Testing Tanks for CO - Redux

[Karibelle]

BTW, the reason they are doing better is that they know that some of us are testing, AND will report them in detail if we find tainted tanks. Do post if you do.

Congratulations on having your efforts make a difference, Don!

Another reason that things are improving is this, from the December issue of DAN's High Viz newsletter:

DAN Donates Ten Gas Analyzers in Cozumel
Contaminated breathing gas, especially gas with high levels of carbon monoxide, is a potential hazard of which every diver is aware. DAN and Analox Sensor Technology have teamed up to help provide a solution by donating an Analox CO Clear Carbon Monoxide Alarm (CO Clear™) to 10 dive operators in Cozumel, Mexico.

I believe that as of spring 2012, all 10 units were installed and functioning at various fill stations on the island.

kari

 

[SBP Studios]

Or just dive with a dive op with a quality tank fill operation.

and how might one know who that is?

 

[DandyDon]

Congratulations on having your efforts make a difference, Don!

Another reason that things are improving is this, from the December issue of DAN's High Viz newsletter:

DAN Donates Ten Gas Analyzers in Cozumel
Contaminated breathing gas, especially gas with high levels of carbon monoxide, is a potential hazard of which every diver is aware. DAN and Analox Sensor Technology have teamed up to help provide a solution by donating an Analox CO Clear Carbon Monoxide Alarm (CO Clear&#8482 to 10 dive operators in Cozumel, Mexico.

I believe that as of spring 2012, all 10 units were installed and functioning at various fill stations on the island.

kari

Well it wasn't just me, there were many of us involved, but I guess I am the most vocal. Many pros in various fields don't like to post about it for various reasons, and it's easier for a layman to post after gathering facts.

I did not like DAN taking the donation approach as the ops should get their own, and free stuff is seldom treated as seriously as purchased gear. Installing and maintaining the units is a lot more than plug & play, and I haven't heard anything about them since the first article.

and how might one know who that is?

Any Op can screw up. There are two ways to know if CO is in a tank or not: test the tank or send a blood sample to Cancun after an accident. I prefer testing.

 

[SBP Studios]

Dandy - is your business testing tanks by chance?

 

[DandyDon]

Dandy - is your business testing tanks by chance?

Nope, far from it. I'm a layman who got upset that the industry was not using newer technology to clean up an old problem. It wasn't easy finding the facts as they are just no publicized - DAN's big failing in my opinion, and I once enjoyed the opportunity to tell DAN's CEO that! I was surprised that he took the call, and he was very nice, but just words.

There are a couple of labs who do test tank qualities. Padi used to require quarterly tests, and while those were just snapshots of a passing picture, they did find that over 3% fail Canadian standards.

I've also been asked how much commission I make on CO testers. In truth, I've spent more than I wanted to, but not so much. Some old models have been reintroduced with the recent publicity, and some of them are good too. The Analox unit is the easiest to use tho, the company is super, and then the rental company linked below pickup on the idea.

 

[cvchief]

and how might one know who that is?

That would be Ron's way of cheerleading Aldora, his preferred op, that has a new compressor station of their own on the island. (Which I had heard at one point was going to expand to provide fill services to other ops.) Dave from Aldora is into gas stuff in the States, I believe, so is an expert on the stuff.

On the other hand, Ron, wasn't it Dave from Aldora who also set up Meridiano with inline testers and all that gear too?

There are two majors in the filling tanks businesses, Meridiano and Linn Mar. Those are the trucks you see at Caleta delivering many tanks and picking them up at the end of the day. A few operations have their own fill stations. I think it was one of these small stations at a resort down south that last had a bit of a problem and made people sick and created a stir. Did they end up losing the concession over that?

 

[Ron Lee]

cvchief, Dave may have already described his operation in another thread on this issue. He may have also discussed any role that he played (or did not) in getting CO monitors installed elsewhere. I do not recall specifics but a search may find those answers.

Personally, I am not concerned as others may be about this issue. I agree that standards and preventive/monitoring efforts should be improved to the point where people do not feel a need to take their own monitor.

That may never happen for some. So be it. It has no bearing on what I do.

Now if you really want to prevent diver deaths, take better care of newbies and cruise ship passengers. There is an area where you can really improve safety and reduce deaths.

 

[DandyDon]

cvchief, Dave may have already described his operation in another thread on this issue. He may have also discussed any role that he played (or did not) in getting CO monitors installed elsewhere. I do not recall specifics but a search may find those answers.

Personally, I am not concerned as others may be about this issue. I agree that standards and preventive/monitoring efforts should be improved to the point where people do not feel a need to take their own monitor.

That may never happen for some. So be it. It has no bearing on what I do.

Now if you really want to prevent diver deaths, take better care of newbies and cruise ship passengers. There is an area where you can really improve safety and reduce deaths.

Fine ideas also. The agencies and stateside scuba shops generally do little to really prepare newbies. After I got my OW card, I went to Key Largo and dove off of newbie boats and eased into it more - even tho I did 100 ft on my prior Discover dives, and I wear a flotation device on boats smaller than Alison's - and would on hers for a channel crossing. I have some bad traits, some good ones, and my driving still sucks at times.

If you want to dive on faith with regard to your air, fine - most do, and 95-97% of the tanks are cleaned based on tests done by shops that send in air collected under the best conditions. It's when the compressors get hot, filters old, and the shops that never, ever test that could pull that figure down but you just don't know?

That would be Ron's way of cheerleading Aldora, his preferred op, that has a new compressor station of their own on the island. (Which I had heard at one point was going to expand to provide fill services to other ops.) Dave from Aldora is into gas stuff in the States, I believe, so is an expert on the stuff.

On the other hand, Ron, wasn't it Dave from Aldora who also set up Meridiano with inline testers and all that gear too?

There are two majors in the filling tanks businesses, Meridiano and Linn Mar. Those are the trucks you see at Caleta delivering many tanks and picking them up at the end of the day. A few operations have their own fill stations. I think it was one of these small stations at a resort down south that last had a bit of a problem and made people sick and created a stir. Did they end up losing the concession over that?

I'm sure it's a fine Op altho I've never dived with them, and Dave is something of an expert in a related field - except he was not at all aware of the problem when I refused to dive Meridiano tanks a couple years back after testing. He was hard to convince but I had an anesthesiologist with me that day who had actually tested with his analyzer and he backed me up. He was indeed helpful in getting Clear units to Meridiano and I don't know what went sour there - you know how island news tends to stay on island a lot. So he got his own compressors and Clear units and I bet they work well, but I'd still test - too easy.

There was an incident a few years back with several injured from bad air from another compressor, and yeah - that op lost a resort concession over that. It's business. No reason to think that they new Op there is any better, but change looks good after an accident anyway. The most recent known CO death on Coz was a tech diver making a rare dive into the cave system and for some reason that team agreed to not disclose the origin of the gas.

 

[SandyRobinson]

Or just dive with a dive op with a quality tank fill operation.

They are all quality operations until the first mishap.

 

[Ron Lee]

They are all quality operations until the first mishap.

Good comment. But what are their procedures? Do they refuse to take shortcuts that may lead to problems?

Is their equipment well maintained? Do they have sensors to detect problems?

I have not seen the Aldora filling operation. In two trips, I have not been able to get around to seeing it. Even when I do, I am not qualified to assess the degree to which the setup meets reasonable standards to ensure quality.

If it were mine, I would hire an expert in this area to provide an unbiased review of the system and procedures to ensure that it was a clean system. Knowing the Aldora approach to things, I am not concerned about their system.