What's the most dangerous situation you've been in?

[Akimbo]

… Turned out the debris (dip) tube on the valve had clogged with a particle, stopping ALL air flow out of the tank.

I have wondered for years why sintered bronze tubular filters were not available for dip tubes on valves. They could have a lot more surface area than those on a first stage regulator, and would ideally be a little finer. I would pay extra for the option. Say something ~¾” OD x 2” long on the end of a 3” dip tube.

 

[Tortuga68]

A better option would be to try not getting **** in your tank in the first place

 

[Skydiver1]

It's good to be Scottish if you ever happen to be in a dangerous situation. Then you couldn't give a rats ass.


[video=youtube;V01gnjGrglk]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=V01gnjGrglk&feature=player_embedded#at=202[/video]

 

[Rhone Man]

I got lost inside a wreck once. Fortunately I was too dumb to panic and just kept wandering around until I found my way back out again.

 

[discokat]

1. When I was in Beijing I was returning from a smoke outside my hotel. When I turned the corner I was confronted by 4 young Chinese Soldiers who proceeded to point their SKSs at me.

Honorable Mentions:

2. About 2 weeks after 9/11, my wife and I were on our way to a hotel near West Point. I had mistakenly taken a wrong turn and started to enter the Academy grounds. Realizing my error I made a quick U-Turn and returned to the highway. A few minutes later we stopped on the side of the road so my wife could take some photos of the gorgeous scenery near West Point. While I waited for her I noticed a black minivan stop behind us with a few gentlemen in suits in it. They watched us for a few moments before driving off, making a u-turn and returning the way they had come. I was left imagining a few torturous hours of questioning in a small room while my wife blissfully returned from her photo op none the wiser.

3. In Sicily I was driving a little rinky dink rental car when a large white van repeatedly tried to run me off the road. Realizing they were probably going to try and rob us I nailed it and outran them over the next few miles, gunning the little car for all it was worth while weaving in and out of traffic. Thankfully I outran them.

 

[Akimbo]

A better option would be to try not getting **** in your tank in the first place

Everybody tries not to get particles in their tanks to the point it is very rarely the source. Internal corrosion is the culprit. Yeah, yeah, VIPs are supposed to find that before it becomes an issue… but apparently it doesn’t always work.

I saw an almost complete blockage drive an owner and regulator service tech nuts… “but the regulator worked great on the bench”??? About the third time it was in the shop the friend/owner insisted on trying it before leaving. Hooked it to a tank and no problem, but it still “sucked” on his cylinder at home. The problem described by drbill is rare enough that the tech didn’t think to suggest inspecting his cylinder. You could watch his SPG drop on each labored breath. Sure enough, the particle worked its way into the valve somewhere. Nobody could see it in the valve but they finally blew it out against a terrycloth towel. The particle was smaller than a piece of graphite that breaks off the point of a lead pencil — at least the part we found in the towel.

A dip-tube filter would actually make large particle contamination from the compressor worse because the material would accumulate on the inside the filter and significantly increase the rate those particles would go back out to the first stage regulator.

 

[Dirty-Dog]

2. About 2 weeks after 9/11, my wife and I were on our way to a hotel near West Point. I had mistakenly taken a wrong turn and started to enter the Academy grounds. Realizing my error I made a quick U-Turn and returned to the highway. A few minutes later we stopped on the side of the road so my wife could take some photos of the gorgeous scenery near West Point. While I waited for her I noticed a black minivan stop behind us with a few gentlemen in suits in it. They watched us for a few moments before driving off, making a u-turn and returning the way they had come. I was left imagining a few torturous hours of questioning in a small room while my wife blissfully returned from her photo op none the wiser.

You're not alone. On 9/11 (but before any of us knew what had happened) I was bringing in a patient. Apparently, the pilot got closer to NORAD than the local military types liked...

 

[Frosty]

Gosh ya know I've nearly been decapitated by a wind blown sheet of roofing iron,had a partial parachute failure,had a few decent racebike crashes and been on top of Aucklands skytower before it was enclosed by the public. NOT ONE of em comes close to the day I asked my wife to marry me--Now THAT was genuine fear.