I was just wondering about this federal regulation. According to the DOT you have to clean a tank according to federal regulation RR-C-901c paragraphs 3.3.1 and 3.3.2. Most unfortunately I can't seem to find this anywhere and I was wondering if any of you had a copy of it laying around somewhere of if anyone knew where to find it?
Federal Standard RR-C-901c
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I had zero luck finding anything specific for RR-C-901c. I found it referenced in all kind of documents but nothing that said exactly what is is. None of my O2 service references had any mention of RR-C-901c. I contacted PSI and they were not familiar with that specification.Dive4Life:
What little I could glean from the documents I looked at indicates that you must use cleaning agents that are non reactive with O2. There is a process for cleaning, rinsing, drying and inspecting tanks properly for O2 service. I suspect that this protocol is spelled out in the Fed Spec.
As you might have guessed many governmental and civilian agencies have produced regulations regarding cylinders that contain compressed gasses. Many of them are quite similar and reference or overlap each other each other.
A sampling of the alphabet soup of agencies;
ASTM, CGA, NASA, NFPA, NOAA, NAVAL SEA SYSTEMS COMMAND, OSHA, DOT, EPA.....etc, etc, etc
jfoutz
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Your question piqued my interest, so I did a little research.
Federal Specification RR-C-901C is incorporated into 49 CFR 171.7 by reference. According the CFR, the specification was promulgated on Jan 15, 1981 by the GSA Specification Office. Now, because of this, it should have been published in the Jan 15, 1981 Federal Register. But it wasnt, so either something is screwy or the reference from 49 CFR has a typo in it (wrong date). What makes things more tricky is that, unless Im mistaken, the GSA Specification Office hasnt existed for a LONG time.
Probably the only way youre ever going to see this specification is if a cylinder manufacturer has a copy somewhere, or you show up at the Library of Congress and refuse to leave until they find it
Federal Specification RR-C-901C is incorporated into 49 CFR 171.7 by reference. According the CFR, the specification was promulgated on Jan 15, 1981 by the GSA Specification Office. Now, because of this, it should have been published in the Jan 15, 1981 Federal Register. But it wasnt, so either something is screwy or the reference from 49 CFR has a typo in it (wrong date). What makes things more tricky is that, unless Im mistaken, the GSA Specification Office hasnt existed for a LONG time.
Probably the only way youre ever going to see this specification is if a cylinder manufacturer has a copy somewhere, or you show up at the Library of Congress and refuse to leave until they find it
Well, it seems that everybody is running into the same wall that I did when researching this. Thanks for the PM Jim. I am getting ready to take my VIP/O2 cleaning course and I hope that my instructor can shed some light on this.
You can got to the following link to get the standards:
http://assistdocs.com/search/docume...d=RR-C-901& status_all=ON&search_method=BASIC
http://assistdocs.com/search/docume...d=RR-C-901& status_all=ON&search_method=BASIC
The C version was superseded by the RR-C-901D version in Feb 2003.
I tried jscott099’s link without success, so started at
http://assistdocs.com/search/search_basic.cfm
and entered RR-C-901D into the document ID field,
which in turn led to:
http://assistdocs.com/search/docume...d=RR-C-901D&status_all=ON&search_method=BASIC
(We’ll see if this long link posts any better than jscott’s)
At that point, I was able to download the D, the C, and C/Amendment 1.
I tried jscott099’s link without success, so started at
http://assistdocs.com/search/search_basic.cfm
and entered RR-C-901D into the document ID field,
which in turn led to:
http://assistdocs.com/search/docume...d=RR-C-901D&status_all=ON&search_method=BASIC
(We’ll see if this long link posts any better than jscott’s)
At that point, I was able to download the D, the C, and C/Amendment 1.
Thanks knotical, I noticed the entire link did not paste in. I concur with you about version D. Trouble is I can't find any of the CFR's that refer to D yet, they all still have C as far as I can tell. Its quite a journey plowing thru the regs ain't it?
oxyhacker
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If you get the latest '07 49CFR171.7 you will find RR-C-901C has been superseded by RR-C-901D. One of the problems with the inet is there are a lot of obsolete copies of documents floating around, so you really got to check your dates.
RR-C-901D is another one of those government or industry standards that remind us what an odd fit our scuba tanks are into the federal regulations, and why it's a good thing they are not really covered by it so we don't have to slavishly follow the CFR's dictates.
