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.
Is old air really an issue?
Re: Is old air really an issue?
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).
Re: Is old air really an issue?
unless there's water in the tanks there is no such thing as stale air
Sounder wrote:Under normal circumstances, I would never tell another man how to shave his balls... but this device should not be kept secret.
Re: Is old air really an issue?
x3.
I dove on a couple steel 80s that had been sitting full of air for 8 years or so.
I dove on a couple steel 80s that had been sitting full of air for 8 years or so.
- Waynne Fowler
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Re: Is old air really an issue?
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.
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.
Ripper of drysuits, mocker of divers...there are no atheist divers in a mistimed Deception Pass dive. Jeremy
Re: Is old air really an issue?
And just my two cents, there should be no odor. If anything smells, don't dive it.