OP
Milkman670
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Really, you guys would all make a 4 hr round trip to get a vip and fill when it has not been used since last hydro, vip and fill. I can see the co and o2 test
Is old air safe?
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KDAD
Contributor
Once you use it your going to need to do the four hour trip for the vip and fill anyway. Do it now and be safe or take your chance do the dive and then do the trip next week. Only you can balance the risk reward
As a general note, there are many safety items in scuba such as vip and plb's. The vip is understandable a burden for you and a plb can be costly for others that could use one. The point is is that when these things are needed and you couldn't afford or didn't want to spend the time or the money, something happens and you look back after the fact was it really worth it. Drifting at sea all alone without hopes of a pickup when you could've brought a plb...
Sorry for getting a bit sidetracked but it shows why some of us are against what will probably be a non-event diving the tank and erring on the side of safety
As a general note, there are many safety items in scuba such as vip and plb's. The vip is understandable a burden for you and a plb can be costly for others that could use one. The point is is that when these things are needed and you couldn't afford or didn't want to spend the time or the money, something happens and you look back after the fact was it really worth it. Drifting at sea all alone without hopes of a pickup when you could've brought a plb...
Sorry for getting a bit sidetracked but it shows why some of us are against what will probably be a non-event diving the tank and erring on the side of safety
I've had a year old fill on an al80 test lower o2% than I got from the test done at fill time. I didn't own a CO tester at the time, so I dumped and refilled. If he owns a tester, then yeah test and if you get the expected result then dive it is what I'd do.
If not, I'd take it somewhere prior to diving it.
If it got filled at Aquasport I wouldn't have any concerns.
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I agree with those saying get it tested after that amount of time. I have heard it said air is good if not older that 4 months. Others say 6 months. Others say it doesn't matter how long. I think I've used air that is 4-6 months old. Older than that why risk it?
I'm not questioning the fill as I don't know the operation that performed it but think about even a bacterial contamination that might not have been an issue two years ago has now had two years to contaminate the entire cylinder. Not saying it's happened and in a pool probably wouldn't have an issue but for me why risk it? I've wasted more time and money than a day and $20 on much more trivial things. I wouldn't think anything less of a person who didn't get it inspected and refilled before using it. Just wouldn't do it myself is all.
Basking Ridge Diver
Contributor
I would not and here is why - I am a volunteer fireman - we use a mobile cascade system on our rescue. We have occasional fires where we need to use the air to fill up our packs (SCBA) for active fires. But in general we can go a year or three without using the mobile system - we do not drain the tanks and refill until our hydro's are due. So worst case it goes 5 years - best case after a year or two - but either way except for the hydro - the 6000 psi bottles do not get drained completely. I have never heard of an issue in our department or any OSHA statements to the contrary of using "old air"...
That said there is nothing wrong with dumping air and refilling... But that is not what I would do - I would test it because I did not fill it and go from there.
YMMV
OP
Milkman670
Registered
Good points Basking, we have Scott air packs on our oil rigs that only get checked during oil slow downs(now) otherwise they can sit for years just waiting for that h2s bump and we trust that air to save our lives.
In a steel tank I would want to test it before using it, I have seen what can happen when a tank rusts. With aluminum I really would not worry that much but if I has access to and O2 meter I would test it. If I was comfortable with the shop that filled it but had not access to an O2 meter I would use it in the pool anyway. Let's face it, how old was the air when it was put in the tank. Even if you believe the creationists it was at least 6000 years old.
Some is old, plenty is "new". Oxygen produced through photosynthesis and nitrogen produced through denitrification.
Don't SCBA and other one atmosphere based consumption of compressed air have a vastly reduced risk of ill effects due to contamination? I'm pretty sure 15ppm CO in an SCBA tank is not going to be life threatening. 15ppm CO in a scuba tank at 120' - I'm not so sure about that.
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