Jax, I don't have a job but I have a CO tester.
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One can argue that back and forth. What is the chance versus the bother and expense. Certainly a lot of people, particularly in the US, have gotten by. But then there's that slight chance. And then someone succumbs, and people like me and the other pro-test posters come to the conclusion that it's better to test. I'm leaving on a dive trip soon--in the US--and my CO tester is already packed.
We have already found CO three times here in the US. I just lent our CO tester to two friends going to MX for a few weeks. They started a thread about the CO they found during their trip. The cost of an analyzer is cheap compared the value I put on Xenia's and my life.
If I was still able to cave dive, I would gladly dive with 23 of the people who voted in this poll. They "get it."
The others should use the search function and read "Erroneous Assumptions" which details my first hand experience with carbon monoxide. (It wasn't good.)
Respectfully,
Lamar
Where I live, nobody has a CO analyser.
Is CO a bigger issue in Mexico than in Europe? I know from the stories of that dead in Mexico.
The likelihood of getting CO into a tank depend on many factors. First of all it can happen anywhere. If the compressor intake picks up exhaust fumes from a Diesel car or truck, CO will end up in the tank. I've seen stupid positioning of intake tubes in Europe, for example right in front of the shop where the UPS truck idles every morning.
And besides, probably nobody in Europe uses expensive filters with Hopcalite to filter out CO, since that is optional for electrically powered compressors.
The climate in Mexico may make compressors run hot more easily than in Europe. With standard oil in the compressors, an overly hot compressor may cause oil to get burned and produce CO as a result. There may be other factors in Mexico that may attribute to these issues. Lack of governmental rules and control, fuel powered compressors, trying to get stretch filter intervals to save money.
Anyhow, I'm not an expert, I'm just somebody who had his tank contaminated in Europe. The guy operating the fill station was apparently broke and the filter was not changed and condensate go into my tanks. I was lucky enough to smell it.
Nowadays I use a CO analyser. It takes 5 seconds per tank to analyse.
Since CO meters are getting so inexpensive, it's really a no-brainer. A friend of mine has a deal on the Sensorcon analyser right now for $129, a price even us poor Europeans should be able to afford :)