Explosion of E cylinder of Oxygen

Ken from ontario

Ken from ontario

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H-M Supporter - Silver Member
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I was watching this on the Welding website and thought someone (me) could do with a reminder:
I know the type of the cylinder in the video may not be what we normally use but the general warning still applies .
 
This is what someone else posted about e cylinders:
E tanks are medical grade tanks that take the yoke type regulator/flowmeter.
 
Yep, that was blood.

Even small oxygen tanks like those are extremely dangerous. I don't know how many calls I've been on with the fire department where a fire was caused by somebody smoking while on oxygen. On one, a lady was smoking with her nasal canula flowing oxygen. Apparently she had the regulator turned WAY up and the room had an excess of oxygen in the atmosphere. When the oxygen ignited it lifted the entire roof of a quad-plex apartment off the wall and displaced it a few inches, blowing out all the windows in all four units at the same time. It also burned the carpet out of the entire living room and singed the paint on the walls. She survived with a few small 3rd degree burns on her face and hands and 2nd degree burns over a large part of her body, arms, and legs. She was really lucky the cylinder didn't explode, this was just the flash fire from the oxygen.

This was her SECOND fire caused by smoking with oxygen. She was asked to find another apartment after this one.
 
Oxygen gas is the "Oxidizer". What is the fuel? Is it the aluminum the tank is made out of?

I know that normal household materials will burn profusely in an oxygen rich environment. NASA proved that in 1967 at the cost of the lives of 3 astronauts. The fuel that was burned inside the oxygen tank is what is confusing me? The only thing that I can think of that would be inside the tank to burn is the tank itself? The second video was very informative on how a fire can be sparked inside the valve but neither addressed what fuel is being oxidized.
 
That's what I was going to say. Oxygen assists a fire.
 
I'm wondering if penetrating oil was used prior to disassembly, O2 under pressure reacts violently with oil.
 
vocatexas said:
Yep, that was blood.

Even small oxygen tanks like those are extremely dangerous. I don't know how many calls I've been on with the fire department where a fire was caused by somebody smoking while on oxygen. On one, a lady was smoking with her nasal canula flowing oxygen. Apparently she had the regulator turned WAY up and the room had an excess of oxygen in the atmosphere. When the oxygen ignited it lifted the entire roof of a quad-plex apartment off the wall and displaced it a few inches, blowing out all the windows in all four units at the same time. It also burned the carpet out of the entire living room and singed the paint on the walls. She survived with a few small 3rd degree burns on her face and hands and 2nd degree burns over a large part of her body, arms, and legs. She was really lucky the cylinder didn't explode, this was just the flash fire from the oxygen.

This was her SECOND fire caused by smoking with oxygen. She was asked to find another apartment after this one.
Click to expand...
My brother flew gliders for many years. On the field was another guy, named Tom who was a very capable, experienced pilot but somewhat
indifferent to outcomes. My brother was flying one day up around 16-17,000 feet and so on oxygen and spotted Tom's airplane, so he slid
over just to give him a wave. Tom was smoking a cigarette, and alternating between smoking and taking hits from the O2 mask! I asked
my brother what he did, and he said he cleared off before the fireball engulfed his glider... But fortunately, there never was a fireball.
 
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