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(This is relatively recent improvement in our sport, weve learned a lot together in recent years and still are learning, so I thought Id offer my personal update. If you like it, you are welcome to reuse it without requesting permission.)
The subject of CO toxicity in tank air is getting more coverage than ever before with expanded knowledge as well as available and affordable 21st century technology, but not nearly enough. Instructors, other professionals, and old-time divers arent saying much, but thats either from their training or their habits from before current technologies became so available, I think.
DAN is finally taking some actions but really needs to do more in educating divers about the risks and solutions, and Id be writing a much shorter post here. Padi and other agencies are doing little to nothing. I guess this is more important to some here who may have personally known a diver who died from a tainted tank, or in my case are simply insulted that most fill stations will not spend pennies per tank to prevent the risks, operators are not spending 50c/day to make tank testers available to customers, and a few personal exposures I have documented.
DAN does admit that they have no idea how many drownings are caused by CO hits, how many clinical hits are just not reported to them, how many subclinical hits are shrugged off as traveler's-flu, etc. The US standard has long been a 10 ppm max while some countries are requiring maxes of 3 or 5, in part because the effect multiplies when you breathe it at depth, in part because of the binding properties, and more - and I've found readings over 5 ppm to be pretty common actually. I fumbled with my early testing from a make-do unit and no one to tell me how at first so I only got testing proficient a few trips ago, but I have turned a boat when I found 17! My last trip was with the new Analox portable analyzer and that was so much easier. A buddy pair can easily share the costs on one for a little over $300, and it'll last at least 2 years without service - much longer if not used every day and kept in a pelican box or similar, or bite the bullet like me as a solo traveler usually and just get one.
For an operator to provide the units and charge an extra dollar/tank for testing was suggested in discussion recently, but that would fail. Testing every tank can be boring after a few days of a trip when the tests are clean but it is all too easy for one tank in a lot to be dangerous so I keep it up. Most divers haven't read as much and will take a very erroneous attitude of "if yours is clean then I'm sure mine is" and skip the extra charge optional testing. No, the suppliers need to spend pennies a tank to ensure their air is clean, and the operators need to 50c/day so customers can confirm that. How long is may take for these practices to become common even in the Caribbean and Mexico is anyone's guess.
It was recently suggested that the risk was negligible, not enough to warrant divers taking actions - but a member with extensive experience on the subject offered good reason to think the risks are around 3-5%...
Sadly, the situation will not change much until more divers take actions, testing tanks, complaining about small readings, leaving boats after larger readings, and voting with their business as well as their reports here on SB. The portable Analox unit can be acquired at EII CO- Portable Carbon Monoxide Checker for as little as $325 including free shipping in the US, higher internationally and is a breeze to use tank after tank, T90 readings in 30 seconds. Turn the dial to field calibrate, blow in it to register a few digits and confirm it works (everyones breath contains a few points of CO), and go. Dont bother with the bump gas offered.
There are other tank testing units, altho not really as desirable as Analoxs - unless one just cannot justify that much for personal trips. The Pocket CO will work and is available for $129 including US shipping at Pocket CO Carbon Monoxide Detector - Marv Golden Pilot Supplies. If I really liked it, I would not also own the Analox - but you can certainly use it for safety, and it's easy enough for a couple of divers. Here are my cautions and how-tos from my experiences and mistakes...
1: It is susceptible to contamination and misreadings from humidity and a variety of urban fumes, so stick it in a ziplock before you leave the plane and keep it in one. (I do wear mine turned on while sleeping on planes since none have their own and I think it'd be nice for someone to know if an onboard problem happens.)
2: Use slider, freezer grade gallon bags as they are easier to close, but take enough for a new one/day as they still tend to leak after handling.
3: Turn on the unit and crack the tank before sticking the bag to it less you learn how easy it is to blow one overboard if you hold the bag to the tank then open! That's how I learned. :blush:
4: When the bag is mostly full, close it, turn off the hissing tank, and start your stopwatch/SS timer. Wait 90 seconds or longer and read.
