[TheForge] Gas Cylinder Safety (was: Freak accident)

[Ron Childers]

Blast, blame my post on the Percoset. It's Ron, dernit. Doc also gave me a shot and some kind of topical- Dimethyl sulfoxide (DMSO)and who knows what. Sure put a chemical taste in my mouth. 

-----Original Message-----
From: theforge-bounces at mailman.qth.net [mailto:theforge-bounces at mailman.qth.net] On Behalf Of Ron Childers
Sent: Tuesday, September 20, 2011 12:44 PM
To: Blacksmithing List Sponsored by ABANA
Subject: Re: [TheForge] Gas Cylinder Safety (was: Freak accident)

Well stated, Bruce. This is one area where OSHA specs are pretty common sense. It only takes a second to chain a cylinder but a nanosecond for a kid to try to climb a free-standing unattended 244 cf oxygen tank on the edge of a loading dock. During one period of my checkered career many years ago I was a certified safety inspector and that was the biggest violation. Rion C

-----Original Message-----
From: theforge-bounces at mailman.qth.net [mailto:theforge-bounces at mailman.qth.net] On Behalf Of Bruce Freeman
Sent: Tuesday, September 20, 2011 10:02 AM
To: Blacksmithing List Sponsored by ABANA
Subject: [TheForge] Gas Cylinder Safety (was: Freak accident)

Dave is right about caps -- don't expect them to fit perfectly.  I
have seen many instances when the cap that was on the cylinder as it
came from the gas supplier did not fit well at all.  Usually they are
too loose, but sometimes they're too tight.  I'm not sure what threads
they use on those things, but I suspect there's more than one
standard, or that the standard is not too strict.  (Test the fit of
the cap when the cylinder is delivered, and refuse delivery of any you
can't loosen by hand.  If the delivery man gives you shit about
refusing delivery, tell him to back off or you'll phone his safety
officer.)

I’m going to get a little preachy, below, for which I apologize now.
Please think of it this way – you are all my friends to a greater or
lesser degree, and I don’t have enough friends that I would care to
lose any to preventable accidents.  I certainly do NOT intend to
criticize Ron, who is to be commended for pointing out a possibly
embarrassing error and warning the rest of us not to do as he did.
However, Ron’s account only touches the surface of possible injuries
from mishandling compressed gas cylinders.

In my experience, people who should know better treat compressed gas
cylinders much too cavalierly.  I am no expert on this subject, but I
have worked around such cylinders all my career (as a chemist) and I
know a good deal about them just because of trying to keep my own skin
intact.

The caps for those cylinders should always be replaced when the
regulator is removed.  The purpose of the cap it to prevent the valve
from being broken off the cylinder.  Should that happen, the cylinder
becomes an unsteerable rocket.  This is no joke.  This really happens.

The absence of the regulator may actually make the cylinder safer (or
not) but the presumption is that when the regulator is removed, the
cylinder will be transported; and when a cylinder is moved from one
place to another, the regulator should always be removed and the cap
replaced

The principal function of the holes in the cap is to release gas while
the cap is in place.  That can happen, for example, in a fire, when
the overpressure valve vents some or all of the cylinder contents.  In
general, that should be the only function for those holes.  Resist the
temptation to put anything into them -- like a lever for loosening a
stuck cap.  There are a few types of cap wrenches that are designed to
insert into those holes to give a little torque when removing a cap,
but REALLY the cap should be unscrewed by hand alone, using no
additional torque.  If you use a wrench, FIRST be sure that the
cylinder itself is secured and cannot tip or rotate, and SECOND that
the wrench you use CANNOT touch the valve inside the cap.

While on the subject, let me mention that many workers do not secure
cylinders properly.  Often they don’t secure them at all.  Cylinders
should be secured from tipping or falling using a chain or stout
strap.  A bungee cord doesn’t cut it.  Short cylinders may be clamped
into a broad base that doesn’t actually secure the cylinder, but goes
a long way to prevent tipping.  Always secure cylinders properly
before removing cylinder cap.

Finally, always remember the hidden hazard of gas injection.  If a
pinhole should exist on the cylinder valve or high-pressure side of a
regulator, a stream of gas at high pressure will exit the cylinder.
If you have acute hearing, you may be able to hear this, but don’t
count on that.  Even a soapy water test may not reveal such a leak,
because the gas flow is so fast as to prevent bubbles from forming.  A
pressure-drop test (change in pressure with time when there should be
no gas consumption) may reveal such a leak.  Therefore as a general
rule, don’t grasp or come too close to a high-pressure gas line.  Even
100 psi can inject gas under the skin, and severe damage can result
from such an injection.

-- 
Bruce
NJ
______________________________________________________________
TheForge mailing list
Home: http://mailman.qth.net/mailman/listinfo/theforge
Help: http://mailman.qth.net/mmfaq.htm
Post: mailto:TheForge at mailman.qth.net

TheForge mail list group photo site is
http://www.photoworks.com
Login: blacksmithblacksmith at hotmail.com
Password: anvil

This list hosted by: http://www.qsl.net
Please help support this email list: http://www.qsl.net/donate.html
______________________________________________________________
TheForge mailing list
Home: http://mailman.qth.net/mailman/listinfo/theforge
Help: http://mailman.qth.net/mmfaq.htm
Post: mailto:TheForge at mailman.qth.net

TheForge mail list group photo site is
http://www.photoworks.com
Login: blacksmithblacksmith at hotmail.com
Password: anvil

This list hosted by: http://www.qsl.net
Please help support this email list: http://www.qsl.net/donate.html