need DOT plus VIP?

[Ron]

Someone knowledgeable help me out here. For years, I have visually inspecyed my own tanks using my PSI certification. I use the PSI stickers with my inspector number written on them. Two Tampa area dive shops told me that they wouldn't fill my tanks, which were currently in hydro and visual because "I did them myself, and I am not a visual requalification center under DOT guidelines."

Is this new? I have been getting my tanks filled like this for like 3 years, and never once has anyone ever said this to me.

[Bryan]

Very common in Fla...Had my PRINTED vip stickers refused on a customers cylinders I inspected..According to them my stickers were not legit because I dont own a brick and mortar store...

[Ron]

I also crawled title 49 CFR part 173.34 and it says this:

173.34(e)(3) Visual Inspection.. each time a scuba cylinder is retested, it must be visually inspected, internally and eternally, in accordance with CGA Pamphlets C-6, C-6.1 as applicable.The only requirement in the Code of Federal Regulations for visual internal and external examination is at the time of retest (once every 5 years, etc) Annual visual inspections are by mutual agreement... scuba cylinder owners submit their cylinders for annual inspections to individuals known to have been trained and certified to do annual inspections.A person who only performs visual inspections on DOT or ICC specification cylinders is not required to obtain a retester identification number. However, a compressed gas cylinder may only be rejected by a person who has obtained such a retester identification number.

Seems like I am fine. The moral of the story is avoid Scuba Quest in Tampa. Do we still have a sticky for our black list?

[luis]

The real irony is that the DOT does recognize the training provided by PSI/PCI and although it is not the only way to obtain training, it is actually mentioned as a source for training. This is as opposed to many brick and mortar dive shops that have never had any actual formal training.

I am not saying that the owners of a shop are not capable of buying a copy of CGA- C6 or obtain the knowledge from someone else, but most don’t. Most dive shop employees have no real clue of what the actual pass/ fail criteria is for a visual.

A copy of the CGA documents are expensive and most dive shop owners do not buy them (unless they are also hydro stations, in which case they are required by law to own the latest paper copy). My local LDS loaned me their copy of a CGA document and they almost got fined during an inspection because they forgot I had it. A quick call and I returned their copy.

[SurfLung]

- I'm confused over what is "Required By Law" and what is simply a dive industry mandate. I read somewhere that the DOT Law is a 5 year requirement for hydrotest including a magnaflux-type visual inspection for cracks.
- But my understanding of the annual Scuba VIP program is that it is NOT a law.
- Further, my LDS seemed totally dependent on the visual inspection done by the hydrotester... He lowered a long skinny light into a steel 72 I bought on Ebay and said the stuff I saw as minor surface oxidation was "pretty deep pitting". When I politely disagreed, he said something like "I always let the Hydro guy determine that." So I got to wondering if all he does on the annual is hang the light down inside and look into the opening?
- Ron, is your PSI associated with a certification to do hydrotesting? Or, is that a dive shop VIP certification? And what does a dive shop VIP actually entail?

[Bryan]

There is a whole lot more to doing a correct visual inspection than putting a shiny light inside a cylinder.

CLICK HERE

[swimjim]

There is a whole lot more to doing a correct visual inspection than putting a shiny light inside a cylinder.

CLICK HERE

I took his VCI class in March. Holy Mackerel, that's a lot to absorb! Very interesting class though.

Jim