Hello everyone, I have a question about Scuba Tank storage in adverse weather conditions. I am Rescue Diver here in NE Wisconsin and my team recently acquired an enclosed trailer to haul our equipment around. In the Summer time we can open up some roof vents to allow hot air to escape. In the Winter time the trailer will be stored outdoors. We would like to store the tanks inside the trailer. My question is can we store scuba tanks in the trailer during below freezing tempatures?
Scuba Tank Storage
- Thread starter dvrdwn73
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The short answer is yes, there’s no problem storing cylinders at or below freezing.
However, during winder ops, this will increase the probability of free flows during a dive on cold days. Because the air starts out cold then is further cooled by adiabatic cooling as its pressure drops, it becomes quite likely that your regulator may freeze up.
A lesser issue is that if you’re breathing cold air, further cooled by the pressure drop, your body’s core will cool faster and you’ll get chilled faster.
So balance the convenience of keeping the cylinders in the trailer versus the problems this may cause.
You also might be able to get some input from the PSD forum:
http://www.scubaboard.com/forums/public-safety-divers/
Roak
However, during winder ops, this will increase the probability of free flows during a dive on cold days. Because the air starts out cold then is further cooled by adiabatic cooling as its pressure drops, it becomes quite likely that your regulator may freeze up.
A lesser issue is that if you’re breathing cold air, further cooled by the pressure drop, your body’s core will cool faster and you’ll get chilled faster.
So balance the convenience of keeping the cylinders in the trailer versus the problems this may cause.
You also might be able to get some input from the PSD forum:
http://www.scubaboard.com/forums/public-safety-divers/
Roak
I should add that it only takes 5 minutes, maybe 10 max so for a steel cylinder to reach temperature equilibrium with the surrounding water. So you can mitigate very cold air by putting your rig in the water to warm (to simplify, water is guaranteed to be at 32 degrees or above, right? 
) before you dive.
Roak
) before you dive.Roak
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