Exploding scuba tank kills one - Florida

[Hallmac]

Not exactly, you asked him to provide the work, that means he made no demands upon you, while he asks you to trust him and the service he provided, the choice to trust them before and after is yours.

 

[boulderjohn]

I suspect that in addition to people who really know what to look for and really are doing the inspections before putting their own stickers on, there are people who just slap new stickers on without even opening the tank. In that case, they are not only putting themselves at risk, they are even more putting the shop that fills the tank at risk, because that is where the problem is most likely to occur.

When I checked my tanks the other day, I used special instruments to peer deep into the tank in search of pits and inspect the neck threads under magnification in search of the tiniest crack. If I had seen pits in the interior or the exterior, I had the tools to check their depth, and I know what depths are permitted. I checked for bowing on the outside, and I have the tools to measure it and the knowledge of what is permitted. Here is a site for those who don't know what I am talking about (and, yes, it is possible to get some of them cheaper).

All of that is possible for anyone who is downloading stickers as well, but I somehow suspect that some people who don't feel like paying for shops to do their inspections might not feel like paying for that equipment and knowledge, either. Those are the ones I am concerned about.

If you only have a couple of tanks, it is probably cheaper to have the shop do it. If you have enough tanks, it is indeed a big savings to do your own, even buying the equipment. But it doesn't cost all that much more to get the training and certification, too.

 

[Culcuhain]

regarding the yearly visuals.
Here is how I look at it.
There are 2 LDS that I go to.
One will fill my 6351 AL80, and my other 3 non-time bombs, and my 4 LP72s (one from 1959).
They cost about $6 each to fill.
I drop them off usually on a Monday and pick them up on Friday. (They are on the way home from work)
The visuals are all different months, so if I have to pay $15 extra on month, then so be it. It is not like that will break me.
Sure I could spend the time taking the valve off, popping a light in there and checking it out and adding a sticker, or just drop them off and pay for my time.
I will pay for my time.
That's me though.
The other LDS I use is for training.

As far as the accident?
My guess it was an AL40 filled with O2 that got dropped/banged on the way out the door and ruptured and flashed.

If it is true about the stolen gear, then who knows how his gear was taken care... The one dive shop refusing to fill it could be:
He wanted 02 in a non 02 Cleaned tank and he got it o2 filled someplace else and then banged/dropped it.

I hate thieves.

Let's all go dive!

 

[drbill]

I'm a gal that pretty much has gills & dive w/ an AL50. I've yet to see a guy dive with anything smaller than an AL80.

While it isn't really germaine to this thread, I know of a number of instructors who bring classes to the Casino Point dive park and dive with an Al50 or 63, especially ones doing DSDs. As has been pointed out, deco and pony bottles are often much smaller than an Al80. I've dived with ones from 13 to 40 cu ft.

As for doing the VIPs on my own tanks, given my not-so-perfect eyesight I relegate that to the dive pros in my local shop. They are younger, have better eyesight and are trained to do the job. I only own four tanks and $60 isn't too much to pay for that service every year.

 

[Rogersea]

Police: Two scuba tanks found at explosion scene were stolen - St. Petersburg Times

I really pity his parents as this this unfolds and the news of stolen property comes out...

I have been diving for many many years and have never personally seen nor know anyone who has had a cylinder explode. I have only seen it during training and in the media. I perform VIPS and HYDROS in my little shop and the responsibility to fail suspect tanks is easy to uphold and the guidlines are clear(in my opinion) , I have not had a customer complain about failing of cylinders.....

 

[Avonthediver]

By Jamal Thalji, Times Staff Writer
In Print: Thursday, September 15, 2011

ST. PETERSBURG — The investigation into the deadly scuba tank blast that killed Russell Vanhorn II on Sunday continues to move forward this week.

Investigators had to go back to the scene of the explosion Tuesday to find a key piece of evidence left in the rubble. They're also retracing the tank's history and arranging for local and federal experts to test it.

St. Petersburg police are also exploring this angle: Was any scuba gear involved in the explosion stolen?

