Tank analysis

[spatman]

I think a couple of my tanks may have contaminated gas in them. Does anyone know how/where I might be about to get the contents analyzed down here in Portland?

[rcontrera]

There is a pretty cool one time test kit that is basically a balloon with a test disk in it. You inflate the balloon off your tank and wait ten minutes and watch the disk for color change. It only indicates CO but that is the only deadly part you can't test with your nose. It runs about $8. The video is pretty silly but gives you an idea.

[youtube]http://youtu.be/U4pRWha0PHw[/youtube]

Then again... you can just dump the air and get a fresh fill!

[spatman]

Ha, what a cheeseball video. Interesting product, though, I'll look into getting a couple.

Then again... you can just dump the air and get a fresh fill!

I'll definitely do that. I'm just looking for confirmation for my suspicions,

[rcontrera]

PM me with the shop you got the fill from and maybe I can sell them a new filtration system or at least some new filters so it doesn't happen again.

[Joshua Smith]

What made you suspect contamination in the first place?

[CaptnJack]

I think a couple of my tanks may have contaminated gas in them. Does anyone know how/where I might be about to get the contents analyzed down here in Portland?

Try Oregon Health Sciences. The UW has done analysis in the past but was cut due to the budget. "Real" gas analysis won't be cheap, about $150.

Have you talked with the shop?

[Jeff Pack]

the gas check for my compressor was about 100$

[spatman]

What made you suspect contamination in the first place?

Breathe one sidemount tank, feel fine. Breathe the other and started to get dizzy and sweaty in 45F water, plus slight shortness of breath and elevated heartrate. Switch back to previous tank, symptoms disappear within a few deep breaths.

I also experienced the same sensation last weekend, though only at the end of the dive. Switched regs then, too, and eventually felt better, though I didn't immediately attribute it to the gas I was breathing.

My suspicion is that 2 of my four tanks (all filled at the same time, I think) have some contamination.

Try Oregon Health Sciences. The UW has done analysis in the past but was cut due to the budget. "Real" gas analysis won't be cheap, about $150.

Have you talked with the shop?

I'll look up OHS tomorrow and see what I can find out. Otherwise, I may order a few of those co-pro things.

I haven't contacted the shop yet, closed today. I'll give them a call tomorrow too.

[CaptnJack]

The better analyses will include "volatile hydrocarbons" like toluene and MEK. The cheaper analyses will just be for "oil mist" which is basically useless, although if they have volatiles breaking through their filters they probably have lots of water vapor too. Ask the shop when they last changed their filters and had their gas analyzed too.

Its not CO making you nauseous (although it may be present too).

[spatman]

The better analyses will include "volatile hydrocarbons" like toluene and MEK. The cheaper analyses will just be for "oil mist" which is basically useless, although if they have volatiles breaking through their filters they probably have lots of water vapor too. Ask the shop when they last changed their filters and had their gas analyzed too.

Its not CO making you nauseous (although it may be present too).

I wasn't nauseous, really. It was lite-headed with a sudden feeling of being flushed, almost feverish.

I'll ask the shop about the filters. Should I get my tanks cleaned in any way? If it was oil mist or other substance, I would assume it would leave a residue.

[CaptnJack]

The better analyses will include "volatile hydrocarbons" like toluene and MEK. The cheaper analyses will just be for "oil mist" which is basically useless, although if they have volatiles breaking through their filters they probably have lots of water vapor too. Ask the shop when they last changed their filters and had their gas analyzed too.

Its not CO making you nauseous (although it may be present too).

I wasn't nauseous, really. It was lite-headed with a sudden feeling of being flushed, almost feverish.

I'll ask the shop about the filters. Should I get my tanks cleaned in any way? If it was oil mist or other substance, I would assume it would leave a residue.

They should be cleaning your tanks free. There are so many bad gas incidents on TDS its sad. If you were at depth you may not be with us anymore spatty...

[spatman]

They should be cleaning your tanks free. There are so many bad gas incidents on TDS its sad. If you were at depth you may not be with us anymore spatty...

Yeah, it's sobering for sure. I am glad I had a separate gas source to switch to, but there was the chance that was bad as well. I was also pretty quick to signal Dave that something was wrong, but no one knows what could have happened at depth or any other circumstances.

[eliseaboo]

Any shop that's worth frequenting would gladly show you their filter and test records. If they won't when you reach them, that's a huge red flag.

[rcontrera]

To be fair, though, an air test result posted on the wall only tells you that they pay attention to their air at least once per quarter or whatever their test frequency is. A filtration system can go bad five minutes after the test is taken... rare, but it can happen.

People that have a cool air system like to brag about it and tend to take care of their air system much better than most other shops. Just ask Wally at Tacoma Scuba or Alex at Northwest Diving Institute.

[spatman]

A couple people have asked me which shop I got the fills from. Until the tanks have been analyzed and a definite culprit found, I'm not going to say in order to prevent the spread of unfounded rumors.

I have contacted the shop, and they are very concerned. I'm bringing in the tanks tomorrow and we will discuss a plan for determining the cause. For those of you who already know the shop, or can guess, there have been no other reported problems and mine does seem to be isolated.

[oldsalt]

The cheaper analyses will just be for "oil mist" which is basically useless.

I'm no expert, but I had an experience with bad air and the doctors concluded it was the equivalent of an oil mist. During a December night dive, I was perfectly comfortable at 80 ft. We surfaced, cold, choppy, and current running. I became extremely short of breath. After a frightening few minutes, we made it to shore. My continued shortness of breath alarmed me so I drove to the emergency room (poor judgement). Upon arriving, I couldn't remember my SSN, phone number, etc. The initial test showed I was dangerously anoxic. In retrospect, the sensation was much like what I experienced in a hypobaric chamber when I was being tested for such things years ago. The ER team gave me an inhalant which cleared me up immediately. As a precaution I went through a series of high tech tests with numerous specialists. They decided that an oily substance covered my lungs inhibiting the oxygen transfer. At over 3 atmospheres of pressure, I was getting adequate O2, however the pressure at the surface left me with inadquate oxygen. I may have gotten it all wrong, but that is how I remember it. I know there are several experts on the board that will straighten me out. Of course, the symptoms are different from the nausea described in the initial post.
-Curt

[CaptnJack]

The cheaper analyses will just be for "oil mist" which is basically useless.

I'm no expert, but I had an experience with bad air and the doctors concluded it was the equivalent of an oil mist. During a December night dive, I was perfectly comfortable at 80 ft. We surfaced, cold, choppy, and current running. I became extremely short of breath. After a frightening few minutes, we made it to shore. My continued shortness of breath alarmed me so I drove to the emergency room (poor judgement). Upon arriving, I couldn't remember my SSN, phone number, etc. The initial test showed I was dangerously anoxic. In retrospect, the sensation was much like what I experienced in a hypobaric chamber when I was being tested for such things years ago. The ER team gave me an inhalant which cleared me up immediately. As a precaution I went through a series of high tech tests with numerous specialists. They decided that an oily substance covered my lungs inhibiting the oxygen transfer. At nearlover 3 atmospheres of pressure, I was getting adequate O2, however the pressure at the surface left me with inadquate oxygen. I may have gotten it all wrong, but that is how I remember it. I know there are several experts on the board that will straighten me out. Of course, the symptoms are different from the nausea described in the initial post.
-Curt

Spatty was lightheaded not nauseous.

Its not the oil mist is "useless" per se (although I did say that). But its only going to show really gross (as in extensive) contamination. You can have fatal levels of volatile contaminants without having any oil mist. If you do have detectable oil you will surely pick up large quantities of volatiles too.
Volatile = gaseous.