Tank Explosion in Cozumel

[Maya]

I read on another forum that an aluminum tank exploded while being filled - someone lost a leg. Anyone have any additional details? Age/condition of tank, etc.? Thanks.

 

[H2Andy]

nothing in the news.

i tried the Spanish-language sites also, and nothing yet

http://www.geomedios.com/americanews/cozumelnews.html

 

[clive francis]

I read on another forum that an aluminum tank exploded while being filled - someone lost a leg. Anyone have any additional details? Age/condition of tank, etc.? Thanks.

ouch, you know thats going to hurt!

still they were lucky it was just a leg they lost, it could have been a lot worse than that.

isn't that why you fill them in a water filled heavy duty butt, so if they go, the water and butt take the full force?

 

[String]

Main reason for water cooling here is to get the fill to the right pressure - it cools down the tank so you dont get a "hot fill" and lost 30 bar by the time its cooled to ambient.

 

[Maya]

still they were lucky it was just a leg they lost, it could have been a lot worse than that. isn't that why you fill them in a water filled heavy duty butt, so if they go, the water and butt take the full force?

I was working in a store when an AL tank exploded. Having it in a very well constructed water filled station did nothing to alleviate the destruction of the store. Our guy who was filling the tank received a fractured skull when the whip and tank valve hit him in the face...the tank went out the wall and travelled another 15 feet after that....

 

[DiveGolfSki]

Doesn't the DOT track these accidents? I don't know if anyone's read this article:

http://www.scubadiving.com/gear/tanks_and_weights/the_amazing_aluminum_80/

but it leads one to conclude that tank explosions are rare, specifically:

Can a tank so roughly handled, so rudely forced into shape, really be safe?

The numbers say "yes." Luxfer alone has made 2.9 million aluminum scuba tanks since 1972. Other manufacturers, by Luxfer's estimate, have made 1.6 million more, for a total of 4.5 million aluminum scuba tanks since 1972. No one knows how many of them are still in use, but most probably are. Of the 4.5 million, just 12 have exploded according to records of the U.S. Department of Transportation (DOT) and similar foreign government agencies. (Many more steel cylinders have exploded because they are more susceptible to corrosion.)

Are they or is this more marketing hype?

 

[wedivebc]

ouch, you know thats going to hurt!

still they were lucky it was just a leg they lost, it could have been a lot worse than that.

isn't that why you fill them in a water filled heavy duty butt, so if they go, the water and butt take the full force?

Ya mean like this?

 

[Maya]

I don't think the DOT would be investigating an incident in Mexico - ?? Maybe I am wrong about that.

 

[DiveGolfSki]

I don't think the DOT would be investigating an incident in Mexico - ?? Maybe I am wrong about that.

I didn't say they should be investigating BUT tracking. If the manufacturer is American, I would think it should be reported. The article also said "other governments track these". Does Mexico?

 

[TCDiver1]

Honestly, the way i've seen tanks get handled in Coz i'm surprised it doesn't happen more often.