After your first trip, order the calibration kit in time to use it before your next. $39 plus shipping at Order the Pocket CO - Carbon Monoxide Detector Re-cal every 6 months for maximum accuracy. The can is only good for a year and 3 uses anyway, then replace.
The ToxiRAE 3 can be rigged to hook up to a low pressure hose for less than an Analox, or used in a slider bag for not much more than the Pocket CO with a fast response time, but I do not have a lot of info on it. Its a viable choice, but I dont like having to hook up a reg before testing and for a bag test unit - I cant wear it discreetly on a plane or in a café.
At what level do you refuse to breathe a tank? Pick a number between 3 & 15 - ppm, not % - then stick to it. Of the countries that do have regs, enforced or not, that's the range. Your call. For me now, I start complaining when I see 3 and getting off of the boat at 10. Some are less accepting of 3 to 5 ppm readings.
Ok, so what if you check every tank all week of a trip and get nothing. Haha, that did happen to me on my last trip after complaining to the operator about readings on my previous visit, so they do listen - and she was using a different provider. I was bored, but reassured, and kept testing. The first time you see 5-10 ppm should get your attention, more so for more. Next trip, same operator - who knows? See www.scubaboard.com/forums/basic-scuba-discussions/412257-so-do-you-get-bored-checking-tanks-co-when-you-never-get-readings.html
Am I a fanatic a about CO elsewhere in life? Well sure I am. My FB friends will confirm that easily. :laughing: For millennia of home, dugout or cave heating we coped with bad air trying to not kill ourselves, easiest in our sleep - but in recent decades home monitors have become so very cheap. People still die in every state so leaders and some legislatures are still trying to get a monitor in every home, but I like one in every bedroom, office, warehouse, café, vehicle, hotel room, etc. - and will carry my own anywhere. Not a problem at all. Lightweight and did I mention cheap ?
For divers, not so cheap - but until we can get all operators to take affordable actions to provide us with safe tanks, for the next couple of years at least - protect yourself !!
Oh, and it does come up now and then about what my financial interest is in this? None, zilch, nada at all. Ive spent more on this than I wanted to, but glad I did.
thanks
The subject of CO toxicity in tank air is getting more coverage than ever before with expanded knowledge as well as available and affordable 21st century technology, but not nearly enough. Instructors, other professionals, and old-time divers arent saying much, but thats either from their training or their habits from before current technologies became so available, I think.
DAN is finally taking some actions but really needs to do more in educating divers about the risks and solutions, and Id be writing a much shorter post here. Padi and other agencies are doing little to nothing. I guess this is more important to some here who may have personally known a diver who died from a tainted tank, or in my case are simply insulted that most fill stations will not spend pennies per tank to prevent the risks, operators are not spending 50c/day to make tank testers available to customers, and a few personal exposures I have documented.
DAN does admit that they have no idea how many drownings are caused by CO hits, how many clinical hits are just not reported to them, how many subclinical hits are shrugged off as traveler's-flu, etc. The US standard has long been a 10 ppm max while some countries are requiring maxes of 3 or 5, in part because the effect multiplies when you breathe it at depth, in part because of the binding properties, and more - and I've found readings over 5 ppm to be pretty common actually. I fumbled with my early testing from a make-do unit and no one to tell me how at first so I only got testing proficient a few trips ago, but I have turned a boat when I found 17! My last trip was with the new Analox portable analyzer and that was so much easier. A buddy pair can easily share the costs on one for a little over $300, and it'll last at least 2 years without service - much longer if not used every day and kept in a pelican box or similar, or bite the bullet like me as a solo traveler usually and just get one.
For an operator to provide the units and charge an extra dollar/tank for testing was suggested in discussion recently, but that would fail. Testing every tank can be boring after a few days of a trip when the tests are clean but it is all too easy for one tank in a lot to be dangerous so I keep it up. Most divers haven't read as much and will take a very erroneous attitude of "if yours is clean then I'm sure mine is" and skip the extra charge optional testing. No, the suppliers need to spend pennies a tank to ensure their air is clean, and the operators need to 50c/day so customers can confirm that. How long is may take for these practices to become common even in the Caribbean and Mexico is anyone's guess.
