xavierde Posted August 17, 2020 Report Posted August 17, 2020 I wanted to get my O2 system back by replacing an expired O2 tank. However, the MSC working on the annual called me saying that when the expired tank had been placarded INOP (5 years ago), they had disconnected the cabin feed line instead of the refill one and that some "oily" substance was no showing... Oil/Grease aren't words I like to hear in a sentence about O2. They are now scratching their heads to find a solution so I thought I'd ask the MS community for some ideas.
carusoam Posted August 17, 2020 Report Posted August 17, 2020 X, See if you can verify your description... Of the three parts... What is known to be clean, known to be dirty, and which ones are unknown... 1) The old tank is on its way out.... if dirty, no big deal..... 2) The lines to the cabin.... hopefully clean... if they need to be cleaned... expect removal prior to cleaning.... 3) The lines used to fill the tank... much shorter and less sensitive to clean in place.... +1 on avoiding grease, oil, and O2... putting them under pressure only makes the reaction faster... PP thoughts only, not a mechanic... Best regards, -a-
xavierde Posted August 17, 2020 Author Report Posted August 17, 2020 19 minutes ago, carusoam said: 2) The lines to the cabin.... hopefully clean... if they need to be cleaned... expect removal prior to cleaning.... Apparently these are the dirty ones. And since they were mistakenly disconnected a few years ago, they now fear some oil/grease could also be on the inside...
carusoam Posted August 17, 2020 Report Posted August 17, 2020 Bummer... Probably a toss-up of clean vs. toss... the tube plumbing isn’t very expensive... Installing the new stuff is a simple chem lab construction type of effort... The expensive part is removing all the interior panels it is hiding behind... There wouldn’t be many forces that would typically draw contaminants very far... Each time the plane would climb and descend air would enter and leave through the opening.... It is quite possible blowing air in from upstream... you could catch anything that climbed inside... as it escapes.... Use caution to see if there are any devices attached to the system that would be sensitive to your air pressure experiments.... There are O2 system suppliers that have customer service entities... it may be interesting to see what info they have regarding system cleaning... dos and don’ts.... There are a few threads around here discussing finding leaks and replacing parts... but it isn’t an everyday kind of occurrence... PP thoughts only, not a mechanic... Best regards, -a-
larryb Posted August 17, 2020 Report Posted August 17, 2020 I would question and verify their diagnosis. Even with the tubes disconnected and uncapped I don’t see how oil could get in there. 1
EricJ Posted August 17, 2020 Report Posted August 17, 2020 6 minutes ago, larryb said: I would question and verify their diagnosis. Even with the tubes disconnected and uncapped I don’t see how oil could get in there. ^^This. Floating in the air for five years doesn't just automatically collect grease. Even if it does have something in it, it may be able to be cleaned in place. Blowing it out with air from a far end might be a start.
Guest Posted August 17, 2020 Report Posted August 17, 2020 I would think that you might be able to flush the lines out with Isopropyl alcohol, followed with drying with nitrogen, then purging the system once the oxygen cylinder is installed and filled. Clarence
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