scuba diving tank

Learning the Basics of Using a Scuba Diving Tank
By Brad Jones

The scuba diving tank is a very useful and nifty cylinder which holds compressed air that aids a diver when they need to be breathing underwater. One should know the basic ways to use the scuba diving tank as well as how to take care of it, in order to keep themselves safe and in order to keep the equipment in the best possible shape.

To begin with, one should discard the notion that the scuba diving tank contains pure oxygen because it does not and in fact, it rather is filled with compressed air that contains approximately 21 percent oxygen and 79 percent nitrogen and is the same mixture that one breathes normally when on land.

The danger of having pure oxygen is that it may become toxic, especially when one breathes it at much shallower depths. On the other hand, compressed air becomes toxic only at depths exceeding 200 feet and that is much beyond recreational diving lengths.

Most of the time, a recreational scuba diving tank will be made out of aluminum and can in fact contain 80 cubic feet of air that is compressed into an area of two feet in height and six inches in diameter and one should know that 80 cubic feet of air is normally filled from 2000 to 3000 psi (pounds per inch) of air pressure. In addition, the scuba diving tank is regulated by the U.S. Department of Transportation as well as some other foreign agencies and regulations necessitate that the scuba diving tank be inspected periodically as well as undergo pressure tests to ensure maximum safety for the diver.

To use a scuba diving tank, one must ensure that it is filled from a reputable dive shop and one should enquire as to where the shop compressor’s air intake pipe is and make sure that it is properly located. Since air expands when it exists in hot conditions do not leave the filled tank in a heated up car.

When transporting the scuba diving tank one should remember to place it in the rear of the car with the tank valve facing the passengers because if the valve were to get damaged during transportation the tank would end up propelling the other way. One should also remove the rubber valve protection cap and make a thorough inspection of its O-ring and replace any defective ones, if found.

In addition, one may attach the buoyancy compensator to the body of the tank and also, secure the first stage of the regulator in place on the tank valve. Also, to open the valve turn it anti-clockwise until it cannot go further and then make a small one-half turn backwards.

One should always check the gauges as well jot down the psi and one may scuba dive as much as one wants but one should always ascertain that there is adequate pressure and stop diving while there is still some air remaining.

Author Details:
Brad Jones, lover of all extreme sports & copywriter for various websites including, Scuba Diving and The A to Z of.

Article Source: Sports Articles

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