Dangers of Acetylene and Oxygen Bottles

[jimmyj]

Wow, what an educational post. Thanks everyone.

There's safety and there's STUPID.

I hate to admit it but when we were "younger and stupider" we used to fill up big inflatable "punching clowns" with oxy acetylene and throw them onto bonfires.

 

[AD18]

Back in the mid-eighties I served on on an old destroyer tender out of Charleston. We had just returned from the Med and there were families onboard. Just after I passed a group of civilians on the main weather deck a fireball erupted in the rack of oxygen bottles stored on the main weather deck. Melted the backside of my dress whites and singed my hair, the civilians were not hurt. Blistered the paint and non-skid for about 10 feet.

During the prearrival inspection it had been noted that the gas storage racks had some unsightly rusty bottles in them. So the bottles were scrubbed and one of the deck apes decided to apply grease the the threaded portion of the neck to prevent any more rust from running down the sides of the bottles.
During the investigation it was determined that pressurized O2 will ignite hydrocarbon fuel sources upon contact. It was just an accident that the bottle leaked, no blood no foul. I had to pay for my uniform to be replaced as an added bonus.

 

[Reg]

Interesting thread...

A friend/neighbor was the GM for a Gas Supply Company in Oakland CA... Company Policy absolutely forbid loading any gas cylinders into a confined space... even inert gases.

I work in the Medical Industry and Medical Gases, including Full Size Oxygen Cylinders are routinely placed inside vehicles... even the Med Gas Pharmacy Delivery Truck is a Cube Van...

So industry standards for handling the same product so vary....

You would know this, but many don't.
Oxygen is TOXIC in sufficient concentration for sufficient periods
and of course "inert" gases can kill by suffocation.

Ya don't need to get blown sky high to get dead with gas tanks.

Oxygen for breathing is less pure than oxygen for welding, that one always amuses me.
BTW, MOST scuba tanks shouldn't be filled to 4500 psi, certainly not the "regular" aluminum ones.
If you do the arithmetic you will conclude that leaving them in the sun, in a closed BLACK car, etc., will NOT raise the pressure to a dangerous level.

 

[ultrarunner]

You would know this, but many don't.
Oxygen is TOXIC in sufficient concentration for sufficient periods
and of course "inert" gases can kill by suffocation.

Ya don't need to get blown sky high to get dead with gas tanks.

Oxygen for breathing is less pure than oxygen for welding, that one always amuses me.
BTW, MOST scuba tanks shouldn't be filled to 4500 psi, certainly not the "regular" aluminum ones.
If you do the arithmetic you will conclude that leaving them in the sun, in a closed BLACK car, etc., will NOT raise the pressure to a dangerous level.

A few times when I was in High School I would tag along when my neighbor would work Holidays Graveyard Shift... he was the plant superintendent and would do the night shift so the employee's could be home with their families...

I was surprised to learn the purity standard for welding is higher than medical... His plant had contracts for veterinary clinics and hospitals... so all animal surgery in my area needing O2 had tanks filled from the same line as industrial...

A big issue with Med Gas storage is proper area ventilation... There are others things like area lighting switches must be mounted higher from the floor than customary when using a standard switch...

 

[mikeyee]

I normally keep my scuba oxygen tank in my truck, yeah I better make sure I don't bust the valve on it.

At UT when I was a freshman, I was in class when we heard a loud explosion. One of the oxygen tanks had ruptured and went through two concrete walls (roughly 8 inches thick). No one was hurt since it was lunch time but I was pretty scared since I was a floor above it.

I've worked in the field at chemical plants and when a pump or tank over pressurizes, 20%+ of its MAWP (max allowable working pressure), it goes boom!

This 3000 hp displacement pump.....we found the shaft 1/2 miles away from the location it was concrete mounted. Some dangerous stuff it you're not careful!

 

[patrick_g]

Don't poo poo the lowly SCUBA tanks. I had some aluminum 80's I loaded into the cockpit of my sailboat. One of them cooked off with me standing next to it. Loud bang followed by long loud hissing. The little beryllium copper safety valve popped (as it should to keep from having the tank explode) and scared me considerably. Just one of many acoustical events that helped rob me of my high range hearing.

Pat