JT wrote:


> The
> only
> > draw back is what the shop has to pay for the He and then it is past on
to
> > the diver, if it was not for the "Lawyers" who would surely say it is
> > unsafe in court to make a buck , everyone would be using welding gas.

I think this is a bullshit issue, easily shot in the ass.

As far as I know, there is no *law* saying you must use USP gas for diving,
the Navy certainly doesn't. I have gas blender shingles from IANTD and TDI,
and both texts suggest very strongly that USP be used, but I am aware of no
legal requirement. I will concede right now that I could be wrong here, and
if I am, would someone with the dope please post it, code and all.

With O2, its remotely possible for a welding shop with crap equipment (no
check valves) and idiots at the torches, to back fill acetylene into an O2
bottle. Even so, the bottles are evacuated before filling, or we would have
some gas suppliers with holes in their buildings. No such problem exists
with He. He is used as a shield gas for Tungsten Inert Gas welding (TIG),
and is *never* (in my experience) connected to any system that has another
gas connected to it, least of all a flammable gas, as He is inert. Any
contaminants in the He would seriously affect weld quality, and since He is
used to weld exotic metals (spelled "$$$$") used mostly in Aerospace, I have
no problems what so ever with using industrial He. The chances of a gas
supplier getting sued for selling bad gas, and causing an airplane with 100
people to fall screaming to their deaths, is much more likely than a suit
involving SCUBA divers.

We use ABO and industrial grade He.

Scott



--
Send mail for the `techdiver' mailing list to `techdiver@aquanaut.com'.
Send subscribe/unsubscribe requests to `techdiver-request@aquanaut.com'.

Navigate by Author: [Previous] [Next] [Author Search Index]
Navigate by Subject: [Previous] [Next] [Subject Search Index]

[Send Reply] [Send Message with New Topic]

[Search Selection] [Mailing List Home] [Home]