Avoiding Equipment Damage

Fill stations are potentially dangerous places — and not just for the operator. Your equipment can suffer, too, if you are not careful.

Unless told otherwise, remove all regulators, air cells and harnesses from cylinders before leaving them to be filled. This is for three reasons:

• Equipment often covers up hydrostatic test marks and inspection decals, which we need to be able to see.
• Cylinders with equipment attached occupy considerably more space than “naked” ones do. Space in the fill station is limited. At peak times, we very often can’t fit all the cylinders we need to in the fill station unless they are stripped down first.
• Equipment left attached to cylinders is more prone to damage — especially if those cylinders need to be moved around during the filling process.

Okay, nobody likes to strip their gear down if they don’t have to. And, during slow times, we are sometimes able to fill cylinders with equipment in place. Nevertheless, unless we tell you otherwise, assume we need your gear removed before leaving tanks in the fill area.

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