Flying with your mini scuba tank

An OX500 is half a litre. It slips into a travel bag without costing you a pair of shoes. Many of our customers take theirs on holiday: a mooring in the Mediterranean, a rental with a pool, a week's charter in the Caribbean. Freeing a fouled anchor or checking a propeller asks for nothing more.

So the question comes up regularly: can you take it on a plane? Yes, provided you follow precise rules. There are few of them, and none is optional.

The rules on a plane

To board with an OXSEA mini tank, three conditions must be met.

• Tank completely empty. Bleed all the air before you leave. A pressurised tank does not fly.
• Head open or removed. The regulator must stay open, or be separated from the tank, so security can see the cylinder holds nothing. Some airlines require the head fully removed: the top part unscrews by hand.
• Declared at check-in. Mention the tank at the desk, even empty.

Each airline applies these principles its own way. Ask for its agreement before booking, in writing if you can.

Checklist before you leave

Five minutes the evening before the flight is enough.

• Bleed the tank down to zero. On an OX500Plus, the external gauge reads at a glance.
• Open the regulator or remove it, and wedge it in the bag so it does not knock about.
• Protect the thread and the seals (a clean cloth does the job).
• Take the manual pump if your destination is far from everything: it needs no electricity and no setup.
• Take the OXAIR mask if you have one (it fits the OX500Plus and the OX1000). It travels like any snorkelling mask.
• Tell the airline before the flight and arrive early at the desk for the declaration. An email 48 hours ahead avoids surprises.

Refilling once you are there

You land with an empty tank. Now to fill it. The manual pump is the travel solution par excellence: allow about 20 minutes for an OX500, no electricity, on deck or on the beach. The OX500 + Manual pump pack is exactly what this scenario calls for. With external regulator and back harness, it is the OX500Plus + Manual pump pack.

If a dive club operates nearby, the DIN or yoke transfer station fills the tank in about 1 minute from a standard scuba tank. And if you sail with 12 V on board, the mini compressor refills an OX500 in about 12 minutes.

A word on the OX1000 (1 litre, about 15 minutes of air): the manual pump is not compatible with this model. Use the transfer station or the compressor (about 20 minutes).

Rinse when you get back

Seawater leaves salt everywhere: threads, seals, the regulator mechanism. Before packing the gear for the return trip, rinse tank, regulator and harness in fresh water, then let them dry in the shade. That is the habit that makes the equipment last.

To go further, the OXSEA School videos cover all the maintenance: flow adjustment, filter changes, replacing the safety disc.

Travel with peace of mind

Every OXSEA tank is checked before it ships from Taverny, near Paris, and covered by a 24-month warranty. Think about completing your kit before you leave: delivery times by zone are on the shipping and returns page.

A doubt about your airline or your setup? Write to us through the contact page. For an equipment issue on your return, after-sales answers at sav@oxsea.com. And before your first dive out there, reread our safety guide.