LB> I have to admit, however, that I worry a little (not a lot) about
LB> a dive shop that routinely breaks the fill rules.  It makes me
LB> wonder if they are breaking any other rules, like compressor
LB> maintenance for example.
-> Only a stupid one does.  I broke some rules, obviously.  Compressor
-> maintenance was not one of them......why cut my own throat?  That
-> kind of bad news can kill a dive business quicker than anything else
-> I can think of.
->
-> To ease your mind a little.....remember that while carbon monoxide
-> has no odor, the other by-products of combustion *do* have an
-> odor.....think of your car exhaust.....very difficult to ignore.  The
-> most common problem with saturated filters is not carbon monoxide
-> however; it's oil saturation.  Believe me, if you've ever breathed a
-> tank that has oil mist in it, you'll know it instantly. It stinks,
-> tastes bad, and will give you a sore throat in no time flat.  Only a
-> moron would even attempt to dive with such a contaminated air supply.
->
-> Chances are, if you can't smell anything in your air, there is
-> nothing bad in your air.
I certainly believe what you say.  If I didn't, I'd never have started
diving, let along kept at it for so many years.  Still, if I don't know
a shop or the people in it, I judge by appearances.  If a shop is
cluttered and dirty, I'm less confident.  It's not really the shop that
does no maintenance that worry me, it's the operator who puts
maintenance off a little too long or is a little less alert to a problem
than others.  No same person is going to deliberately contaminate
air, but the lazy, cheap or inexperienced person may push the limits to
the point where someone suffers.  A one in a million chance sounds safe
unless the one happens to be my wife.
On the other hand, I'll often visit cluttered shops when buying
equipment.  Deals can often be found which have been overlooked, like
last year's prices on just what I wanted.
To highlight the risk, one of the dive shops in the Keys seems to have
sent a diver out with a tank containing several times the lethal dosage
of carbon monoxide.  While the carbon monoxide was not the cause of
death, it is strongly suspected of being a contributing factor.
Let this be a warning to dive shop owners.  We judge your shop by
appearance first (gets us in the door) and by the demonstrated
competence of your staff second.
Lee
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