Long drive with O2 bottle

[tbone1004]

valve plug.....

I'd argue more risk with a valve plug as there is more place for hydrocarbons to build up and when you go to open it there is a lot of bending in the air path. I do that drive with @victorzamora several times a year. I just stick it in a place where it can't roll around or get jostled and let it be. People carry med o2 bottles around all the time without that much of a concern.

 

[PfcAJ]

valve plug.....

Not on oxygen.

You really want to use a wrench to get one of those out with oxygen behind it?

Eeek!

 

[rhwestfall]

I'd argue more risk with a valve plug as there is more place for hydrocarbons to build up and when you go to open it there is a lot of bending in the air path. I do that drive with @victorzamora several times a year. I just stick it in a place where it can't roll around or get jostled and let it be. People carry med o2 bottles around all the time without that much of a concern.

Not on oxygen.

You really want to use a wrench to get one of those out with oxygen behind it?

Eeek!

agree, my brain was thinking tri-mix $$$......

 

[LiteHedded]

I dont plug my 50% or 100% bottles. i dont mind losing the gas in them and dont want to explode

 

[KevinNM]

I drive 7 hours each way to FL for my cave trips and have carried over 300 cubic feet (2xAL40s and 3xAL80s) with me. Total trip length was over 1200mi. All the tanks were at least at 2500psi for a large portion of the driving.

I just make sure it can't fall at all or jostle too badly and carry on with life. I almost always transport mine with regs attached, but maybe a valve plug is a better option?

Removing valve plugs after they pressurize with 100% can supposedly be exciting. DGX suggests not using their SS plugs on high O2 mixes.

But you can pretty easily get O2 in places where people usually tech dive. If you don't feel comfortable then run it down to a few hundred PSI.

 

[kelemvor]

Personally, I'd drive with the tank filled. Drain them down to almost empty and get it filled at your destination since you're worried about it.

 

[victorzamora]

Removing valve plugs after they pressurize with 100% can supposedly be exciting. DGX suggests not using their SS plugs on high O2 mixes.

But you can pretty easily get O2 in places where people usually tech dive. If you don't feel comfortable then run it down to a few hundred PSI.

Yeah, the more I think about it the more I think that regs are better than plugs. I leave my O2 regs on my tanks because it's an easy way for me to prevent any contamination, and I just carry them that way as well. If they pressurize, the second stage serves as a really convenient valve to remove the pressure for filling.

 

[Texas Torpedo]

@Texas Torpedo may have some insight. I believe he had a o2 tank explode in his truck. Perhaps he can offer some do's and don'ts.

My situation was a bit different as the tank was improperly 02 cleaned. (NOT 02 cleaned, apparently - just the opposite) It was a rare event, and while I did have a steel DIN plug capping the valve, it would have made no difference. If you have internal combustion, no burst disk or wide-open valve is going to vent enough to stop it.. Again, kinda but not really relevant to this discussion.

I agree with not using steel DIN plugs on 50% or greater. As Victor (and maybe another mentioned), a regulator is a great way to prevent accidental roll-on's and loss of 02, without having to worry about using a wrench on a stuck plug due to pressure.. (Scares me a lot more now!)

After everything, I'd still not hesitate to transport deco tanks.. If you want to be even more safe (kids / family / peace of mind), you can transport them with only a few hundred PSI remaining (300-400) in them and you should be golden. Fill them back up at your destination. Empty most out on the way home.. With pure 02..

If you are really paranoid, you could wrap them in shipping blankets sideways.. It would take a hell of an impact to rupture one of these tanks anyway.