Nitrox tank labeling

[Dan Gibson]

I'll bet it help the support divers deliver the correct bottles to the correct depth as well.

The reasons why you label deco bottles/stage tanks is that you may have several slung under your left arm. When it comes time to switch to one of them, you need to be able to determine *absolutely* that you are switching to the correct gas by comfirming the MOD on the tank and following a strict switching procedure.

 

[RTodd]

Since this has gone all over the place. I will try to clarify - and probably just make things more confusing.

Contents tags are for the surface. Once you are in the water it is actually better to remove them to keep from littering. This means you should be carefully checking your gas before gearing up. Stickers mean nothing.

As stated, back gas doesn't need any labels. You should know exactly what it is based on your planned max depth. This is another reason for using standardized gases. I am goin to X feet so I have this gas. Comfirm the analysis before gearing up and then there is no wonder underwater if you have 16 or 18% O2 in your trimix, etc. Stages/ deco bottles use 3" high letters with the MOD on the side. They now have stickers. I prefer to stencil with spraypaint because it lasts longer. Your name also gets stencilled on the side to identify the tanks as yours. Helpful on a boat and necessary when the bottles are dropped on cave dives.

Although not necessary, when using my own tanks for single dives, I use tanks with the mod in 3" letters on them anyway. (They are all marked so I don't really have a choice). For nitrox dives I use ones that are marked with a 120 MOD. Note, this is a 1.6PPO2 MOD, but since I never put anything higher than 35% in such tanks, it does add some margin of safety that you would not screw up and attempt to dive a 50% nitrox (which would have a 70' MOD on it). Once again, you must analyze the gas before you dive. Tanks with a MOD on them used solely for open water are just one more last ditch keep you from doing something stupid check. Probably not a bad practice for open water only divers either. But, you should have so many other checks in place not overly necessary.

To emphasize how important it is to be extra diligent filling and analyzing before you dive, I knew a very experienced diver that died in 20' of water because he tried to breathe pure helium on deco. The best theory is, being a nickel rocket, he was trying to save a few hundred PSI of helium and moved it into a bottle marked "OXYGEN 20" for storage. That should never have happend. It was further compounded when he didn't label the tank with a contents stick and then didn't analyze his O2 bottle before putting it in the water. A string of ridiculously bad practices, but that is what happens if you get complacent.

 

[Jasonmh]

Great, thanks for the info.

Since this has gone all over the place. I will try to clarify - and probably just make things more confusing.

Contents tags are for the surface. Once you are in the water it is actually better to remove them to keep from littering. This means you should be carefully checking your gas before gearing up. Stickers mean nothing.

As stated, back gas doesn't need any labels. You should know exactly what it is based on your planned max depth. This is another reason for using standardized gases. I am goin to X feet so I have this gas. Comfirm the analysis before gearing up and then there is no wonder underwater if you have 16 or 18% O2 in your trimix, etc. Stages/ deco bottles use 3" high letters with the MOD on the side. They now have stickers. I prefer to stencil with spraypaint because it lasts longer. Your name also gets stencilled on the side to identify the tanks as yours. Helpful on a boat and necessary when the bottles are dropped on cave dives.

Although not necessary, when using my own tanks for single dives, I use tanks with the mod in 3" letters on them anyway. (They are all marked so I don't really have a choice). For nitrox dives I use ones that are marked with a 120 MOD. Note, this is a 1.6PPO2 MOD, but since I never put anything higher than 35% in such tanks, it does add some margin of safety that you would not screw up and attempt to dive a 50% nitrox (which would have a 70' MOD on it). Once again, you must analyze the gas before you dive. Tanks with a MOD on them used solely for open water are just one more last ditch keep you from doing something stupid check. Probably not a bad practice for open water only divers either. But, you should have so many other checks in place not overly necessary.

To emphasize how important it is to be extra diligent filling and analyzing before you dive, I knew a very experienced diver that died in 20' of water because he tried to breathe pure helium on deco. The best theory is, being a nickel rocket, he was trying to save a few hundred PSI of helium and moved it into a bottle marked "OXYGEN 20" for storage. That should never have happend. It was further compounded when he didn't label the tank with a contents stick and then didn't analyze his O2 bottle before putting it in the water. A string of ridiculously bad practices, but that is what happens if you get complacent.