Scott Carbon Fiber Cylinders

[NUMBY]

We have been using Scott's carbon fiber cylinders for about 2 years and have never really had a problem with them. Recently after some training fires we noticed some of the cylinders had a brownish color to them. We usually wipe down all of them after any fire to keep them clean, so we did this as usual. Many of the cylinders would not come clean and seemed as though they were stained. We didn't really think anything about it until our local dealer for Scott came to the firehouse last week. He is not a Scott representative, but a salesman that sells Scott products. He said that none of the grey colored carbon cylinders should ever change colors and that he had a concern that the cylinders may have been exposed to high temperatures and could be damaged. I am just wondering if anyone else has heard this or if anyone else has had problems with carbon cylinders being damaged.

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Anything I post in the forums is my opinion and does not reflect my department or any organization I belong to.

[This message has been edited by NUMBY (edited 03-26-2001).]

[Corvin]

Numby,

We recently had two firefighters driven out of a trailer fire. Their helmets, hoods etc were destroyed. Additionally both Scott 2.2 regulator's sustained heat damage. The labels and some plastic melted, the rubber covered doffing switches melted, and the safety latch that engages the facepiece melted on one.

Additionally both bottles turned brown everywhere that was not covered by straps. We are sending out bottles to be hydrostated and approved by the area Scott dealer, although to date they remain in service (yes I know how stupid that is, not my call)

Please e-mail at [email protected] after your dept decides how to handle the issue, I'd be interested.

Be Safe
Chris

[firetrucker]

this is not an uncommon nor bad thing, a few of the bottles we have did the same thing. As I have had it explained to me some of the bottles have a different coating on them, I think it is Kevlar (sp?), that will go a little yellow over time and exposure to heat and the elements.

[hfd12316]

It has been a while since we had Scott II's but I think the paint changes color on the bottles at high heat. I would take them out of service ASAP. The only problem we have had with the carbon bottles is damage from them rubbing on the floor during training. Anything over the size of a quarter puts them out of service. The mechanic has a canary and we have to replace a very expensive piece of equipment. Has anyone heard if they are going to extend the service life on the carbon bottles?

[cfr3504]

Hey guys, good question. We've got a few new MSA carbon fiber cylinders. They have not been used a lot yet, and we haven't yet had any problems. But i'd still like to know what you find out so we can prevent future problems. If you send out an e-mail, put me on the list, I'd appreciate it!

[51Truck_K]

What was burning when these bottles were stained? If it was the typical training fire of hay and pallets, that yellowish color is to be expected, look how new chief's helmets get that same color when they go in the burn building. Can't have a white helmet, better stand up to get this one dirty!If you wash the tanks with soap and water, or the Scott Wash, you remove most of the hydrocarbons, which is good. I wouldn't worry too much about a little tarnishing. But then again, I'm not a Scott rep, just a repeat user!

[NUMBY]

Thanks for the replies. Yeah it was just pallets burning. The yellowish color usually wipes off after some scrubbing. These are acctually like a brownish color. After further inspection we also have a few of the airpack 50's that have some discoloration on the straps. Some of the straps have gone from the dark grey color to red. We have been told that this is not a very big issue, just the dye burning out of the straps. At this point i believe we are sending the cylinders out to be hydrostatic tested. We are also waiting to hear back from Scott. I will keep you posted on what we find out. If anyone else would like to share their experiences with this I would appreciate it.

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Anything I post in the forums is my opinion and does not reflect my department or any organization I belong to.