Old Air?

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suds - 26 May 2005 07:46 GMT

So, ... the wife, kids, and I survived the big trip out to Rabbit Island
last weekend. We had been wanting to get out to Rabbit Island since before
we even had our kayaks. Talk about a "perfect storm," :the best laid
plans..." etc though. I'll tell you one thing I did learn; how happy I am
to have spent $400 to get a good set of vhf radios. I didn't actually have
to use them that day but I came d@mn close. Just knowing they were there,
if needed, helped keep us both calm and focused on getting ourselves out on
our own.

Anyway, the reef off Rabbit Island is just spectacular. The wife and I are
headed back out there this weekend (sans kids and weather permitting) with
gear in the tankwell. This will be my first time sucking a reg since I
suffered a PE almost a year ago. And I just realized that that is how long
those tanks have been sitting downstairs, unused: a year. Now I
could/should take the tanks in for an annual but I'd feel rather silly
bringing in a set of full tanks. The tanks have been properly stored for
the last year. I can't think of any reason why not to use them. Are they
safe?

suds

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Dillon Pyron - 26 May 2005 10:12 GMT

>So, ... the wife, kids, and I survived the big trip out to Rabbit Island
>last weekend. We had been wanting to get out to Rabbit Island since before
[quoted text clipped - 16 lines]
>
>suds

Steel or Al? There's the old UL about steel tanks rusting on the
inside and consuming the O2. But I would think you'd have some pretty
shitty tanks for that to happen. You might want to roll them on the
floor for few minutes to make sure the gasses are mixed. :-)

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dillon
Outside of a dog, a book is a man's best friend.
Inside of a dog, it's too dark to read.

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Lee Bell - 26 May 2005 11:24 GMT

> Steel or Al? There's the old UL about steel tanks rusting on the
> inside and consuming the O2. But I would think you'd have some pretty
> shitty tanks for that to happen.

The rust would be a serious problem before the gas was effected enough to be
dangerous. If you're worried about this, stick an O2 analyzer on the tanks.
If they're still 21%, there should be no problem.

> You might want to roll them on the floor for few minutes to make sure the
> gasses are mixed. :-)

It's a good thing you put a smiley at the end of that.

Lee

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Dillon Pyron - 27 May 2005 01:17 GMT

>> Steel or Al? There's the old UL about steel tanks rusting on the
>> inside and consuming the O2. But I would think you'd have some pretty
[quoted text clipped - 10 lines]
>
>Lee

There's one guy where I get my fills who insists on doing that. The
shop owner tells him to quit, but still ...

I've had him put an analyzer on a fresh fill to show him.

If he wasn't such a good maintenance tech, he'd probably be gone. The
shop owner or his wife usually do the mixing.

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dillon
Outside of a dog, a book is a man's best friend.
Inside of a dog, it's too dark to read.

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Lee Bell - 26 May 2005 11:19 GMT

> Now I could/should take the tanks in for an annual but I'd feel rather
> silly bringing in a set of full tanks. The tanks have been properly
> stored for the last year. I can't think of any reason why not to use
> them. Are they safe?

If you mean is the gas safe after being stored for a year, sure. If you
mean have the tanks deteriorated or grown something nasty inside, probably
not; but, deterioration you can't see from the outside and things growing in
the tank are the reasons you have them inspected annually. Assuming there
is little chance I'd want to fill and use them the same weekend, I'd dive
them and then get them inspected. If I thought I might want to fill them
for additional dives, then I'd get them inspected first. The decision
regarding what you should do is entirely yours.

Lee

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