Rainboe wrote:
Can any divr say what happens if all the gubbins on the end of an Oxygen cylinder blows off suddenly? Or the end blows off? What happens to the bottle?
Extremely unlikely but two things can happen: failure of the valve - never seen this happen but as they're screwed in then this generally means complete failure of the cylinder. There is alledgedly one incident form the 90s in the UK where this happened in a traffic accident - said cylinder took off like a rocket (but sounds like Daily Mail reporting to me)
Cylinder failure: usually seen as a tear in the side of the cylinder. Never known an end to blow off (try this with a bottle of coke) ... while structurally possible the sides are the weakest point.
Diving cylinders must be pressure tested every two years and visually inspected by removing the valve and looking inside every four years. (UK, Europe rules
IIRC )
I've never heard of a diving cylinder failing spontanously - after dropping or during filling yes...
The most common form of O2 accidents is getting oil., grease or hydraulic fluid around the valve....