Industrial Tank Fills for Air

[TravisD]

...or a valve closed that you thought was open, etc.

 

[nadwidny]

Yikes. It's crazy to me how many people still don't analyze their gasses.

Crazy thing is that one of the fills was from a very big commercial outfit that fills dozens of T cylinders every day and they fill by weight. Should be fool proof, right? Apparently not.

Here in Canada mixing N2 and O2 to get air is specifically not allowed in the standards. Some places think they are above the standard and have fatal outcomes.

 

[OTF]

I know of at least 2 examples where a commercial outfit was selling a 21% O2/N2 mix by combining O2 and N2 and selling it as air where the end user either passed out or died. Relatively recently.

Edit- Both were hypoxic. One of the mixes was 100% nitrogen. The other was something like 5% O2.

I know of another example of a shop buying a T bottle of helium from a reputable big-name supplier and accidentally being given an incorrectly labeled tank filled with Argon. They caught it on the first strange trimix analysis and diagnosed problem because they have their act together and test every tank. But still, damn. Always analyze, do not trust gas suppliers to get it right when life is on the line. Suppliers do mess up.

 

[nadwidny]

I know of another example of a shop buying a T bottle of helium from a reputable big-name supplier and accidentally being given an incorrectly labeled tank filled with Argon. They caught it on the first strange trimix analysis and diagnosed problem because they have their act together and test every tank. But still, damn. Always analyze, do not trust gas suppliers to get it right when life is on the line. Suppliers do mess up.

Thats is just so messed up.

When I have to use Balloon grade I always analyze it first (I know a lab that does it for me for free). But I always trusted anything above Balloon grade. Looks like I better start checking every single T I get.