Is old air really an issue?

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Cmjstealth
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Is old air really an issue?

Post by Cmjstealth »

So... I have 4 tanks (Al 80s) that have been sitting full in my garage for 2ish years. Any proven reason I shouldn't use them before I take them in to be inspected & refilled?

I've heard people claim it isn't safe to breathe old "stale" air - is this really a thing? Or just one of those old debatable conventional wisdom things? Haven't hooked a reg up to any them yet to see if they taste funny or not but I've used a year old fill in the past once and couldn't tell any difference. Tanks had vis inspection shortly before last fill and appeared in good shape.
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BillZ
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Re: Is old air really an issue?

Post by BillZ »

The air in your tanks should be fine. I did a 180 ft dive this year on gas that was 8 years old (it was 18/45 and there was now way I was going to let $100 worth of gas go to waste).
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CaptnJack
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Re: Is old air really an issue?

Post by CaptnJack »

unless there's water in the tanks there is no such thing as stale air
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McGlencoe
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Re: Is old air really an issue?

Post by McGlencoe »

x3.

I dove on a couple steel 80s that had been sitting full of air for 8 years or so.
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Waynne Fowler
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Re: Is old air really an issue?

Post by Waynne Fowler »

a simple way to know for sure that it at least has a sufficient O2 content is to analyze it.
It's easy and quick, while it's not testing for contaminants it will at least tell you the O2%.
I've dove 5 and 6 year old air on several occasions, I did analyze to ensure the O2% them prior to use, with no prob and no stale taste.
Under 21% I'd not dive them.
Last edited by Waynne Fowler on Wed Jan 17, 2018 1:58 pm, edited 1 time in total.
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johndo88
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Re: Is old air really an issue?

Post by johndo88 »

And just my two cents, there should be no odor. If anything smells, don't dive it.
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