CO Analysers

[DandyDon]

After reading this I purchased the $40. CO tester. I am doing the same as Scuba-Lad, if a tank shows ANY CO I refuse it. Basically a go/no go type of testing. I truly don't care what the PPM is, 1 is too much.
Thanks for helping make more divers aware of this!

Yep, and I agreed with his post right after with a link to the same unit for $10 less, but y'all are on the right track. I wish it was powered by 2 AAs instead of 3 AAs as the latter are such a waste, but just take plenty of spares on trips. The claimed Accuracy: CO: ±5% or ±10PPM won't give precise readings, but it'll keep you from getting hurt or worse. Do check that it responds to car fumes from time to time, and don't get hurt doing that. Write the purchase date on the unit with a laundry marker and replace after a year as sensor accuracy will drift.

Great post Scuba-Lad. Good reasoning and presentation.

Yep, as long as it doesn't lead to a false negative. Your testing to make sure it responds sounds sound along with your approach

Get one for $30, write the date on the back, and replace it in a year to avoid sensor drift. Send the old one to recycling.

 

[kelemvor]

I'd say I've dived 100-ish tanks and of those I refused about 5 due to detecting CO.

That's an incredible number! I've been testing tanks for a little over 5 years - around 300 tanks (I test my dive buddy's and my own and occasionally someone else on the boat). I've come across 1ppm CO only once.

If you haven't already, you should raise hell with whoever fills your tanks. It's definitely worth considering a change to a new fill station if they don't take some action. That is, unless you're in some remote destination (Honduras or something) and have no other options.

Well done on the testing. You might not be here today if you weren't doing it!

 

[DandyDon]

If you haven't already, you should raise hell with whoever fills your tanks.

Actually, that is a drawback to using a cheap tank tester. You don't have a lot of engineering and testing in the unit to back you up. Just politely let the operator know that they could have issues.

I've been testing tanks for a little over 5 years - around 300 tanks (I test my dive buddy's and my own and occasionally someone else on the boat). I've come across 1ppm CO only once.

I know that's boring, and the 1 ppm reading could have been an error. It's difficult to be totally accurate in the 0.000001 range. But keep doing it. I guess you bump test your tester? Test the exhaust of a car right after starting to ensure it reacts. A well tuned car with a catalytic converter shouldn't produce much CO, but they do at start up.

 

[kelemvor]

I guess you bump test your tester?

I have a bottle of 30ppm CO from McNeill enterprises. I'm generally using a cootwo, but also have a custom analyzer I built.

 

[rddvet]

That's an incredible number! I've been testing tanks for a little over 5 years - around 300 tanks (I test my dive buddy's and my own and occasionally someone else on the boat). I've come across 1ppm CO only once.

If you haven't already, you should raise hell with whoever fills your tanks. It's definitely worth considering a change to a new fill station if they don't take some action. That is, unless you're in some remote destination (Honduras or something) and have no other options.

Well done on the testing. You might not be here today if you weren't doing it!

Those cheap analyzers are wildly inaccurate. I wouldn’t raise hell because he could end up looking like an idiot. I’ve tested well over 500 tanks and have had 1 with measurable co

 

[kelemvor]

Yeah I guess I didn't think about that. I think I paid as much for a sensor as he paid for the whole unit.

 

[Scuba-Lad]

I rather suspect it was an o-ring or seal gone on the compressor, as recently I've not had any bad tanks (or had any CO sickness for that matter), so I suspect the supplier changed the seal on their compressor and will continue to run it until they have some kind of problem again. Or perhaps someone was smoking near the inlet at the time, who knows...

I'm quite confident that my cheap ass reader is accurate when it says there is some CO present, even if it's only showing 1ppm - CO present or not present is what I am interested in, and I don't feel that I get false positives. False negatives are theoretically possible I guess, though I am really sensitive to CO and have not had any health problems since testing so I can only assume nothing is slipping through the net based on bio-feedback.

There is very little point in me complaining. I live in Indonesia and it's very racist despite what the tourist brochure may depict, as a foreigner, I have no rights here. The tank suppliers (we rent the whole tank, not just a fill) here are mostly Indonesian owned. They are a really big supplier I might add, owning a few thousand tanks as I understand it. For me to go and complain will just annoy the locals and the opinion of them is very much "you don't like it, go back to your own country".
Additionally, even if someone were to die due to diving one of their bad tanks, the tank supplier would just say it wasn't them. The owner is rich and corruption is rife here - the law is only enforced when there is money to be extorted and gained by the police, judge, lawyer etc. Justice is not really part of the system. If I tried to sue an Indonesian here I would lose, because I am not Indonesian, and probably be bent over and milked for all my money at the same time before being deported. Plenty of horror stories out there.

On the brighter side, to rent a tank of air (delivered) is only about 2 USD per 11.1L tank. Coupled with me testing every tank to make sure it's safe, and having to swap the odd o-ring on the yoke seat here and there, I can't really grumble too much.

I'm very glad my posts are helping people become more aware of this extra (in my opinion essential) check before diving.

 

[Jake 10]

Is the MiniOx a good analyzer ?

 

[DandyDon]

Is the MiniOx a good analyzer ?

It had better be for $400 & up. That's a medical O2 analyzer line. Where did you hear about that?

It does not measure CO.

 

[Jake 10]

It had better be for $400 & up. That's a medical O2 analyzer line. Where did you hear about that?

It does not measure CO.

The PADI EANx manual shows the MiniOX in page 23