Exploding scuba tank kills one - Florida

[Blue Sparkle]

Yeah, I guess it is - sorry.

Don, In the light of day it seems like maybe I was overly nit-picking. The only reason I mentioned it then was because you had quoted a newer article with more information first in that post, and then re-quoted the earlier article. So to my reading it wasn't obvious unless one remembered that the second article was from earlier in the day and thus "older" information.

I would just have PM'ed you, but I didn't want to leave the feeling that I was just calling you out hanging in the forum.

(And now there have been other threads and re-quotes merged so it's not that chronological anyway.)

I appreciate your news feed monitoring and posting of things here.

Blue Sparkle

 

[Jax]

Correct, but I doubt you can test much on this tank...?

Not pressure or exact content anyway.

Hopefully, the shop that filled it kept a good log. One assumes the serial number is attainable, as is the other data on the tank. The reported fact it is a 40, was used by a deep / cave diver, points to a deco bottle. If it were pure oxygen, there "should be" remnants of an Oxygen Label.

What we may never know, is what happened in that doorway. However, an educated guess says opening doors with a tank in your hand makes you clumsy.

 

[DandyDon]

What we may never know, is what happened in that doorway. However, an educated guess says opening doors with a tank in your hand makes you clumsy.

That just might be the end answer.

 

[Crush]

While the tank in question may (or may not) have contained oxygen, the presence of oxygen is not necessary to account for the fatality of this accident. A sudden catastrophic release of pressure in an enclosed space results in an overpressure that can be fatal. Such an expanding pressure wave can cause a brief impulse in which the pressure can climb to fatal limits before exploding windows and doors dissipate the pressure.

If we assume that the tank contained 40L of air (56 cu ft) and that tank exploded in the middle of an apartment that was a spacious 6000 cu ft, the overpressure would be (56/6000) x 101.325 kPa = 0.94 kPa which is likely not be enough to kill someone. However, if instead we assume that he was carrying the tank down a hallway where the door (at one end) and his body (at the other end) formed a partial barricade to the expanding gases, the effective volume of the room would be reduced to, say, a cube 8 ft high, 4 ft wide, and 6 ft long (192 cu ft). The resulting overpressure is (56/192) x 101.325 kPa = 30 kPa - a pressure regime where walls are destroyed and fatalities occur. These rough estimates can't tell us why the tank ruptured, nor can they tell us what was inside the tank, but air could have been sufficient.

 

[Brewone0to]

The latter article looks like the one from post #67 (it is sometimes hard to keep track though, isn't it?).

I'm curious about one thing: Is there any "tradition" of over-filling or changing burst discs on Aluminum tanks? I was under the impression that was more steel tanks, but it's a bit out of my league.

Nobody that I'm aware of intentionally grossly overfills AL tanks at all.
It is fairly common practice for a given group to do so regularly with steel tanks though.

 

[boulderjohn]

Assuming he was following he same protocols I use when getting fills, there should be an analysis sticker on each tank.

 

[Brewone0to]

You ever hear the one about the divers that made it back because they monitored their pressure, dove thirds or other appropriate plans? 4000psi may extend your dive, but it shouldn't make it any safer.

I hear where you are coming from on this.
And yes higher pressure does allow for longer planned dives, allowing for safe returns.
We are talking about the same type dive. "plan your dive, Dive your plan".
My way just starts with more gas which allots for extended time or larger reserves.
Now if we dive the same profile, I can't figure out how more gas reserves doesn't
equally mean larger safety margin. (Safer in my mind)
Again, I don't remember reading about anyone expiring with the cause being "too much gas".

 

[Gdon]

Is there a thread where I can get some real, confirmed information (when it is available) so that I don't have to spend so much time reading through pages of postings and a (at this time) pointless debate and excess of Monday morning quarterbacking?

 

[Brewone0to]

I believe the suit you should be donning is a NOMEX. Much more resistant to fire.

Oops, I guess it's a good thing I don't have to fight fires for a living.
But on some level, the Kevlar suit is still a good idea.

 

[ktomlinson]

Is there a thread where I can get some real, confirmed information (when it is available) so that I don't have to spend so much time reading through pages of postings and a (at this time) pointless debate and excess of Monday morning quarterbacking?

No. Been on SB long?