Dive Cylinders - Outside Storage - Help Needed

[Mike Minton]

Hi All

Quick question, i have eight cyliners of varios sizes, and need to store them outside, but during the winter what happens to them with the cold weather or worst still the frost.

Does anyone sore cylinders outside?
If so how do you store them?
Should i do anything special to the cylinder?
Are they ok in the frost/freezing temeperatures?

Any help whould be appreiciated.
Thanks
Mike Minton.

[Chris Cherrington]

Does anyone sore cylinders outside?
If so how do you store them?
Should i do anything special to the cylinder?
Are they ok in the frost/freezing temeperatures?

Any help whould be appreiciated.
Thanks
Mike Minton.

I can't imagine anyone storing them outside unless deperate..

From experience they should be OK in the cold and frost. The main thing is to keep the inside dry so make sure there's some pressure in them.

If the paintwork is good they should be OK rust-wise.

To keep the wet out I would suggest a good coating of silicone grease on the valves and any exposed metal (IDEST stamps etc).

My worry would be someone pinching them...

Chris

[Nick McV]

I keep mine in a garden shed - no problem.

Low temperatures should not be a problem, as this is not going to stress the cylinders unduly, although extreme low temps can make metal brittle, so if it gets to -20C don't go kicking them around!! :-0

If you are thinking of leaving them without shelter, then try to keep water / dirt / spiders from getting into the valves. If you are laying them on their sides, put some wooden batten down first to stop them sitting in water. If storing them upright, make sure you can lash them to stop them being knocked over.

One of the plastic lean-to garden tool stores may be an option, and have thge added benefit of disguising them!

[Mike Minton]

Thanks

I have bought a "midistore" outside shed, big enough to keep the cyliners in.

I was more worried about the frost than anything else.

Anyway, thanks for all your help,
Mike Minton

[Scott Laddiman]

I store my 9 cylinders outside in my shed all year with no problems. Although I just did my offshore refresher which included a day fire fighting. I discussed my cylinders in my shed with the Chief Fire Instructor who suggested I should put a 'compressed Gas sticker' on the shed as if there was a fire near by they would concentrate on keeping my shed fire free as 9 cylinders filled with a mix of Air, high % Nitrox and Trimix could re shape the area I live in if caught on fire!
I certainly would NEVER keep cylinders inside for the same reason!
I also think it is a good idea to make sure you seperate any dangerous chemicals far away from your tanks.
Something to think about.