Actually, there are only three paragraphs in RR-C-901D that are referenced -
3.3.1 Preconditioning and internal preservation. After hydrostatic and any other testing, the cylinder internal surface shall be dried to be free of moisture, oil, grease, grit, machining products, loose scale, slag or other foreign materials. Rust bloom or particulate matter (approximately 1.0 to 1.5 grams) generated subsequent to inspection as a result of handling and shipping is acceptable. Cleaning agents used shall be compatible with the cylinder material and the intended gas service.
3.3.2 Oil and hydrocarbon residue. Residual oil and other hydrocarbons resulting from the manufacturer of the cylinder shall be removed to a level of not greater than 2.5 milligams (mg) per square foot of internal surface area, but shall not exceed 20 mg per cylinder regardless of the size of the cylinder. Trailer tubes shall not contain more than 40 mg of oil or residual hydrocarbons. Verification of cleanliness whall be measured by gravimetric or infrared analysis or any equivalent chemical analysis method.
and 4.3.2 which specifies some very heavy-duty methods of testing for hydrocarbons, using exotic solvents, infrared spectrophotometers and super-accurate scales.
Oddly enough, while 173.302 in referencing 901D says Cleaning agents equivalent to those specified in 901D may be used provided they do not react with oxygen, 901D doesn't specify any cleaning agents!
Reading most of these standards make it very clear that they are aimed at large scale fleet tank operations or tank manufacturers. The diver or dive shop maintaining scuba tanks for oxyen service will do much better not to become emeshed in 901D or other industry standards but to go by those of any of the scuba tech agencies that offer oxygen service technician certification since those standards are intended specifically for scuba and take into account the peculiarities of scuba service.
It's important to remember when trying to make sense of these regulations and guidelines that only the sections referenced apply, and they apply only where specifically referred. For example, in another thread here CGA G-4.1 is cited as the last word on oxygen cleaning. But if you follow the references, you find that while 4.1 is indeed referenced (and not all the CGA Pamphlets are), it is only referenced in the context of cleaning cargo tanks prior to sealing the manhole! So for all other purposes, 4.1 is just guidelines, not law (not that if it was law it would actually effect our tanks anyhow).
RR-C-901D is another one of those government or industry standards that remind us what an odd fit our scuba tanks are into the federal regulations, and why it's a good thing they are not really covered by it so we don't have to slavishly follow the CFR's dictates.
Actually, there are only three paragraphs in RR-C-901D that are referenced -
3.3.1 Preconditioning and internal preservation. After hydrostatic and any other testing, the cylinder internal surface shall be dried to be free of moisture, oil, grease, grit, machining products, loose scale, slag or other foreign materials. Rust bloom or particulate matter (approximately 1.0 to 1.5 grams) generated subsequent to inspection as a result of handling and shipping is acceptable. Cleaning agents used shall be compatible with the cylinder material and the intended gas service.
3.3.2 Oil and hydrocarbon residue. Residual oil and other hydrocarbons resulting from the manufacturer of the cylinder shall be removed to a level of not greater than 2.5 milligams (mg) per square foot of internal surface area, but shall not exceed 20 mg per cylinder regardless of the size of the cylinder. Trailer tubes shall not contain more than 40 mg of oil or residual hydrocarbons. Verification of cleanliness whall be measured by gravimetric or infrared analysis or any equivalent chemical analysis method.
and 4.3.2 which specifies some very heavy-duty methods of testing for hydrocarbons, using exotic solvents, infrared spectrophotometers and super-accurate scales.
Oddly enough, while 173.302 in referencing 901D says Cleaning agents equivalent to those specified in 901D may be used provided they do not react with oxygen, 901D doesn't specify any cleaning agents!
Reading most of these standards make it very clear that they are aimed at large scale fleet tank operations or tank manufacturers. The diver or dive shop maintaining scuba tanks for oxyen service will do much better not to become emeshed in 901D or other industry standards but to go by those of any of the scuba tech agencies that offer oxygen service technician certification since those standards are intended specifically for scuba and take into account the peculiarities of scuba service.
It's important to remember when trying to make sense of these regulations and guidelines that only the sections referenced apply, and they apply only where specifically referred. For example, in another thread here CGA G-4.1 is cited as the last word on oxygen cleaning. But if you follow the references, you find that while 4.1 is indeed referenced (and not all the CGA Pamphlets are), it is only referenced in the context of cleaning cargo tanks prior to sealing the manhole! So for all other purposes, 4.1 is just guidelines, not law (not that if it was law it would actually effect our tanks anyhow).
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