Tank Service

Here at Northeast Scuba Supply, we VIP, Hydro and O2 Clean tanks and valves. We have customers who ship their tanks in from as far away as Maine for us to O2 clean their tanks. Also we receive tanks for service from instructors and staff from other local dive shops. Unfortunately, many of these shops feel that just sloshing a little simple green around in the tank for a few minutes and reinstalling the valve constitutes O2 cleaning and are charging unbelievable prices for this disservice. Not us, we understand the critical importance O2 cleaning has to the safety of our customers and shop employees. We have a full time employee whose job is tank and valve service and we also have another full time employee on staff who is a NAUI Technical Instructor Trainer for gas blending / O2 technician.

It is also not uncommon to have customers who come in for hydro testing that have never had a valve serviced before. Some of these tanks are 10 to 15 years old, some even older. These same people will get their reg. rebuilt every year or at least every other year, and yet have never considered having the valves rebuilt! Generally, we recommend most people get their valves rebuilt at hydro, and those who do deep or overhead environment diving consider have it done on a semi annual basis. If you regularly over fill your tanks you should at least consider replacing the burst disks on a semi regular basis. There’s nothing worse than going on that special trip and having the burst disk go in the car wasting your gas.

Click here to download a copy of our tank service form.

Visual Inspection, Steel Tank		$10.00
Visual Inspection w/ eddy current test, Aluminum Tank		$10.00
Visual Inspection, Doubles		$25.00
Hydrostatic Test / tank		$20.00
Tumble Tank Oxygen service		$25.00
Tumble Tank Lt. To Med. rust removal		$25.00
Tumble Tank Heavy rust / Liner tanks		$35.00
O2 clean Valve and rebuild (single) Labor only		$ 5.00
O2 clean Valve and rebuild (H-Valve) Labor only		$10.00
O2 clean Valve and rebuild (manifold) Labor only		$15.00

* Return shipping not included in prices above.

All Tanks Receive the Following:

1. Receive your tanks from your shipper or in person.
2. Enter your tanks into the Northeast Scuba Supply service logs and label tanks.
3. Remove your tanks from your packing and place them tank service area.
4. Visually inspect exterior for signs of damage or corrosion.
5. Note date of last Visual inspection, Hydro, and O2 service rating.
6. Drain gas from tanks taking care to prevent moisture from entering tank.
7. Diagram your tank configuration prior to teardown to ensure proper reassembly.
8. Mark location of bands on tank prior to disassembly to ensure proper reassembly.
9. Remove any external hardware from tank and check for signs of corrosion.
10. Remove tank boots and check for signs of corrosion.
11. Remove any stickers and check for corrosion
12. Use straight edge to check tank for bulges or warping.
13. Remove valves.
14. Clean tank neck threads with brush and blow out tank with grade E breathing air.
15. Visually inspect interior of tank using bright light for signs of corrosion or damage.
16. Steel tanks that are rusty or badly corroded aluminum tanks require tumbling.
17. Inspect all Aluminum tank necks for cracks using Visual Plus eddy current machine.
18. Visually inspect all Aluminum tank necks for cracks and confirm Visual Plus results.
19. Replace tank neck o-ring.
20. Reassemble valves, if required, replacing any damaged o-rings, and reinstall valve.
21. Reinstall tank boots and all external hardware taking care replace items in original configuration.
22. Replace face o-ring on yoke valve.
23. Fill tank with approximately 500psi of Grade E breathing air, submerged and checked for leaks.
24. Fill tank with gas as requested by customer, analyze and label contents.
25. Label tank with V.I.P. sticker showing date, O2 service status, and Visual Plus sticker (Aluminum only).
26. Log your visual test results.
27. Complete your Service sheet so you will know what was done to your tank.

Tanks requiring Hydrostatic Testing

Note: All steel tanks require tumbling after Hydro testing to remove rust and contaminants. All steel tanks hydro’ed will be O2 serviced at time of tumbling. All tanks for use with O2 contents greater than 40% or partial pressure filling require O2 service after hydro testing.

28. Transport tanks to hydrostatic testing facility for testing.
29. All tanks will be “+” tested if applicable and marked as such if they pass.
30. Pick up tanks from hydrostatic testing facility upon completion of test.
31. Record test results tanks into the Northeast Scuba Supply service logs.
32. Tumble all steel tanks to remove rust. (See Oxygen Service)

Tanks requiring Oxygen service

33. Fully disassemble your valves.
34. Valve parts are then soaked in our Low Phosphate acid with surfactants. This ensures proper removal of corrosion.
35. Valve parts are then washed in hot water and parts inspected prior to ultrasonic cleaning.
36. Completely clean all metal, plastic, rubber, and silicone valve parts in an alkaline cleaning solution in our Ultrasonic Cleaner.
37. Carefully inspect your valve parts for any damage or wear.
38. Replace any damaged or severely worn parts.
39. Check your valve body for any visible cracks.
40. Check your isolator for cracks or stressing, which may lead to a rupture.
41. Clean all parts as best as possible for Oxygen service prior to reassembly
    (Note: Some parts are not Oxygen compatible and may not be able to be rendered clean for Oxygen service. Whenever possible, all replacement parts will be Oxygen compatible.)
42. Assemble your valves using Oxygen compatible lubricant.
43. Replace valve burst disks and washers with appropriate psi rating for tank pressure.
44. Reassemble your complete valve to match your initial configuration.
45. Tumble tank on our electric tumbler, with abrasive media and O2 compatible cleaning solution to remove any rust and hydrocarbon oils and contaminants.
46. Drain tanks, and rinse with hot water to remove any remaining cleaning solution.
47. Immediately dry tank with Nitrogen to remove moisture and prevent rust formation on interior surface.
48. Reinstall valve or seal tank to prevent rust formation on interior surface.
49. Label Tank with new V.I.P. sticker showing tank has been cleaned for O2 service.

Your tanks and safety are important to Northeast Scuba Supply. We understand that it is life support and will rebuild and maintain your tank as if we were diving it. If you have any questions feel free to contact us at 610.631.2288. Thank you for your patronage.