Looking at a booster.

[fdarden]

I owned a mini booster for awhile, and loved it (HII 3G). I ended up selling it and upgrading to a HII5G. Those are both very similar to Haskell models. I think the mini boosters are probably fine for CCR bottles, and occasional use, however heavy use of the booster combined with moist drive gas will likely cause you to need to service it more often. I upgraded mine because I felt the duty cycle of the mini booster was being pushed beyond it's capabilities (20X1 compression ratio 3000 psi with 150psi of drive gas) 5G-SS-50 (50x1 ratio at 150 psi drive gas input) When I used the mini booster, I also used a Dewalt nail gun compressor from Home Depot with it. In order to reach pressures beyond 3000 psi, I plumbed around the regulator on the compressor, and let the booster work off whatever the compressor output. This worked well, but again it was straining to fill high pressure steel tanks, and with helium rich mixes, became rather frustrating. In my opinion, unless you ll be using the mini VERY infrequently, I would spring for a larger booster. While the mini is adequate and can be made to work, you will be much happier in the long run with a larger booster. Oh and one other point - the mini boosters will suck a tank down to about 700 psi, while the larger one that I have will bring it down to about 300. Get a dual action booster, and you can probably empty the tank. If you work much with Helium/Trimix, this investment will possibly pay off in the long run. Hope this helps.

Frank

 

[rjack321]

Agree with Frank here. That haskel will work for CCR bottles and the occasional 40. Its a poor choice for multiple divers and anything bigger like 80s. Undersized boosters wear out exponentially faster, and service is expensive.

 

[Wookie]

I have both a mini booster (HI 3G) as well as a Masterline. I have the masterline because my big Haskel boosters took more than 35 CFM to drive. So, to parrot what was said above, for the occasional rebreather cylinder, a mini is the ticket for both O2 as well as He. If you are filling doubles of bank bottles for filling doubles, go with some serious heft.

 

[Dsix36]

You can take a different route and get a Teledyne sprague booster also. the rebuild kits are only $300 and they are dead simple to work on. I use my 30:1 like a work horse and it is great. I fill and mix my bank T's with it, AL80's, Steel 120's, and my rebreather tanks. oxygen, helium, trimix are all good and it will pull a tank down to 200psi so there is not much waste.

They are not very portable though and require large amounts of drive gas, so plan on having a good compressor to supply drive air.

 

[opie712]

You can take a different route and get a Teledyne sprague booster also. the rebuild kits are only $300 and they are dead simple to work on. I use my 30:1 like a work horse and it is great. I fill and mix my bank T's with it, AL80's, Steel 120's, and my rebreather tanks. oxygen, helium, trimix are all good and it will pull a tank down to 200psi so there is not much waste.

They are not very portable though and require large amounts of drive gas, so plan on having a good compressor to supply drive air.

What is the model number your using?

 

[Dsix36]

What is the model number your using?

My current one is model S86-JN30, but have used S86-JN60 and S86-JN100 also. Hell I still have a 100 sitting in my garage waiting for me to do something with it. The 30 requires more drive gas pressure than the 60 or 100 do.

 

[macado]

My current one is model S86-JN30, but have used S86-JN60 and S86-JN100 also. Hell I still have a 100 sitting in my garage waiting for me to do something with it. The 30 requires more drive gas pressure than the 60 or 100 do.

The prices are not bad on these things. Besides requiring large amount of drive gas, what is the downside to these boosters? Just curious since I may be looking at upgrading to something larger than my mini Haskel in near future. I can always use my mini Haskel for pumping O2 into rebreather bottles but these might be nice for boosting other gases into doubles and T bottles

I am assuming they need to be taken apart and made "O2 clean enough..."?

http://www.fergusonengineering.com/files/S-86-JN-Manual-5_2014.pdf

 

[opie712]

So these are not suitable for o2? What does making them o2 capable consist of?

 

[Dsix36]

So these are not suitable for o2? What does making them o2 capable consist of?

According to the official statement from Teledyne Spraque, the high pressure seal is not manufactured with O2 compatible materials. I merely O2 clean them during the build and do not worry about it. I pump slow enough to not get things hot enough to be an issue.

One other concern some people have is that the back side of the High pressure seal is in contact with the low pressure drive gas during cycling and could lead to cross contamination. This can be solved, if you are so inclined by removing and blocking the return/vent line. My 100 is already setup this way and it makes it much quieter too.

 

[cshannon]

According to the official statement from Teledyne Spraque, the high pressure seal is not manufactured with O2 compatible materials. I merely O2 clean them during the build and do not worry about it. I pump slow enough to not get things hot enough to be an issue.

One other concern some people have is that the back side of the High pressure seal is in contact with the low pressure drive gas during cycling and could lead to cross contamination. This can be solved, if you are so inclined by removing and blocking the return/vent line. My 100 is already setup this way and it makes it much quieter too.

I know this thread is old but giving it a shot. What is the down side to removing the return/vent line and blocking it? Quieter and no cross contamination are big pluses for boosting o2 so wondering what's the catch?