Carbon Monoxide kills two - Eforie, Romania

[Altamira]

Not following. What lie am I believing? To me it's a risk management decision. COULD the fills produced by any of these three vendors have CO? It's possible. How likely is it given how these shops are run? I believe it is extremely unlikely. To me the risk is low enough to not warrant a $400 analyzer that requires a $200 replacement sensor every 2 years or so.

You can buy a Sensorcon Inspector CO detector from $129-$159 depending on the model. Not pointing fingers at you Jim, but I find it ironic that many divers fuss and piddle about trying to get their dive weighting down to the half pound, and work incredibly hard to get their trim picture perfect, but won't take the time to test their tanks, when a tank filling mishap by a superbly run LDS could kill them. I have my tank filled by the same LDS for the past 11 years and have never had a CO hit, but I still check every tank. Since most of my diving is while traveling, I would not consider missing a CO check on tanks.

 

[iain/hsm]

I think he expanding on his joke.
Nice monitor you use there. Is that hooked up inline? 2229 ppm would be like 0.2229 percent if my math is correct. No problem there.

You hook up In line for HP and when not filling they are used for general room real time atmospheric monitoring. Of real importance is the ability to record each of the readings every few seconds when filling and to log the entire day.
The days data logger dump also acts to verify and show a verifiable quality assurance of the producct gas dispenced to avoid any possible liability issues.

The small screen on each of the gas modules shows the previous few minutes of recording as a graph on the screen and the red colour changes back to green when within the required perameters.

The alarm also send a warning to your Iwatch, Iphone text and email, and for those who still fill trusting automatic drains and filling unatended.

The numbers on the left show the range of the sensor in the case of CO its a 1-10 ppm total range with the shutdown line set at 5ppm shown in the graph disply for atmospheric monitoring and Breathing Air. For HP cylinder and bank setting set is at 2ppm, A wide range of settings are programmable as is module space for 3 additional gas modules.

In Europe for Breathing Air we run 500ppm as maximum for C02 all measured as concentration at atmospheric pressure equivalent.
Less than 5 ppm for CO
Oxygen content in Divers Breathing Air is 21% +/- 1%

Oil is the one we dont bother about its very hard to analyse due to the miriad of volitile compunds in complex chemical dieter, and triester compounds used in manufacturing modern synthetic compressor lubricants.
But if you fudge it and measure just the droplets or mist vapour its agreed setting is less than 0.5 mg m3

In Europe for nitrox our standards are even tighter at 3ppm for CO (from 5ppm) and for mixed gas its 2ppm
And for oil its even tighter. Hence the need for professional operators who are paid to provide gas to have both real time analysis of gas being dispensed with the relivant retrievable record of the purity supplied.

In the case of the two unfortunate divers who died, a sport not worth dying for and for those fillling cylinders for money, going to jail I guess.

 

[Julius SCHMIDT]

Education does not have to stop with Co2

 

[Open Ocean Diver]

I've been sending mine in every two years for full service, replace battery & sensor, but last time it was due I got a nice deal on a new one so just replaced it. I kept the old one laying around and turned on and it's still working fine eight months later. How long have you used one left turned on 24x7 before it failed?

Their engineers claim that the software accommodates for sensor drift. I guess even if not totally accurate, it'd still be close enough to give an alarm on a dangerous level. I use mine in a gallon ziplock on trips. Do you use the hose? I know that some do but I thought that the air pressure would give false positives.

It this the unit to buy? Do you just Crack the tank and let it sniff a bit, will it take an instant reading?

https://www.amazon.com/Carbon-Monoxide-Inspector-Detector-Portable/dp/B004YUEPBW

 

[DandyDon]

It this the unit to buy? Do you just Crack the tank and let it sniff a bit, will it take an instant reading?

https://www.amazon.com/Carbon-Monoxide-Inspector-Detector-Portable/dp/B004YUEPBW

That's one choice. Same price at Amazon or at the manufacturer. I am not an Amazon fan so I don't see the point of buying from them. Buying from the manufacturer will guarantee a fresher sensor, but I don't think it matters.

Some do it that way, and the unit seems to respond quickly. I tested it in the garage once with the door closed and the car just started, but that's risky. Leaving it inside a ziplock of tank air for a couple of minutes will give a more accurate reading. In the less than 20 ppm range, accuracy is +2ppm so you can't count on a precise reading, but it'll keep you safe if you're not obsessive about knowing an exact reading. Their site says they estimate our sensors to drift ~10% every 6 months, but one engineer told me that their software adjusts, so extreme accuracy is questionable, but staying safe is possible. If you get 10ppm, reject the tank.

The Palm CO is easier to use, but pricey.

 

[Open Ocean Diver]

That's one choice. Same price at Amazon or at the manufacturer. I am not an Amazon fan so I don't see the point of buying from them. Buying from the manufacturer will guarantee a fresher sensor, but I don't think it matters.

Some do it that way, and the unit seems to respond quickly. I tested it in the garage once with the door closed and the car just started, but that's risky. Leaving it inside a ziplock of tank air for a couple of minutes will give a more accurate reading. In the less than 20 ppm range, accuracy is +2ppm so you can't count on a precise reading, but it'll keep you safe if you're not obsessive about knowing an exact reading. Their site says they estimate our sensors to drift ~10% every 6 months, but one engineer told me that their software adjusts, so extreme accuracy is questionable, but staying safe is possible. If you get 10ppm, reject the tank.

The Palm CO is easier to use, but pricey.

Thanks, Palm is nice but replacing sensor every two years is half the price of the unit. I guess you pay for quality.

 

[Divin'Papaw]

Thanks, Palm is nice but replacing sensor every two years is half the price of the unit. I guess you pay for quality.

Sensors are expensive be they O2, He or CO. It’s just the ongoing carrying cost of any analyzer.

 

[Open Ocean Diver]

Sensors are expensive be they O2, He or CO. It’s just the ongoing carrying cost of any analyzer.

Less than $10 a month not bad. Do you test your fills?

 

[Divin'Papaw]

Less than $10 a month not bad. Do you test your fills?

For CO? Per my posts above no I do not.

 

[DandyDon]

Thanks, Palm is nice but replacing sensor every two years is half the price of the unit. I guess you pay for quality.

Yep. The Sensorcon requires service every other year, but it's a lot less. I have to wonder if they use the same sensors.

Except last summer, instead of having my Sensorcon service, I bought a new one on a sale. I kept the old one laying out in my den, turned on 24/7 for the last 2½ years, and it's still working. I guess actual longevity will vary.

For CO? Per my posts above no I do not.

Many dive on luck. Some get reported here, but most hits get written off as travelers flu and most deaths as drownings.