Why did I get nauseated? Oil and water in my tank.

[Adgie]

What did they find?

Its all in the Alert Diver article....a bunch of stuff that is hard to pronounce. Basically, compressor oil.

 

[swamp diver]

Its all in the Alert Diver article....a bunch of stuff that is hard to pronounce. Basically, compressor oil.

What edition of Alert Diver is it in? Summer or Fall 2014?

 

[DandyDon]

Folks, believe it or not, this happens quite a bit. It has happened to me and my buddies twice now. After the first incident, we worked with DAN who actually payed to have our gas tested at a local air quality inspection place. The person we worked with at DAN published a very informative article in a recent issue of Alert Diver - I highly recommend it.

So often, tanks suspected of containing bad air are drained & cleaned, destroying all evidence. I see that DAN does have a program for financing suspected tank content analysis, subject to approval. Excerpting from:
[h=2]DAN Will Help Divers with Breathing-Gas Analysis[/h]

Issues associated with breathing contaminated gas are occasionally reported, however it is suspected the number of incidents associated with contaminated tanks is often under-reported. To encourage divers to report compressed gas contamination, DAN is offering to assist with the gas analysis of reported and approved cases. If you have an incident possibly related to breathing contaminated gas and have lawful control of the tank, please preserve your tank and contact DAN Research by phone (919-684-2948, ask for Research department) during regular office hours (8:30am-5opm EST) or through the online incident reporting system.

 

[Learn It]

scary stuff

 

[billt4sf]

SELF RELIANCE. SMELL YOUR TANKS. A

Stupid newbie question coming: What are you supposed to do exactly? Purge the reg into your nose? Crack the tank valve while your nose is close?

- Bill

 

[Pinecube]

Stupid newbie question coming: What are you supposed to do exactly? Purge the reg into your nose? Crack the tank valve while your nose is close?

- Bill

I'm curious about how most people go about this too.
I still rent, so at the shop when I pick up the gear I connect the rental regs to make sure the whole octo setup works right and just purge the reg into my nose. I figure it's better this way as it will be lower pressure coming at your face.

 

[DandyDon]

I'm curious about how most people go about this too.
I still rent, so at the shop when I pick up the gear I connect the rental regs to make sure the whole octo setup works right and just purge the reg into my nose. I figure it's better this way as it will be lower pressure coming at your face.

That'll work, but I don't want oily air in my own regs. I crack the valve just little to do my O2 & CO tests, easy time to smell first - even tho my nose is not especially sensitive.

 

[chris kippax]

I suggest putting your face near a port (your tank valve) that contains one hundred times the pressure of your car tyre is a poor choice unless you think air injection is ok. Purging the reg gently while inhaling through your nose is much wiser!

 

[redacted]

I suggest putting your face near a port (your tank valve) that contains one hundred times the pressure of your car tyre is a poor choice unless you think air injection is ok. Purging the reg gently while inhaling through your nose is much wiser!

Sure. That way, if there is contamination, you spread it to your regulator also.

It is really not hard to control the volume of air coming from a tank as you operate the tank valve. Try it sometime.

 

[Neoteric James]

In my open water class we were taught to crack the valve slightly and use your hand to direct the air towards your nose and smell it. This is much like the scientific method of waffing, but since pressure is involved no hand movement is needed.

It is a very bad idea to put you face in front of the valve while cracking it open. I would not purge it through the regulator to smell, you would contaminate your regs if you had bad air.