CO2 Tank blew up

[gnatp2]

Word of caution to you all with Calcium Reactors.

Today I went to get a new Co2 tank. Swapped out for a new one and was carrying it home when it went nuts. I didn't bump anything, just was carrying it in a gym bag and the thing started leaking like crazy. The whole thing emptied in about 30 seconds. Luckily I carried it in a gym bag so I didn't get hurt. Make sure you all do the same.

 

[russianmd]

A friend with a heavily planted tank just had a CO2 tank that was overfilled blow off the regulator - as well as the doors off the stand. Now his wife demands that the tank be out of the house (the CO2 tank, that is). Who is your supplier? Maybe it was the same guy (I'll find out where he filled his).

 

[jhale]

wow you are lucky, that could have been a missle headed at you or someone on the street. another reason to use two part

 

[nanoreefer22]

wow you are lucky, that could have been a missle headed at you or someone on the street. another reason to use two part

Or your crotch . Glad nothing happened top you guys. They had told me to watch myself when i had gotten a Ca reactor.

 

[loismustdie]

wow you are lucky, that could have been a missle headed at you or someone on the street. another reason to use two part

Is Fred (fritz) reading this? Like I said in his thread: 2 part with doser... no CO2 tanks to deal with.
Sorry to hear about this Nate.
chris

 

[gnatp2]

I'm sending the girlfriend to pick another one up tomorrow. Hope she'll make it.

 

[jhale]

:funnypost

make sure she has a gym bag

 

[jackson6745]

I'm sending the girlfriend to pick another one up tomorrow. Hope she'll make it.

Good move:biglaugh:

Pretty scary to think about that going nuts under the tank. Glad everything is ok.

 

[loismustdie]

I'm sending the girlfriend to pick another one up tomorrow. Hope she'll make it.

Spoken like a true gentleman.

 

[fritz]

I was really worried about having a Co2 tank in the house. I get paranoid about compressed gas. This seals the deal for me. I'm shopping for a 2 part doser. Glad to hear everything worked out ok.

 

[House of Laughter]

2 things - buy yourself a new tank and NEVER let them swap it out.

Always demand they fill your tank.

And use a good regulator.

Crazy!

House

 

[ScottK]

I homebrew, and have a keg system with a CO2 tank, and years ago, when I bought the setup, the guy told me that right after you fill it, you should keep the tank from temperature extremes, and keep it upright, or it could blow. I have no idea where he got the info, or if it's just urban myth...

 

[loismustdie]

I'm around compressed gas all the time and that sounds like sound advice. Thing is, it should also be upright and well stabilized to prevent it falling over. Compressed gas is real dangerous. Although Nate's experience here is VERY RARE, I'm not willing to take a shot like this with a baby in the house and 240 gallons of water that could end up on the floor in the event of the rare catastrophic failure, when there are much less risky options out there. Also, to back up what Jim said, buy a new tank and have them fill your tank and your tank only. Taking your nice new shiny aluminum tank and replacing it with their old, expired steel tanks are a dream for these guys.

 

[cali_reef]

It didn't "blow up", you won't be typing what happen if it did. I seen the aftermath of 80lb nitrogen bottle blown up about 14 years ago, a cinder block retaining wall did not "retain" the blast. pieces of the wall made some damage to an aircraft parked 200 feet away.

What happens to you is the over pressure relief valve blow off, most likely from the bottle being shake around too much and changes in temperature. They are design the release the pressure at a certain % over the normal working pressure of the bottle. CO2 bottles are very safe if you take precaution in handling them, walking one in a gym bag on public transportation is not I would consider a safe way to handle them. You should take the bottle back to where you had it fill and tell them what happen, they should give you a free replacement bottle. Tell them you are thinking about filling a report with DOT and OSHA if they give you crap.

 

[PalmTree]

I use to be a paramedic and must have handled thousands of Oxygen tanks. I can't tell you how many times I've droped, bumped, rolled, and abused O2 cylinders and never had any major mishaps. However a friend coworker of mine was not so lucky. His tank rolled out the back of the ambulance and the neck snaped off sending it shooting into an unoccupied parked car. There was a huge hole on the driver side door and the cylinder was embedded in the passenger door. Needless to say I was VERY careful after that!

 

[tosiek]

i've been bumping down Co2 tanks lately for paintball at my house in PA. Your gonna make me think twice and double check myself now when refilling paintball Co2 tanks. =0) 850+ PSI is not a fun thing to mess with.

And take Jims advice, my Co2 vendor told me the same thing about refilling the Co2 tanks. I purchased a 60lb tank and he said if i go elsewhere make sure they refill it and not swap it out b/c some places suck with regulations and checking the tanks.

 

[jhale]

I use to be a paramedic and must have handled thousands of Oxygen tanks. I can't tell you how many times I've droped, bumped, rolled, and abused O2 cylinders and never had any major mishaps. However a friend coworker of mine was not so lucky. His tank rolled out the back of the ambulance and the neck snaped off sending it shooting into an unoccupied parked car. There was a huge hole on the driver side door and the cylinder was embedded in the passenger door. Needless to say I was VERY careful after that!

this reminds me of an experiment Mythbusters did, they sent a bottle down a track pointed towards a wall made of cinder block. the bottle went through the wall and embeded in the wall on the other side. obviously the larger bottles are no joke.

I can't remember hearing of a reefer who had thier Co2 bottle get loose in the house, a good precaution is to strap the bottle in place.

 

[gnatp2]

Spoke to the place today and they said to bring it in and they'd swap it out no problem. They would also fill up my new tank, but have to send it in and get it back in a couple days. They said that it got overpressurised because of the hot -> cold -> hot temperature swings it went through. Makes sense to me.

 

[masterswimmer]

Nate, glad it is all good. It could have been a catastrophic event.

swimmer