A couple of days ago, LDS told me that they had to take their compressor down because they found a bad smell and some oily residue, and needed to change the filters. My tanks probably were not affected, as I've been getting fills elsewhere for a couple of weeks prior to stopping by, but it did make me wonder: if I were one of the customers, whose tanks may have been getting filled during the time their compressor had a leak, and considering that I tend to often get partial-pressure Nitrox blends in the very same tanks, what would my options be upon hearing such news?
As far as I can tell, there is no such thing as a test for hydrocarbons (or is there one?). Even if I decided to inspect the tanks and use the UV light, or whatever, that would not guarantee that I would catch traces of synthetic oil. What, then, would be the course of action: have the tanks O2 cleaned? The impression that I got from reading various threads here and there is that, such compressor issues are not very uncommon (or are they?), and yet, the prospect of the shop calling all their recent customers to have them O2 clean their tanks every time a such issue happens, like a CDC center calling airline passengers following a virus outbreak, seems pretty impractical.
So, how often does this happen, what's the risk, and the optimal course of action?
As far as I can tell, there is no such thing as a test for hydrocarbons (or is there one?). Even if I decided to inspect the tanks and use the UV light, or whatever, that would not guarantee that I would catch traces of synthetic oil. What, then, would be the course of action: have the tanks O2 cleaned? The impression that I got from reading various threads here and there is that, such compressor issues are not very uncommon (or are they?), and yet, the prospect of the shop calling all their recent customers to have them O2 clean their tanks every time a such issue happens, like a CDC center calling airline passengers following a virus outbreak, seems pretty impractical.
So, how often does this happen, what's the risk, and the optimal course of action?