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In earlier mail, Peter R. David said: > > On the subject of Oxygen- > Although it is possible for someone to accidently fill your > tanks with acetylene, it is unlikely; the threads are right/left > handed on the two tanks. For safety reasons (uncontrolled > polymerization, "bang") acetylene is sold at low presure (40psi) > dissolved in acetone. Hence, it is very unlikely that anyone would be > able to fill fill your tank with even a trace of acetylene, without > exploding it and themselves. Still, if you taste it, I'd clear the area > as fast as you can. The acetylene is actually filled to 200 PSI. They don't 'fill' O2 tanks with acetylene - the contamination comes from welding units. Perforce, there must be an area in a welding unit where O2 and Acetylene are mixed. Eventually, one's O2 or Acetylene tank runs dry. Thus, the pressure past the regulator exceeds the pressure in ther other tank. Welding units are supposed to have check valves in them to keep the O2 from backflowing into the Acetylene tanks and vice versa. These valves are supposed to be replaced periodically. Having worked in a welding yard as a youth, I can assure you that the idiots (I include myself in this number) who use them are totally untrained and have no idea how to handle the O2 and acetylene or what the dangers are. They run the bottles until they are empty, and then change them. This is the real reason why fuel supplies (Acetlyne and propane, for example) use left hand threads, while oxyidizers user right hand threads. Hmmmm...something a bit more scuba related. I've seen a setup where a standard Sherwood Brut, cleaned in detergent and lubed with O2 safe lube, was hooked to a constant flow welding regulator for 100% emergency O2 delivery on the surface. This can be cheaply hooked to quite a large tank.... -- Nick Simicich - njs%scifi.uucp@uu*.uu*.ne* - njs@wa*.ib*.co*
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