Dive Bottle Test - Short & Curly's?

[rabbitslayer]

By the time you add postage and the work then it’s not far off. What do you want to save the £10 of vat and the trade discount?


The thing holds 4500 pounds per every square inch. Threads fail. I’ve had one go on a bottle that was only on its 2nd test. Same deal. Unless you think you’ve been caught in a wholesale scam for what seems to be about £20 profit and only affects two people who ever come in here then the likelihood is the thread has failed and the simple fix is to get those qualified to fix it to fix it.

Rob, firstly, I can't help but say that I would appreciate it if you could be little less judgemental of my character and not so condescending in your comments.


Secondly, I'm fully aware of the dangers involved with this type of equipment which is why I took it in to have it tested. I don't need a certificate in order to fill it as I can get that done privately if needed and I have never transported a bottle other than when purchased and bringing it home or when taking it to be tested. So, if my main priority was to save a few quid over and above the safety of myself and others, I wouldn't have bothered taking it in the first place.


I find that generally, members on here are knowledgeable, experienced and helpful which is why I asked for views and opinions on my experience with a local test centre. My opening post was mainly centred around:

A - How a valve that had had such little and very light use could fail and how could I avoid damage in the future
B - Was it right / fair that a test centre can keep / destroy the equipment if one doesn't authorise / pay for parts and labour.


If the valve has failed then OK scrap it, but why can't they return the bottle without the valve? And yes, perhaps I would like to take it elsewhere i.e. Parwins if that's my preference - why shouldn't I?

Sod it, have a tantrum, save £11 and put the thing in with a set of grips. It’s only 300 bar. In fact why bother buying new? See if you can get one of the 1/2 dicky out almost out of test bottles on social media and save yourself more.


£60 on something that can let go and cover a football field in under a second when it does...

If you are directing this at me I find your comments rude and offensive. I can assure you I'm no skinflint and didn't mention and would never consider a DIY job using secondhand dodgy parts as you describe - How did you cook this up in your head?..

Rob, I'm not belittling the dangers: HPA is nasty stuff if it goes wrong.


The point is that a test centre has to remove the valve anyway to inspect the bottle - no call for muckling it at home with pliers, they have the right kit and training. They get the valves wholesale price, and removing and refitting the valve is part of the test process. Why does this test centre in question have to charge over the odds for something that cost them a lot less than we would pay and would have to do anyway? It's the valve that's mullered, not the bottle so why are they not even returning the bottle sans valve?


There are 2 test centres around Peterborough: one is a pain and Parwin's are good... Paul will show you what's wrong, no withholding, just a fair test process with fully transparent information.

Thanks Jerry. My thoughts entirely. Parwins next time for sure.

But sometimes on these threads we can make it seem this is a casual item or people can get that idea.

And sometimes people just jump to conclusions without taking the time to read through and digest before pulling triggers.

If they return the bottle it's out of test it involves the OP taking it away, which as I am lead to believe is against the transport regulations which is what the test is about....

Transporting an empty bottle (evident due to no valve) is against transport regs? Really?

You can fill HPA at home without a test, it's not illegal or anything.

Not when the bottle has no valve fitted.

It's when you move them that matters. The cylinders have to be either in test to be moved, or destroyed.

Again, you can't fill a cylinder without a valve assembly so completely harmless. No one has suggested they return the complete unit (bottle and valve assembly) just return the parts that are OK if that's the customers wish.

Like an MOT there's a certain set of regulations for testing, and on failure there's a certain set of regulations for when that happens.

They don't keep the car or scrap it if you don't authorise them to carry out the repairs - Repairs to the car are carried out wherever the customer wishes

The reason they have to be destroyed is so when they are scrapped someone doesn't need to inspect them to make sure they're safe for recycling, they are no longer cylinders, just 3 bits of cylinder.

And why should a perfectly good, safe cylinder be scrapped. If I were a business, I'd be tempted to buy and fit a new valve and sell on - would that not cross your mind?

The centre is a business. They get things in at X price, they do Y work and charge Z. I don't see why it should make a loss for it's time and expertise to give someone a £10 or so discount. They'd still have to charge VAT.

Who's asking for a discount and I'd always expect to pay VAT. I'm not a business but I and others on here work hard for their money so why should I not question something I feel 'MAY' be unfair and taking what I've worked hard for?...

Now there's a really simple way of solving this, instead of wasting all this time on the internet someone could phone Idest and ask, or failing that 2-3 test centres and see what they say about giving a bottle back when it's failed. Once you have that info then you can move on.

FFS!.. Wasting time on the internet?.. this is an airgun forum and we are discussing an issue relating to airguns. You have over 13500 posts on here, so should I assume you are nothing but a mega internet waster? Honestly...

It would be interesting because I had a cylinder fail once and I didn't get to keep the head... but then I'm not that tempted to do a diy assembly after buying a cylinder and I suspect the for the costs involved it wouldn't have been much of a saving.

The DIY route again... I never mentioned DIY.. You could have kept it as a spare and had the centre fit it if / when one failed later on. That's not penny pinching it's called a common sense saving. In business they call it a cost saving and my money is as important to me as it is to them..

Safety should always come first, no doubting that whatsoever but that doesn't mean common sense should be locked away either. Wake up and smell the silicon grease..

ATB