Test if nitrogen is 100%

[Rose57]

I'd like to know if my nitrogen tank is full of 100% nitrogen. I have two big 60 cubic foot tanks of nitrogen so do not have to worry about not having enoug nitrogen to carry out CTB with. Would it be safe to breathe in the nitrogen until I pass out to make sure that it's 100% nitrogen? Someone told me the following :

"The basic problem is that if they've been breathing out the carbon dioxide in their lungs, there may not be enough there to stimulate their breathing reflex when they fall unconscious, and while the nitrogen itself is harmless enough (doesn't support life, but isn't poisonous either) they could die of suffocation anyway."

Is this a legitimate concern to have and a reason to not test it? I'm just worried my breathing won't pick up again after I pass out from breathing in the nitrogen.

Thanks so much for any help!!

 

[TiredHorse]

I'm afraid I've never heard of a good home test for nitrogen purity. As far as I know, that requires expensive equipment.

As to the try-it-and-see approach, I can offer only one, sketchy, anecdotal reply to your question: I have seen a couple YouTube videos (there's your big red warning on how reliable this info is!) of people blacking out and falling over while breathing from helium balloons. One enormously deep breath, and over the ding-dong goes, right to the floor. They seem a bit dazed by the experience, but despite the hilarity of their friends they get up and shake it off.

There's no telling how many of these idiot-sessions don't make it to YouTube because the ding-dong needed paramedics, but at least you know huffing inert gas isn't a guarantee of death.

 

[Honigwaffel]

There is a chapter in the PPeH regarding testing the purity of the gas. It is on page 84. Sure, you have to buy expensive equipment to test it, but why cheap out when it comes to the last thing you do in life.

I'd like to know if my nitrogen tank is full of 100% nitrogen. Would it be safe to breathe in the nitrogen until I pass out to make sure that it's 100% nitrogen?

I would say testing it that way is like flipping a coin, really. It feels very sketchy to me.
Where did you get your gas from? I got mine from a supplier which guaratees a certain purity and you can ask him to test it for you. A lot of technical gas suppliers have very high standards when it comes to purity. In the end it doesn't really matter if your gas is 99.999% or 99.98% to be honest.