed obvious they would check that first.
I know 5 minutes is not a 'really long time' but it is WAY more than 200psi. Especially after having been opened 3-4 more times in the shop. There is no way it would have not registered. Especially since the begining of this the valve had been opened AT LEAST 10-15 different times, just to see if there was air in it. If it makes you feel better, you can just tell yourself it was empty and move on, I don't really care. I don't need validation. I posted this because it was strange. Empty tank is not strange.
I will try to let everyone else know the results when I get them. I expected them by now. I will call today.

[Jeff Kruse]

Even if the valve was 99.9% blocked it will still read the exact pressure of the tank if you wait a few minutes.

[Cera]

Shop said they took it apart, and did a valve rebuild and it worked. I guess they weren't as interested in finding out the problem as I was. Sorry to get everyone so excited.