CONTENTS:
P.O.D. Dive Club Info!
Cayman Trip
Turks & Caicos Trip
What's Up With VIPs?
Harbor Clean-Up
New Products Showcase
"Year of the Ocean"
Fiji Trip Contest
Cayman Trip Contest
What's the Deal With VIPs, Anyway?
For most divers, the visual inspection of a tank is not given a lot of thought. It's just something that you need to have done to your tank if you want to get it filled, right? Well, in a way, that is correct, but why do dive stores require a current "evidence of inspection" sticker on your tank?
Visual inspections of high pressure gas cylinders are required in many industries. But for scuba, the visual inspection process plays a more prominent role than for the gas industry because these cylinders are used in ways never imagined by those who first developed cylinder safety related guidelines.
Divers submerge cylinders in both fresh and salt water. Water may enter the cylinder during air filling as well as back flow through the regulator when the cylinder is nearly empty. Too little thought is given to a regular program of care. Because cylinders appear to be hardy, which they are, owners tend to view them as indestructable, which they are not! Cylinders are dropped, banged against one another and struck against a wide variety of other hard objects.
Divers' care can contribute to a cylinder's long life. Very poor care may reduce the cylinder's service life to a few months or cause it to rupture explosively, endangering both lives and property.
Dive professionals who inspect and service cylinders play a vital role in ensuring that cylinders have a maximum useful life, because while a few cylinders do explode each year, many hundreds are removed from service by visual inspectors and hydrostatic facilities before people are killed and businesses are destroyed.
In the U.S., federal regulations address aspects of cylinders handling and safety. Title 29CFR 1910.101 states each employer shall determine that the cylinders under his control are in a safe condition to the extent that this can be determined by visual inspection. This regulation supports the dive industry in requiring that all cylinders have a current "evidence of inspection" sticker in order to be filled. No exceptions!!
How Often to Visually Inspect?
The frequency of inspection in dependent upon usage. Experience shows us that cylinders used by average scuba divers providing average care under average conditions must be visually inspected at least annually and hydrostatically re-tested every five years. Since conditions and people are seldom "average", a visual inspection is appropriate whenever a problem is suspected. An alert service technician should consider an immediate visual inspection when any of the following occur:
- damaged cylinder exterior
- internal noise
- increased weight
- evidence of corrosion product on regulator or filter
- cylinder completely emptied or bust disc fails
- air compressor defective or unusual air smells
- unknown previous history
- a removed valve
- after hydrostatic retest
- after long-term storage
Pacific Scuba Center, Inc. has technicians who have received appropriate training and are fully qualified to provide proper care and service for your scuba cylinders. We follow the guidelines provided by the Compressed Gas Association, the U.S. Dept. of Transportation (DOT) and the American National Standards Institute. The guidelines are strictly followed for one primary reason: The Safety of Our Customers and Employees! If the dive industry can maintain the established safety standards, in can continue to self-regulate rather than government regulation, which will alleviate escalating costs!
Pacific Scuba Center uses
Visualize Plus!
Visual Plus uses eddy currents to thoroughly inspect the neck region region of aluminum cylinders. Visual Plus measures tiny fluctuations in the electrical current and can detect the smallest imperfections. By using visual plus, we are able to detect cylinder flaws that other inspectors, who rely only the naked eye, might miss or wrongly diagnose. Your scuba cylinder will receive the most thorough, superior visual inspection possible!
Isn't it time to have your cylinder inspected with Visual Plus?
United Nations Declares 1998 "Year of the Ocean"
In recognition of the importance the ocean plays in our lives, the United Nations has declared 1998 as the International Year of the Ocean. This designation is an opportunity for all of us to become more aware of the role the ocean plays in our lives and to initiate the changes needed to sustain the marine resources on which we depend.
The OCEAN...
![[ Ocean ]](/spacer.gif)
- It covers more than two-thirds of the planet.
- It provides food for more than half the world's population.
- It influences global weather patterns.
- It serves as a global highway for transporting products and materials.
Things You Can Do to Protect Our Oceans:
- Learn all you can
- Be a smart shopper
- Conserve water
- Reduce household pollutants
- Reduce waste
- Reduce automobile pollution
- Protect ocean wildlife
- Be considerate of sealife habitats
- Get involved - beach and u/w cleanups
- Care! Pass on your knowledge
Year of the Ocean - Get Into It!
Or get a friend into it and earn $10! For every student you refer to our "learn to dive" certification course, you can earn $10 in store credit to be used towards any purchase.
Or get back into it if you've been dry for a while! With Pacific Scuba's Scuba Review program, you can refresh knowledge and skills when it's convenient for you. Drop by for a brochure.
Learn something new about it! Pacific Scuba Center offers more than 10 different specialty dive courses where you can learn more about the ocean. How about beginner fish identification or underwater hunting? Drop by for our specialty course brochure.
Discover it! We think everyone should discover the ocean, but maybe a swimming pool is a starting point for some. Try one of our free Discover Scuba sessions if you've never tried diving before.