"We're looking at the possibility that some … stolen equipment may have turned up here," said police spokesman Mike Puetz.

Vanhorn was accused of stealing a dive reel from his former employer, Scuba West in Hudson, according to court records. In August he was charged with misdemeanor petty theft.

According to a Pasco County Sheriff's Office report, a Scuba West employee said she saw a dive reel inside Vanhorn's lunch bag in April. Cave divers use the reels so they won't get lost.

She determined Vanhorn hadn't paid for the reel, the report said. Owner Jeff Tobey said he fired Vanhorn, and received this e-mail from him: "I wish I could turn back time and stop myself from taking the reel."

The shop reported more equipment missing: seven tanks, four dive lights, a side-mounted buoyancy control device and a regulator. In July a client reported seeing Vanhorn with the shop's tanks at Eagle Nest, a cave diving spot in Hernando County.

But there was no evidence that Vanhorn took anything but the dive reel, according to the State Attorney's Office. He wasn't arrested but was sent a summons ordering him to appear in court next month.

Vanhorn, 23, is a veteran of the Iraq war who learned to scuba dive while he was in the Marine Corps. He was preparing to go diving with two others early Sunday morning when police said the tank he was carrying exploded, destroying the condo at 5865 37th Ave. No one else was injured.

When investigators reassembled the tank, they discovered that the diving regulator was missing. That controls the pressure of the gases that divers inhale. They returned to the blast site on Tuesday and found it in the rubble.

Investigators still believe the blast was accidental. But as a precaution the tank will be tested at the Pinellas County Forensic Lab for signs of anything combustible.

"It's to rule out the possibility that a foreign substance got into the tank," Puetz said. "There's no allegations that anyone put anything volatile on there."

Then the tank will be given to the U.S. Transportation Department, which regulates the devices, to determine exactly what went wrong.

Police are also tracking down the history of the tank: who filled, serviced and inspected it.

Investigators ask anyone who has gone diving with Vanhorn or has any firsthand information — and not just theories — about the blast to call police at (727) 893-7780. Anonymous tipsters can call (727) 892-5000 or text police at (727) 420-8911.

Times staff writer Molly Moorhead contributed to this report

HOLY CRAP BATMAN comes to mind...

 

[openmindOW]

There was a thread a couple of months ago in which people spoke blithely about getting visual inspection stickers off of the internet and slapping them on their tanks annually to save the cost and bother of the annual inspection.

I have heard of an LDS that does it. I can't prove it; it's hearsay.

 

[Cadillac Diveguy]

Here's the final report from the DOT with regards to 6351-T6 cylinders written in 2006.
http://edocket.access.gpo.gov/2006/pdf/E6-14255.pdf

 

[DaleC]

Not exactly, you asked him to provide the work, that means he made no demands upon you, while he asks you to trust him and the service he provided, the choice to trust them before and after is yours.

Skirting the issue a bit. Ultimately, the customer is made to trust the LDS, or has to resort to self servicing. In the world of risk I wonder which group experiences more negative consequences - the LDS worker who must deal with a DIY'r or customers who must deal with shoddy LDS service/repairs. I can relate my own experience of wondering why a recently serviced reg kept filling with water only to find the tech had forgotten to put in the exhaust valve. One can say the LDS worker risks blowing up but the customer risks drowning so

In the end, I think some people will drive themselves absolutely batty trying to micro manage scuba risk and liability. Then those same batty people light up a smoke, grab a six pack of Coors or a super sized slurpy and drive down the freeway with no seatbelts on.

 

[redacted]

Being somewhat of a skeptic, I did a little research on Blast overpressure effects. The table on this page is a good start: ttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Overpressure#Blast_overpressure

This incident is surely off the table on the low side but I was still somewhat surprised at the effects of 10, 5, and 2 psi overpressures on structures and people. Assuming a 100 cu ft tank and a smaller room of say 1000 cu ft (10x10x10) we would be looking at 1.4 psi overpressure which is not too far off the chart. So, I concluded that the reported damage levels may well be reasonable from a failed scuba tank of air or other common breathing gas.