Please explain the scientific reason why I feel like I have a hang over after using air from a very old and used compressor that has new filters

[Richard Dayan]

This has happened to me a few times and always the compressors are very old and very very used. Especially a second or third or fourth hand compressor from a place like Sabang ect.


I feel like I have a very bad headache and like I drank a lot of alcohol the day before, even though I don't drink or smoke. Thats the feeling from using the air in those tanks.

If the tank is used at max 18 meters and only 40 minutes the effects are mild, I used one tank for 56 minutes and max dept of 93 ft and started to feel it at 31 minutes into the dive. It took me 2 days to fully recover.

Same thing happened to me in Puerto Plata Dominican Republic but it was even worse there.

Both times the compressors were really old, like at least 20 years or more and used very hard, lots of scuba tanks every day for years on end with the only maintenance being stand oil changes and filter changes.

What's going on inside these compressors that making me ill?

There is no smell of "oil" as they say.

 

[Seaweed Doc]

Best guess is carbon monoxide. It's odorless, colorless, and tasteless and headaches are consistent with exposure.

Of course, I'm assuming the "old compressor" line isn't just a coincidence. Lots of other things might give you a one-off headache, like clogged sinuses.

Not that you should try and replicate the experience, but cherry-red lips, gums or fingernail beds are a sign of CO poisoning.

(I'd note that old compressors that are maintained and tested shouldn't be a problem. But that testing should include CO tests periodiacally, IMHO.)

 

[Richard Dayan]

Where is the carbon monoxide coming from in these old compressors? One was a diesel powered one and the other electric.

 

[Seaweed Doc]

Where is the carbon monoxide coming from in these old compressors? One was a diesel powered one and the other electric.

I didn't inspect them, so can't say for sure. But here are a couple of possibilities:

1. Diesel exhaust could be an issue. Having the exhaust too close to the air intake could be a problem. Or the exhaust getting around a hole in the intake line somewhere.

2. For electric, the bigger concern would be other vehicles or vessels operating near the compressor.

3. If the compressor overheats and burns the lubricating oil, that could be another potential source. I suspect, don't know, that this contamination could happen around the pistons that compress the air. (This could happen with any compressor, regardless of power source.)

 

[justinthedeeps]

Both elevated nitrogen (ppN2) and elevated blood carbon dioxide (CO2) can also cause headaches after diving. It's not just carbon monoxide.

There are several ways to end up with CO2 retention (inadequate breathing ventilation, 'skip breathing,' excess exertion), and having any extra CO2 in the gas mix won't help.

Engine exhaust is mostly CO2. The hopcalite (black section) in most compressor filters catalytically converts CO into CO2, also.

I have personally tested cylinders using a portable carbon monoxide meter that measured 0 ppm, and still gotten headaches.
The diving was 20 to 30 metres deep in currents, often close to NDL, trying to 'conserve tank pressure' through controlled breathing. Quite possibly CO2 and ppN2 issues.

The worst headaches I've seen in a diver is someone who surfaced hyperventilating and gasping for air, an obvious CO2 hit while working too hard against a current.

Some divers are quick to blame the compressor or operator for 'bad gas' whenever they get headaches or feel ill after diving, without any evidence about the gas contents--or sometimes even when the evidence shows there is no carbon monoxide in the tank. Those same divers often have a few drinks every night and then go do three overexerted dives near the NDL limits each day, then repeat.

It never happens to me on a rebreather, regardless of depth, currents, exertion, regardless of which compressors filled my cylinders (including very old compressors in underdeveloped locations)

 

[Richard Dayan]

Both elevated nitrogen (ppN2) and elevated blood carbon dioxide (CO2) can also cause headaches after diving. It's not just carbon monoxide.

There are several ways to end up with CO2 retention (inadequate breathing ventilation, 'skip breathing,' excess exertion), and having any extra CO2 in the gas mix won't help.

Engine exhaust is mostly CO2. The hopcalite (black section) in most compressor filters catalytically converts CO into CO2, also.

I have personally tested cylinders using a portable carbon monoxide meter that measured 0 ppm, and still gotten headaches.
The diving was 20 to 30 metres deep in currents, often close to NDL, trying to 'conserve tank pressure' through controlled breathing. Quite possibly CO2 and ppN2 issues.

The worst headaches I've seen in a diver is someone who surfaced hyperventilating and gasping for air, an obvious CO2 hit while working too hard against a current.

Some divers are quick to blame the compressor or operator for 'bad gas' whenever they get headaches or feel ill after diving, without any evidence about the gas contents--or sometimes even when the evidence shows there is no carbon monoxide in the tank. Those same divers often have a few drinks every night and then go do three overexerted dives near the NDL limits each day, then repeat.

It never happens to me on a rebreather, regardless of depth, currents, exertion, regardless of which compressors filled my cylinders (including very old compressors in underdeveloped locations)

I will admit that my breathing rate never changes it programed into my brain. I also never exert myself underwater, also i have done as many as 80 dives of more than 65 minutes in a 2-month period with a new compressor and had no problems at all.

I will be buying a brand-new L and W compressor and Hp 100's in about 3 months. I will update if there is the same problems or if it disappears.

 

[Richard Dayan]

Update on the compressor that's giving me headaches. It's located in a basement in a tiny closet and does not have access to fresh air, only a tube connects it to the outside air, also they never let the compressor rest between fills.

 

[34109411]

Update on the compressor that's giving me headaches. It's located in a basement in a tiny closet and does not have access to fresh air, only a tube connects it to the outside air, also they never let the compressor rest between fills.

maybe change compressor and or location ?