I know this is the place! I need directions for a line that will be used to get helium from an S tank to a scuba tank. I was hoping to use an in line T connection that I could put a Cobra digital computer on for accuracy. I would like this primarily rigged for yoke but capable of din. Any suggestions will really be appreciated. Also,what 'pump' could we use to drain the tanks. Are they expensive?
Helium to scuba "whip"
- Thread starter Joe R.
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Friggincold
Contributor
If your breathing Argox you ought to know what to use for helium. Could it be the same? I guess maybe your not technical enough. Have you heard of a haskel booster pump? about $5000. Nice signature.
Friggincold
Friggincold
This thread will get you started:
http://www.scubaboard.com/t11290/s.html
Someone else will have to fill you in on how to attach an SPG to your whip, I've never done it.
Also it sound like you need to order the "Oxygen Hacker's Companion" from http://www.airspeedpress.com/
Roak
http://www.scubaboard.com/t11290/s.html
Someone else will have to fill you in on how to attach an SPG to your whip, I've never done it.
Also it sound like you need to order the "Oxygen Hacker's Companion" from http://www.airspeedpress.com/
Roak
You can get a premade decanting wip from northeast scuba supply, http://www.northeastscubasupply.com/gas_stuff/catalog_gas.html
their prices are reasonable..
The way I would recommend for max flexibility is get a whip with male dins on both ends, a needle valve ( I have 2 needle valves on my unit), and the digital pressure guage.. you can now get adapters to fit any tank, I carry an entire kit with me when go on trips, I have the above with the folowing. 2 din to yoke adapters, din to cga 540, din to cga 580 and din to medical o2.. this way I can cross fill any inert gas, o2 and medical o2..
The only way to maximize your gas is to get a haskel, If you are going to spend the money get one thats o2 ready.. If you don't go that route you;; have to set up a cascade system, using the least fill tank first the ging up the line..
Most computers with integrated pressure guages are not that accurate.. I recommend the Psi tronics guage its only $300.. Standard analog guages aren't very accurate either, and good analog guages are in the same range as the psi tronics guage..
You can even get the guage from the above supply house..
I'll have to disagree with padiscubapro here, don't bother with one that's O2 ready. Too much cost for too little gain. Get a good digital gauge; this will allow you to add the O2 first because of its accuracy. With two or more cylinders of O2 you'll be able to "draw down" your O2 to a very low pressure. This coupled with the fact that O2 is very cheap in the grand scheme of things means you never need to lift it -- and you'll use the O2 almost completely.
The booster can then be used for lifting only the He and doesn't need to be O2 clean.
Roak
Ps. I'm currently mixing Nitrox which requires higher O2 pressures and therefore in theory doesn't allow me to draw down my O2 as low as I could mixing Trimix. The last bottle I returned had less than 100 PSI in it. That's just a buck's worth of ABO.
I don't have a booster so...I dump in the He first couse it's so expensive and this lets me draw it down as much as possible. I get to draw down the O2 doing nitrox fills. Are you working with someone who has blending experience? IMO, you should have some kind of training/guidance. You can get premade stuff from Global.
Mike,
I don't have a booster either, so it's a cascade for me. I'm currently mixing only Nitrox, but I've got one cylinder of He sitting in the garage for when my schedule and my friends schedules match up.
I'm planning on doing the He first as well since as you point out mixing Nitrox allows you to draw down the O2. Just a two bottle cascade of O2 seems to work well.
A WAG at the He seems to tell me that three He bottles should allow me to draw down a bottle to the point where I won't wince when I trade it in for a new bottle, do you have any feelings on this?
Roak
I don't have a booster either, so it's a cascade for me. I'm currently mixing only Nitrox, but I've got one cylinder of He sitting in the garage for when my schedule and my friends schedules match up.
I'm planning on doing the He first as well since as you point out mixing Nitrox allows you to draw down the O2. Just a two bottle cascade of O2 seems to work well.
A WAG at the He seems to tell me that three He bottles should allow me to draw down a bottle to the point where I won't wince when I trade it in for a new bottle, do you have any feelings on this?
Roak
roakey,
I think your pretty much on the money. We use more than one gas supplier. Some charge rent on the bottles and some don't. If I am not paying a monthly fee I can keep more bottles on hand longer and drain them down more. If I am paying rent and it's too long between batches you reach a point where it's cheaper to give back some of the gas. As you know, PP mixing doesn't yield the best economy but I am about the only one I sell trimix to so volumes are low. Having more He bottles obviously lets you drain the first one lower but what about the others? In order to take advantage of having a bunch of bottles you need to keep cycling them through. You still end up with a bunch of money sitting around. If you buy He for, lets say, one trip with two sets of doubles, does it make sense to buy 4 or 5 bottles and store it all and maybe pay rent until the next trip vs buying 2 or 3 bottles and giving some back. It's a balancing act and depends on how long you can let that money sit.
One other limiting factor I found is in my mix controler. I use the Global set-up and it has a flow restrictor in-line. Once the tank gets down below 500 pounds or so, even if the tank I'm filling is empty, the flow is so slow that it drives me nuts. At this point I usually call it empty. Trimix is a PITA but I am hopelessly addicted.
Mike
I think your pretty much on the money. We use more than one gas supplier. Some charge rent on the bottles and some don't. If I am not paying a monthly fee I can keep more bottles on hand longer and drain them down more. If I am paying rent and it's too long between batches you reach a point where it's cheaper to give back some of the gas. As you know, PP mixing doesn't yield the best economy but I am about the only one I sell trimix to so volumes are low. Having more He bottles obviously lets you drain the first one lower but what about the others? In order to take advantage of having a bunch of bottles you need to keep cycling them through. You still end up with a bunch of money sitting around. If you buy He for, lets say, one trip with two sets of doubles, does it make sense to buy 4 or 5 bottles and store it all and maybe pay rent until the next trip vs buying 2 or 3 bottles and giving some back. It's a balancing act and depends on how long you can let that money sit.
One other limiting factor I found is in my mix controler. I use the Global set-up and it has a flow restrictor in-line. Once the tank gets down below 500 pounds or so, even if the tank I'm filling is empty, the flow is so slow that it drives me nuts. At this point I usually call it empty. Trimix is a PITA but I am hopelessly addicted.
Mike
My gas supplier (http://www.linweld.com/) only charges a deposit, no rent. So though I have to cough up $225 a bottle up front, I can keep them around for as long as I want and it doesn't cost me anything.
And if I ever turn them back in, I get my full deposit back (one of the reasons I went with Linweld).
Roak
And if I ever turn them back in, I get my full deposit back (one of the reasons I went with Linweld).
Roak
We have one supplier (not sure of the name, my wife gets the gas) who doesn't have a deposit or a monthly fee. We just found them and only got gas from them once so we'll see how they work out. When you buy such small quantities some of these places don't mind blowing you off if it's convenient.
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