Tank explosion kills one - Cozumel

[Mike]

So is there any news or any findings? Any results from any investigation going on? Are we ever going to know what happened?

 

[boulderjohn]

Luxfer, for one.


http://www.luxfercylinders.com/9/download/download

Thanks. Very interesting.

I was interested in seeing that it also calls for a visual inspection any time the tanks falls or is struck. That would result in a whole lot of inspections for the average tank. for example, I used an operator in Cozumel the last time I was there whose boat was kept at a marina near my hotel, so I went all the way back to the marina before disembarking each day. The crew emptied the boat by throwing the tanks to the top of the concrete wall, where they landed on their sides on rubber mats lying on top the concrete wall. According to that standard, those tanks should have had a visual every day they were used. I suspect that did not happen.

 

[flots am]

The crew emptied the boat by throwing the tanks to the top of the concrete wall, where they landed on their sides on rubber mats lying on top the concrete wall.

That kind of freaked me out when I saw it there too.

All I could think of is "What if the "tosser" pulled a muscle or the boat got bumped and the tank landed on the concrete?"

They didn't look like there's a big safety margin left, and I don't think this will be the last Coz tank explosion we hear about.

---------- Post added September 18th, 2014 at 09:49 PM ----------

Are we ever going to know what happened?

Probably not, but in this case it's not a big mystery.

Properly maintained, inspected, filled and handled cylinders do not explode.

 

[Doc Harry]

Properly maintained, inspected, filled and handled cylinders do not explode.

There are rare exceptions to this rule. Rarely a properly maintained, inspected, filled and handled cylinder does explode. Very rarely.

 

[DandyDon]

There are rare exceptions to this rule. Rarely a properly maintained, inspected, filled and handled cylinder does explode. Very rarely.

It's quite rare overall, which makes the event so exceptional. There was talk early in this thread about how careful SCC is about inspecting tanks, but you never know what to believe?

 

[flots am]

There are rare exceptions to this rule. Rarely a properly maintained, inspected, filled and handled cylinder does explode. Very rarely.

Got a link?

There have been explosions involving O2, poorly/non-inspected tanks, over-fills and various stupid-human tricks, but I've never heard of one blow up where everything was done right.

flots.

 

[shoredivr]

Thanks. Very interesting.

I was interested in seeing that it also calls for a visual inspection any time the tanks falls or is struck. That would result in a whole lot of inspections for the average tank. for example, I used an operator in Cozumel the last time I was there whose boat was kept at a marina near my hotel, so I went all the way back to the marina before disembarking each day. The crew emptied the boat by throwing the tanks to the top of the concrete wall, where they landed on their sides on rubber mats lying on top the concrete wall. According to that standard, those tanks should have had a visual every day they were used. I suspect that did not happen.

That's just nuts. I'd like to know who they are to avoid them.

 

[boulderjohn]

I had a set of doubles where one bursting disc had been replaced with a solid disc, and the other side had 2 discs. The previous owner was an instructor. Naturally enough I had the whole lot fixed and tested. Don't own them anymore but I wonder if that was done to get 300 BAR into 235 BAR tanks as they were twin 7 litre.

Some people just should NOT be born and make the world a safer place I think!

I will assure you that doing things like that with LP tanks is very common in the cave diving regions in Florida, where it is possible to get LP tanks filled to 4,000 PSI routinely.

 

[flots am]

I will assure you that doing things like that with LP tanks is very common in the cave diving regions in Florida, where it is possible to get LP tanks filled to 4,000 PSI routinely.

That scares the crap out of me.

Doesn't it freak out the shop's insurance companies and the DOT?

flots.

 

[redacted]

That scares the crap out of me.

Doesn't it freak out the shop's insurance companies and the DOT?

flots.

The problem is that you are more likely to be injured/killed by being struck by a meteor or lightening. But tank fill pressures can be controlled.