Tanks In Cars....

[ermaclob]

I usually have a tank or two in my car as well as my frequent trips to the fill station. i tend to not think to much about them and apart from one or two time where the tank rolled and turned the valve by accident causing a hissy mess nothing really bad ever happen.

Every now and then however, at a stop light i look at the tanks a few feet away from me and think to myself..... "i wonder what would happen if i get T boned or something with these 3000psi suckers right next to me"

Anyone ever had or herd of a bad accidents transporting tanks? From my experience heat is not that big a deal, i live in Miami and never had a burst disk pop or anything. But i would imagine collisions are a whole different story....

 

[tbone1004]

there have been many incidences of doubles falling out of pickup truck beds at speed. Nothing serious has ever happened from it. I.e. they're still a missile if not secured and you stop vrey quickly, but the only bearing that being full has is that they weigh more so will hurt more *or not, may kill you instantly....*

Shearing a valve off takes a lot of skill, and you aren't going to put that much point pressure into the side of it to get it to burst

 

[rhwestfall]

it is more about the damage a (insert weight of tank) can make on what it can hit if tossed by an accident or whatever...

 

[northernone]

I witnessed a fill station delivery truck crash into a pole and overturn. Spilling tanks everywhere down the road but no damage to the tanks. They are surprisingly resilient. Seen a few photos of damaged pick up truck beds and a long time ago a blown up trunk. Otherwise I've not heard anything.

 

[2airishuman]

I posted in A&I about an incident involving a burst disc failure last spring leading to around $2,000 in damage to the bed of my truck. I'll encourage you to read that thread for the details so that you may then decide to what extent it applies to your own situation.

Burst disc failures are the most serious problem with high-pressure air cylinders in transportation, handling, and storage. Cylinder ruptures are extremely rare in the USA and in other countries that have some sort of reasonable regulatory oversight in place. Approximately half of the ruptures reported did not occur during filling. Most of the rupture risk is with older alloy aluminum cylinders.

Any collision serious enough to cause a cylinder to rupture is going to be, at best, extremely serious in its own right, regardless of what happens to the cylinder.

 

[ermaclob]

I posted in A&I about an incident involving a burst disc failure last spring leading to around $2,000 in damage to the bed of my truck. I'll encourage you to read that thread for the details so that you may then decide to what extent it applies to your own situation.

Can link das thread please. Sounds like something id like to read. I dont think my circumstance is any different from the average jo going to get a fill ive seen tanks get dropped before in less then ideal circumstances and know there pretty tough. It would make sense that i for the tank to blow you would need to be in an already super serious crash.

 

[ermaclob]

Another thing that just came to mind is if any sort of accident where to happen in a car should u treat the tank as condemed, in need of inspection, normal.

 

[Diver-Drex]

First make sure you are securing the cylinders so they are not rolling around. In the event of an accident, even a minor one, anything unsecured in your vehicle becomes a projectile that can cause damage or injuries. I go off-road with a Jeep club. It is fairly common for a vehicle to slowly roll to side or over completely. I have seen tool boxes, coolers and fire extinguishers all cause injuries and even smash through windshields. Your cylinders should be secured.
If they are in a vehicle that is in an accident please let the fill station operator know. They should be doing a quick visual anyway but often the doesn’t happen. Letting them know should prompt a little better check for visible damage. If the cylinder is exposed to heat from a vehicle fire it should be hydro’ed.

 

[TMHeimer]

Though I am no expert, I tend to agree that if the accident is serious enough you've got more to worry about than tanks. There is also the question of carrying gas in Gerry cans in a car in case of fire.
I secure my tanks in a way that they can't move at all in case I have to throw on the brakes because of some idiot (never happened yet in NY, or any big city......).

 

[rick00001967]

technically, where i live at least, any tank filled with a compressed gas must be transported in an upright position and properly secured. (like that ever happens with scuba tanks right ?)
only time i ever personally witnessed an "accident" with a tank from laying down and not being secured was when a student had two tanks laying in the back of his suv. he backed down to the dock to unload. it was on an incline. when he opened the rear door, both tanks slid right out of the vehicle. i think one may have landed on his foot so it was fine his foot not so much. the other tank however landed right on the concrete on the valve. so two things happened.....he could only do one dive.....and he had to pay to have the valve replaced. bad day all around.
the reality is that 99.9% of divers transport tanks laying down in a trunk, the back seat, the back of their truck etc. at least try to secure them so they are not rolling around banging into each other or other gear. and try to protect the valve as best you can.