Argon and Dry Suits -- How much warmer?

[TSandM]

I did a bit of a personal experiment on my first experience with Argon. I went on a three day trip to Canada, with 43 degree water. The first day, I had Argon, and I was very comfortably warm. The second day, I had "airgon" (topped off with air) and I was not quite as warm. The third day, I had air, and I froze my ***** off (wish it were literally true). Hmm.

Came home and bought an Argon setup, and used it pretty much through that winter. Stopped using it for the summer's diving. Bought a new undergarment, which was warmer but needed more weight. Got a new hood. Summer was great. Then the water started getting cold again, and I've done dives WITH Argon and dives WITHOUT Argon, and dammit, I keep coming up with the conclusion that the argon makes a difference. Placebo or not; if I'm warmer, I'm WARMER.

 

[Rick Inman]

I The third day, I had air, and I froze my ***** off (wish it were literally true). Hmm.

Hmm. What 5 letter word did you freeze off?

Never mind. I don't want to know...

 

[HBDiveGirl]

Personal experience from a SoCal diver:
I've used my argon rig for 21 dives in the past month and this is what I experienced:

• Argon makes a significant difference for me if the water is 50F and colder.
• It makes a little bit of difference in 54F water.
• The benefit is negligible in 56F water and warmer.

The most dramatic comparision was doing 8 dives in 50F water over 3 days in northern British Colombia. (Queen Charlotte Straits islands, Browning Wall, God's Pocket marine reserve.)

I had enough argon for 6 of the dives, and I was very warm. Toe count was 10 outta 10 at the end of the dives, and my dry-gloved fingers remained flexible.

On the two dives with 32% nitrox flowing into my drysuit, End-0f-Dive toe count was 4 and 6, and my fingers had that stiff/blocky feeling.


I consider argon a great tool for diving water that is 50F or below.

~~~~
Claudette

 

[mikeguerrero]

What size bottle does everyone use for their Argon setup, 6 cf or 13 cf?

Thanks

MG

 

[Gombessa]

Mostly 6cf. That'll be good for 5-6 dives (I use 1cf/dive as a rule of thumb).

 

[Peter_C]

How much pressure you can get into the bottle plays a part in the size and type of bottle too. Does the fill place or you have a booster like a Haskel. For instance I have a large argon tank for my welder, but the pressure is not very much at around 1300 psi.

Another option for argon is to take an AL40-80 or even a small steel tank (Not necessarily a scuba tank) and flush your drysuit before the dive. That would do more than just hooking up a small argon bottle and going diving. It would probably be safe to say most people do not purge their suits of air enough to gain the benefits of argon.

 

[mutiny360]

I dive dry all the time in the north. I actually got an argon setup in a deal, guy had a bunch of tanks for sale, I just wanted the steel 100s and pony, ended up with the whole lot, some aluminum tanks and the argon because he just wanted them gone. But I do like having the seperate tank so im not using breathing gas to inflate my suit. The only noticable difference I found is that you don't feel a blast of cold air from the tank, its more of a warm hit of air. That being said, money would probably be better spent on new underwear, or a hood and dry gloves. I bought a pair of dry gloves and love them. No better feeling than being in the water for an hour New Years daying and walking out with bone dry warm hands while others can barely use their hands.

 

[Randy43068]

The British Navy ( IRCC ) studied the use of argon and found no difference using it vs air for warmth in a drysuit. You might find a difference using argon when diving mix, however.

 

[Dan Weidert]

What is preventing a group of tech minded divers (like you find on this board) from designing and conducting a "double blind"study? You would need some one with enough statistical savvy to determine the necessary number of divers, dives, and water temps to give valid results. You would probably need several LDS's to load numbered cylinders with argon or air (to help with both the necessary numbers and repeatability of the study).

What a great way to add to our knowledge.

 

[dave4868]

What is preventing a group of tech minded divers (like you find on this board) from designing and conducting a "double blind"study? You would need some one with enough statistical savvy to determine the necessary number of divers, dives, and water temps to give valid results. You would probably need several LDS's to load numbered cylinders with argon or air (to help with both the necessary numbers and repeatability of the study).

What a great way to add to our knowledge.

Take a look at the linked article provided by RoatanMan above and the excerpted conclusion pasted below:

"Why Argon?" by Eric Maiken
Why Argon?
​

His conclusion:

Argon is a straightforward and inexpensive alternative to air for dry suit inflation. Just a few cubic feet (liters) of gas are required for most technical dives, depending on depth and diver ability. However, the trouble of an additional tank is not always justified in situations where air will suffice. Some argue against ever using argon when a thick set of underwear and more weight might do the job. And finally, suit inflation gas is only one of the many factors that impact a diver's overall thermal protection. Take a sensible, overall approach. Experiment, and then decide if argon is right for you!

​

I'm in the camp that the non-helium diver can usually achieve excellent thermal protection without argon just by controlling other factors. That's been my personal experience.

Dave C