O2 tank explosion

[LindaBluedolphin]

I haven't seen much on this since the other day on the news, glad he is doing better.

 

[miketsp]

Don't read too much into this yet. There are some big questions as to what actually happened. It APPEARS that there actually was an oxygen tank (as opposed to the all too common "oxygen tank " reported in news events) involved, there was a fire for some reason and compressed air/nitrox does not catch fire.
Local accounts are he is doing much better and while will have major injuries, he will live.

If you watch the video it really looks like an O2 cylinder as the fragments are painted green.

 

[05sportsman]

They don't make O2 cylinders with necks to accept a scuba valve. O2 (medical) tanks have a much smaller valve opening. Cylinder looks to be an S40 that the others have said was filled with O2 for decomp. We will know more at a later date I'm sure.

 

[fjpatrum]

Oxygen is not combustible. It supports combustion.

Doh! Seems my chemistry professor was a crack pot! Or maybe I just misremembered? Probably the latter. Either way, in a highly oxygenized (is that a word) environment, fires get bigger faster.

 

[hbhobby]

I have a healthy respect for pressurized O2! I am a fireman and have seen the effects of an exploding O2 cylinder in a house fire and worse yet was a bottle imbedded in the house across the street after losing it's due to above explosion.
I hope the involved people recover quickly.

 

[sharksdelight]

Right now Rick is in the intensive care ward of the burn unit. He is under heavy sedation. Cindy has asked that no visits be made for at least a couple of weeks. Rick has a long and difficult path ahead of him but I am trusting he will pull this one out.
Steve

 

[Trimixgrog]

My heart and prayers go out to Rick and his family. Because of this article I'm going to take the time to secure all of my large O2 bottles with double bungies. I would hope all who read this will take this matter seriously.

 

[Black Jack]

Ok, as promised here is what I have firsthand knowledge of and can post at this time.

1. The tank in question was a Luxfer S40 with an initial hydrostatic test of 04/88.
2. According to Luxfer's website it is made from the 6351 Alloy but I cannot confirm this because I have not directly tested the metal from the tank.
3. The last hydrostatic test was done in 06/10.
4. The tank was used as a deco bottle.

Exactly what happened with the tank and what caused the accident is still very much under investigation. I'm sure there will be a full investigation as everyone wants to best understand what happened and how to prevent something like this from happening in the future.

Ed

 

[mitsuguy]

Ok, as promised here is what I have firsthand knowledge of and can post at this time.

1. The tank in question was a Luxfer S40 with an initial hydrostatic test of 04/88.
2. According to Luxfer's website it is made from the 6351 Alloy but I cannot confirm this because I have not directly tested the metal from the tank.
3. The last hydrostatic test was done in 06/10.
4. The tank was used as a deco bottle.

Exactly what happened with the tank and what caused the accident is still very much under investigation. I'm sure there will be a full investigation as everyone wants to best understand what happened and how to prevent something like this from happening in the future.

Ed

I'll be very interested to see the results. Just a theory, but, given the facts at hand, I would look at the possibility that when the tank fell, the valve hit something and it bent, causing the high pressure O2 to leak out (probably quite fast) One of the things we teach and practice when gas blending is that its not a good idea to squeeze high pressure O2 through small spaces at high rates of speed. I would imagine that if that valve bent and allowed O2 to squeeze past the threads, it would have been fast enough to actually ignite the metal in that area, as soon as it was ignited, it would have spread inside the cylinder causing an immediate, huge increase in pressure...

So, (and it may be difficult/impossible) it will be worth looking into to see if the valve was damaged and cause the explosion, or vice versa...

Just a theory worth looking in to...

 

[05sportsman]

My heart and prayers go out to Rick and his family. Because of this article I'm going to take the time to secure all of my large O2 bottles with double bungies. I would hope all who read this will take this matter seriously.

Best thing to do is if you are storing bottles that are full is to chain them. Set a designated area and put 2 eyehooks in the wall. Then get you a length of chain and a snap type ring to go on the ends. This is how we have to secure our 50lb CO2 tanks and nitrogen tanks.