Oxygen/Nitrous Oxide questions....

**RamblezMarblez** · 02-21-2009, 07:05 PM

So I went to get my tanks filled and was wondering if the same oxygen that I burn is also used for old people who breathe oxygen to keep from sufficating. Is it medical grade oxygen or the same exact thing. Also I noticed Air Gas does Nitrous Oxide gas exchange. I guess they ship them out and keep them locked up in the back for customers. The guy who swapped out an empty tank for a full one sure didn't look like no dentist. What's the deal with N2O? What does it take to get a N2O tank and then fill it? Just wondering b/c it seems all hush hush at airgas. I have no real intent. Just curious!!!.....Slick

**Greymatter Glass** · 02-21-2009, 07:46 PM

the oxygen is the same, the tanks are different slightly. mostly it's an issue of paperwork and certification to handle medical O2.

As for N2O it's got other uses as an industrial process gas and in race cars.... could be the guy you saw swapping a tank was just a contractor for a dentist. And yes, it's usually only stored in small amounts, and kept tightly locked up.

Back when I had a crooked O2 guy at Valley he wouldn't even sell me nitrous out of the back.

**Brian Newman** · 02-21-2009, 08:00 PM

N2O is produced by heating ammonium nitrate to an exact temperature. As it is getting up to temperature, it produces various other gasses. I forget which one is the real nasty one, but one of them a short exposure to a couple of parts per million can stop your heart a day or two later. Beware of automotive grade. It is just for chilling the intake of cars, NOT for breathing. That leaves medical grade, and food grade. Food grade is used for cappuccino machines, whipped cream and the like.

**glassdocnc** · 02-21-2009, 08:19 PM

4 short years of dental school and voila, you too can buy medical nitrous oxide.

But seriously the shit is dangerous when misused. Don't go there.

**Dale M.** · 02-21-2009, 09:00 PM

Originally Posted by glassdocnc

4 short years of dental school and voila, you too can buy medical nitrous oxide.

But seriously the shit is dangerous when misused. Don't go there.

OR just go to speed shop and get the race car "stuff"...

Dale

**RamblezMarblez** · 02-22-2009, 07:08 AM

Originally Posted by Dale M.

OR just go to speed shop and get the race car "stuff"...

Dale

^^^ Well I'm sure that's real dangerous and full of Sulfur. Okay so the tank the was getting filled said Food Grade right on the sticker. What does it take to get a food grade N2O tank and then fill it? Thanks

**seadal** · 02-22-2009, 07:17 AM

Nitrous bottles for cars have sulpher or some other type of bittering agent in the bottle, not in the nitrous itself. So I am told.

**nodice** · 02-22-2009, 07:51 AM

What he said. I forget what it is, but they put a small amount of something in n2o which isn't medical grade, to stop people from trying to inhale it. I don't think it'll kill ya or anything, but I wouldn't wanna try it(and I had n2o in my old car for a while). You can probably get medical grade if you give the gas guy a good enough excuse. After all, it would be for lampworking.... From what I've heard, there's really no difference in purity between medical grade oxygen and the stuff we use. Maybe medical grade oxygen just needs to be kept in cleaner tanks which are serviced more often?

**gotglass?** · 02-22-2009, 10:52 AM

you hit it on the head nodice.... generally the med grade bottles are painted blue and stickered accordingly... they can't take a tank outta a dank ship yard and sell it to a medical place its just not sterile.... in other words those bottles receive more attention as to quality control and tracking as to avoid contamination.

**Meerkat** · 02-22-2009, 05:05 PM

Racing nitrous is not pure and has both chemicals that are bad for you as well as chemcials added to make it smell and taste noxious.

You either want food grade nitrous or medical grade nitrous. The medical grade is very hard to come buy as you need a special container and have to be registered as a dentist/doctor to get it.

The best way to go is with food grade, you should be able to walk into most any grocery store or cooking store and buy whipped cream chargers in packs of 10 for around 90 cents to $1 a charger (actually thats Canadian so you should get them a bit cheaper. The stuff that comes in whipped cream chargers is food grade nitrous. I used to buy them all the time in Canada.

But even easier is just do a google and find a place that sells whipped chream chargers in bulk to cafe and restaurants adn you can buy them in bulk for really cheap. Here is where I go in Australia:
http://finewhip.com.au/

**Glassroots** · 02-22-2009, 10:00 PM

industrial oxygen is cleaner than medical

**lsw** · 02-22-2009, 11:49 PM

Originally Posted by Glassroots

industrial oxygen is cleaner than medical

Thats not what I heard from my gas company. On another note there are some crooked delivery guys out there who will sell ya medical grade n2o. My delivery guy offered me medical grade n2o for $250 a 337 cylinder. They have it on dock @ the welding shop. I personally dont care for the stuff though.

**Brian Newman** · 02-23-2009, 06:18 AM

Originally Posted by Glassroots

industrial oxygen is cleaner than medical

Is a higher purity the same as "cleaner"? Is nitrogen dirty?

**Dale M.** · 02-23-2009, 10:39 AM

More than you ever wanted to know about OXYGEN...

http://www.answers.com/topic/oxygen

More than you ever wanted to know about NITROUS OXIDE...

http://www.answers.com/topic/nitrous%20oxide

Dale

**Greymatter Glass** · 02-23-2009, 07:17 PM

Originally Posted by Glassroots

industrial oxygen is cleaner than medical

Not really. Ultimately the source is the same - liquidification of air.

The place I get my industrial O2 also fills medical O2 2x a week. they fill the medical tanks off the same source bulk tank as industrial cylinders.

The days they fill medical they have to clean the filling stations, refit some of the distribution lines, and have the entire site certified for the day. It's paperwork and money, but the oxygen is the exact same product.

**Mr. Whale dick** · 02-23-2009, 07:46 PM

the purity of the o2 is tested after the fill as well...it does all come from the same place tho...

**Glassroots** · 02-23-2009, 08:03 PM

yeah purity is what I meant. Thats what my oxy guy told me anyways. Interesting that it comes from the same source.

**Greymatter Glass** · 02-23-2009, 11:15 PM

the purity isn't higher, they just test it to a higher tolerance.

99.998% = 99.9% (but 99.9 != 99.998)

Legally they COULD sell a lower purity oxygen as industrial, but in practice they don't, it's just a higher tolerance placed on the testing.