It was recently suggested that the risk was negligible, not enough to warrant divers taking actions - but a member with extensive experience on the subject offered good reason to think the risks are around 3-5%...
Sadly, the situation will not change much until more divers take actions, testing tanks, complaining about small readings, leaving boats after larger readings, and voting with their business as well as their reports here on SB. The portable Analox unit can be acquired at EII CO- Portable Carbon Monoxide Checker for as little as $325 including free shipping in the US, higher internationally and is a breeze to use tank after tank, T90 readings in 30 seconds. Turn the dial to field calibrate, blow in it to register a few digits and confirm it works (everyones breath contains a few points of CO), and go. Dont bother with the bump gas offered.
There are other tank testing units, altho not really as desirable as Analoxs - unless one just cannot justify that much for personal trips. The Pocket CO will work and is available for $129 including US shipping at Pocket CO Carbon Monoxide Detector - Marv Golden Pilot Supplies. If I really liked it, I would not also own the Analox - but you can certainly use it for safety, and it's easy enough for a couple of divers. Here are my cautions and how-tos from my experiences and mistakes...
1: It is susceptible to contamination and misreadings from humidity and a variety of urban fumes, so stick it in a ziplock before you leave the plane and keep it in one. (I do wear mine turned on while sleeping on planes since none have their own and I think it'd be nice for someone to know if an onboard problem happens.)
2: Use slider, freezer grade gallon bags as they are easier to close, but take enough for a new one/day as they still tend to leak after handling.
3: Turn on the unit and crack the tank before sticking the bag to it less you learn how easy it is to blow one overboard if you hold the bag to the tank then open! That's how I learned. :blush:
4: When the bag is mostly full, close it, turn off the hissing tank, and start your stopwatch/SS timer. Wait 90 seconds or longer and read.
After your first trip, order the calibration kit in time to use it before your next. $39 plus shipping at Order the Pocket CO - Carbon Monoxide Detector Re-cal every 6 months for maximum accuracy. The can is only good for a year and 3 uses anyway, then replace.
The ToxiRAE 3 can be rigged to hook up to a low pressure hose for less than an Analox, or used in a slider bag for not much more than the Pocket CO with a fast response time, but I do not have a lot of info on it. Its a viable choice, but I dont like having to hook up a reg before testing and for a bag test unit - I cant wear it discreetly on a plane or in a café.
At what level do you refuse to breathe a tank? Pick a number between 3 & 15 - ppm, not % - then stick to it. Of the countries that do have regs, enforced or not, that's the range. Your call. For me now, I start complaining when I see 3 and getting off of the boat at 10. Some are less accepting of 3 to 5 ppm readings.
Ok, so what if you check every tank all week of a trip and get nothing. Haha, that did happen to me on my last trip after complaining to the operator about readings on my previous visit, so they do listen - and she was using a different provider. I was bored, but reassured, and kept testing. The first time you see 5-10 ppm should get your attention, more so for more. Next trip, same operator - who knows? See www.scubaboard.com/forums/basic-scuba-discussions/412257-so-do-you-get-bored-checking-tanks-co-when-you-never-get-readings.html
Am I a fanatic a about CO elsewhere in life? Well sure I am. My FB friends will confirm that easily. :laughing: For millennia of home, dugout or cave heating we coped with bad air trying to not kill ourselves, easiest in our sleep - but in recent decades home monitors have become so very cheap. People still die in every state so leaders and some legislatures are still trying to get a monitor in every home, but I like one in every bedroom, office, warehouse, café, vehicle, hotel room, etc. - and will carry my own anywhere. Not a problem at all. Lightweight and did I mention cheap ?
For divers, not so cheap - but until we can get all operators to take affordable actions to provide us with safe tanks, for the next couple of years at least - protect yourself !!
Oh, and it does come up now and then about what my financial interest is in this? None, zilch, nada at all. Ive spent more on this than I wanted to, but glad I did.
thanks
