[TheForge] RE: Fact or urban myth?

[Dave Mudge]

Here is the answer from my friend who worked many years in the
compressed gas industry.
dave mudge
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I don't have the reference's any more because I left my library with the job
However, it was widely recognized in the industry that acetylene
equipment used to store and handle the bulk product should be burned
when decommissioned. One of the first cousins of Acetylene was
determined to be so dangerous that our corporation finally refused to
accept any orders for products containing it.  The hazard of metal
acetylides is real but may not be the culprit here.  Acetylene as
produced is actually a mixture of a number of compounds which in
combination make a kind of microscopic varnish film with the acetylene
on all surfaces of the equipment. Exposed do high pressure, not
necessarily hydrogen, or friction from high velocity gas movement, it
may decompose.  Hydrogen is a particularly good candidate to stimulate
decomposition because of its unique thermal properties as a compressed
gas.
For the view point of a former member of  a safety committee
responsible for specifying the equipment and safe handling procedures
for compressed gases I conclude with the following statement:
In the normal course of events  no equipment suitable for acetylene
service  is also suitable for hydrogen.  Both are chemically and
physically dangerous to handle.  The compressed gas industry has in
its over one hundred years of experience  developed, in conjunction
with federal regulators and  industrial manufactures, a set of rules
of thumb and equipment specification that allow most sensible people
to use materials that are wildly dangerous without injury.  Do not use
acetylene equipment for hydrogen service.  The specifications of the
equipment are incompatible
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On 8/28/06, Michael <michael.a.porter at comcast.net> wrote:
>
>
> Recently I came across a warning against using hydrogen in welding equipment
> previously used with acetylene, due to the possibility of explosion when
> hydrogen gas encounters acetylene residues.
>
> I wrote to the person who had posted this warning on his site, and received
> his assurances that the danger was very real, and that he had checked his
> facts with knowledgeable people who were involved in both oxy-hydrogen and
> oxyacetylene welding back in the thirties and forties.
>
> Nevertheless, I can find no mention of this hazard anywhere else. If someone
> can throw more light on the issue, I'd be obliged.
> Mikey
>
>
>
>
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