Industry News

On July 15, 2004 Luxfer Cylinders announced a clarification of their long-held position that cylinders for use with any Oxygen percentage above 23.5% Oxygen must be cleaned and dedicated to contaminant free-gas. While in recent years, Luxfer’s “public statements” on this issue have been twisted to meet various parties needs, Luxfer has never wavered from this belief which they clearly state on their web-site as consistent with ANDI’s. As a matter of fact, the ONLY servicing program that Luxfer mentions is ANDI’s!

In their policy statement (which can be viewed at):
http://www.luxfercylinders.com/support/faq/aluminumoxygen.shtml

Luxfer Cylinders once and for all denounces the “40%
rule” as myth:

While Luxfer Cylinders can certainly be considered an authority on issues surrounding Oxygen equipment issues, Luxfer consulted heavily with ANDI for their specific experience within the SCUBA industry and because of ANDI’s reputation as having the only consistent message compatible with their’s and other industry experts that Luxfer does business with. As a matter of fact, the only Oxygen-service training program that Luxfer mentions on their site is that of ANDI’s!

Beginning in January, 2005 Luxfer will change their out-of-the-box-policy such that “unless otherwise requested, new cylinders will be shipped suitable for AIR ONLY. New cylinders, Oxygen compatible (for use above 23.5% contact), will be available but this must be requested at time of order.” Luxfer further stipulates that by utilizing cleaning & dedication procedures consistent with those taught by ANDI that even a Luxfer-AIR cylinder can be rendered for use with Oxygen mixtures above 23.5% provided proper cleaning and dedication occurs. Isn’t that what ANDI has said since 1988?

T E C H N I C A L B U L L E T I N

Luxfer aluminum scuba cylinders for
oxygen-enriched applications in the U.S.A.

RIVERSIDE, Calif. (July 23, 2004)—Oxygen-enriched service for scuba applications, including ¹ “nitrox” service, is defined as use of a breathable gas mixture with elevated oxygen content above that normally ² found in air. A Luxfer aluminum scuba cylinder may be used for oxygen-enriched service only if the cylinder has been properly cleaned and maintained for such service.

All Luxfer scuba cylinders manufactured since January 2000 were properly prepared for oxygen-enriched service when shipped from the factory. However, if a cylinder has not been maintained in a proper state for such service, it will be necessary to clean and properly prepare the cylinder before filling it with an oxygen-enriched mixture.

All system components used with a cylinder in oxygen-enriched service—including the valve, regulator and connections—must be oxygen compatible and properly designed and prepared for oxygen-enriched service.

Actual cleaning procedures will vary depending on the condition of a given cylinder and the possible contaminants to which the cylinder has been exposed. Once a cylinder has been properly cleaned and prepared for oxygen-enriched service, the cylinder should be tested and certified “oxygen clean” by an authorized laboratory. (For example, the laboratory will test to make sure that the cylinder meets the regulatory standard for hydrocarbon content, since hydrocarbon content in excess of the standard poses a fire danger in the presence of oxygenenriched mixtures.)

Failure to prepare a scuba cylinder properly for oxygen-enriched service, failure to conduct subsequent testing or failure to use only oxygen-compatible components could result in serious personal injury or death and property loss or damage.

This Luxfer Technical Bulletin supersedes all previous Luxfer statements on this subject.

Reference Luxfer Technical Bulletin dated July 23, 2004 The U.S. Compressed Gas Association (USCGA) and U.S. Occupational Safety and Health Act (USOSHA)

1 define oxygen-enriched service as breathable air with oxygen in concentrations above 23.5% by volume. In all matters concerning gas filling, gas handling and percentage of oxygen content, Luxfer defers to USCGA publications. The term “nitrox” is broadly used in the scuba industry to refer to various breathing mixtures with variable oxygen content. However, in government regulations around the world, there is no single, clear specification for what constitutes “nitrox.”