Handling Scuba Diving Tanks In The Correct Way

When you look at a checklist of all the equipment that you require to scuba dive you have to say that scuba diving tanks are THE most critical. Without tanks there would be no such activity.

It is quite a complex way in which the tanks are connected into the diving suit and therefore this needs knowledge of the handling method required.

Because scuba diving involves so many different specialized dives the basics are often overlooked. The issue of safety and scuba tanks is one of these.

The Negative Influence of Television.

Television has been wrongly blamed for a number of 'bad influences' on people's behavior and if there one area where TV was a bad influence it would be on the safety issues surrounding scuba diving tanks.

This is a serious point as when you watch a television program or a movie; you will notice the scuba diving tanks pointing upwards. This is a serious no-no! The reason is that the tanks contained compressed air and, as anyone who remembers the famous scene in JAWS where Robert Shaw admonished Roy Schieder about haphazard scuba tank handling know; scuba diving tanks contain compressed air.

Should tanks be handled incorrectly the result could be serious harm or damage (looked what happended to Jaws in the aforementioned film). If you store a tank on it's end and it falls over the apparatus on top of the tank could diconnect.

This could lead to the compressed air "shooting" the apparatus off as if it were a cannon ball. Needless to say, this could easily cause a fatality if it makes impact with someone. Instead of following the misguided notion of letting a scuba diving tank standing upwards (or worse, standing upwards unattended), it is best to lie the scuba diving tanks on the ground.

With scuba diving, as with any other sport, safety should always be a major concern. It is too high a price to pay for neglect.

This all adds up to one plain and simple fact that follows good practice and common sense. Anyone who is to handle compressed air tanks or scuba diving tanks needs to ensure that they have the proper qualifications to do so. If they have not then the results can be cataclysmic.