Delrin DIN "plugs"

[Green_Manelishi]

In case anyone is curious to know what happens if one is in place and the tank
valve is opened. Be curious no longer. From personal experience I can tell you the plug comes apart; loudly and with force. Good thing it was tethered to the valve. If anyone is interested, I'll post pics of the remains.

 

[do it easy]

Yeah, please post pics- I heard the attachements are working too!

Is that one of those "dust cap" style plugs that has a vent hole in it, or is it a solid piece?

 

[letterboy]

heck yeah breakage is good stuff. . . as long as no one got hurt and you weren't shooting at tanks. . .

 

[offroaddiver]

saw someone get "shot" by a rubber dust cap on a k-valve. left a nice little red mark on their arm.

 

[Green_Manelishi]

Should be available by tomorrow.

They were/are the "hollow" but yes, there is a hole. I don't know it would make a diff if the "solid" plugs were in place but I think I have those as well so I'll test them out and post that as well. If you never see the pics you'll know something went terribly wrong during the experiment with the solid plugs.

 

[do it easy]

If you never see the pics you'll know something went terribly wrong during the experiment with the solid plugs.

Perhaps a live web cam... just in case

 

[Green_Manelishi]

Perhaps a live web cam... just in case

Oh, ha ha ha.
I can just hear the chorus now:

Ding dong the Green Man's dead, which Green Man? The Green Man.
Ding-dong that opinionated SOB is dead ...

I can only say I wish I'd been wearing ear-plugs when I "tested" the first plug. I think the blast created a tiny tear in my right eardrum. What makes me think that? Well, the funny noises I heard in my head while equalizing during yesterday's dive. Have to call the Dr tomorrow and schedule an appointment.

 

[DA Aquamaster]

I own two styles of delrin plugs with holes in them. One type does fine as the hole is quite large and the plug is fairly heavy, while the other has a dinky 3/32 hole and generally thin construction that pretty much ensures it's going to come apart.

The type of valve makes a difference too. I have Scubapro valves that open fairly slowly and gradually (ideal for O2 bottles) and then I have Thermo valves that go from "off" to nearly full "on" with very little knob rotation. With the SP valve an unintentional turn of the valve while carrying it, results in a slight hiss, while the same thing with a Thermo gets your immediate attention.

If you are going to do the crash test dummy thing, secure the tank, wrap a cord around the valve and then spin the valve open from a distance, like in the next room.

It's the scuba variant of the approach I use every time I buy a new surplus military rifle - it gets strapped in an old tire and fired via a long string to the trigger with me on the other side of a berm. It looks a little cowardly, but I still have all my fingers, eyeballs, etc.

 

[spectrum]

Have to call the Dr tomorrow and schedule an appointment.

Geez I hope it's a false alarm, but best to get it checked. Good luck.

Would a tear have let water in and flipped you into vertigo or would clear tubes maintain positive pressure and left your ear bubbling?

Pete

 

[SparticleBrane]

Sounds like it's time to buy some real DIN plugs.