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Whats wrong with this pic?
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Category: Miscellaneous
Comments: 5
Whats wrong with this pic?

Comments
RAWalker - 6/06/2013 11:47 AM
It appears to me as if the valve wasn’t tightened properly and backed out of the tank enough to allow the O-ring to blow out. I can see the seating lip of the valve above the tank and a piece of the O-ring. This is one of the reasons when I fill my tanks I check the pressure twice before it leaves the shop. If you check for leak down you can usually catch loose valves and worn out O-rings. Any suspected valve seats or O-rings can be confirmed or ruled out with a little soapy water. Another factor is wear on the O-ring. Many shops will re-use these O-rings until they fail. This is not a good practice. If the O-ring shows any visible set, flattening or twist it should be discarded and replaced with a fresh O-ring of the proper size and type. Buna is acceptable for gases of up to 40% O2 however Viton is suggested for mixtures above 21% O2 and required for mixes above 40% O2. In my experience I would rather just replace the O-ring each year during VIS as cheap insurance against this problem and in doing so I have never found a problem with Buna and mixes of less than 40% O2 as the Buna O-ring doesn’t deteriorate from the higher O2 within the timeframe. IMHO YMMV
IamScubaChick - 6/07/2013 10:14 AM
Well, that was a great explanation. You apparently have dived once or twice ;) I always get the o-ring changed during viz also. Well, my shops do that anyways as it’s good practice. This pic was from a guide down in Cozumel. Their practices are a little less than desirable. ;) Thanks for commenting
IamScubaChick - 6/06/2013 10:38 AM
I still to this day don’t know exactly what I captured here. It was in Mexico (Cozumel) and this guides tank was "fizzing" all over the place during a safety stop. I swam around to see what was going on and snapped this pic as he headed to the surface (I had on my macro lens). The air was escaping between the cylinder and the valve so I suspected a bad seal there. Looking at this pic it almost looks like the valve is coming off the tank doesn’t it? This was only his rig shown in the pic. Anyways... just find it interesting and thought i’d share.
LatitudeAdjustment - 6/06/2013 6:03 AM
I don’t thing it’s the 1st. stage, it looks like a homemade tank O-ring made from some scrap plastic.
Greg - 6/06/2013 5:40 AM
Not sure what’s going on here. I see another tank valve, upside down. Looks like both tanks are without a first stage. And one of them is leaking air.