Argon/air as a bailout mixture?

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detroit diver

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Can anyone confirm a rumor that a 50/50 mix of Argon and air is being touted as a bailout mix by Bill Hamilton? I've seen a couple of emails that this is a new procudure that is recommended, and would like to know if anyone can confirm this.

Thanks,

Jack
 
Dectek once bubbled...
I hope this is a troll.

It's not. I'm really trying to find out if this has been suggested.
 
This is an excert from the MSDS sheet on Argon.:
"Argon is not toxic by any route. Asphyxia may result if the oxygen concentration is reduced to below 18% by displacement."


If you mix air and argon 50/50 your PPO is TOOOOOO low.

I am not saying that Hamilton is saying anything different.
 
I've seen one exotic gas table that lists Argox (Ar + O2) and Argonox (Ar + N2 + O2) as a theoretical deco mix in the 9-15 meter range to reduce inert gas absorption. No information on whether Bill Hamilton advocates its use, though, and I can't say whether the gas table is particularly credible.
 
Argon is very narcotic,much more so than nitrogen.Would one of the mods please reroute this over to doctordeco for a thourough hashing out.There is software available to utilise Argon.The use of a third inert gas may speed up deco.
 
I attended a conference where Bill Hamilton was one of the speakers and he talked about some experimental chamber diving using NeOx. He did these "dives" with another person who was also a speaker at the conference.

He made the comment "I don't remember exactly what the bends rate was, it was around <long pause> 100%, don't you think?" [Looking at the other guy that participated in the same experiments]

The other guy says "No, it wasn't around 100%, it WAS 100%” And then launched into a story about how one of the "dives" was on Hamilton’s anniversary and despite exhibiting DCS symptoms he went out with his wife that night and got treated the next morning.

Roak
 
Dear Readers:

Argon for Diving :boom:

This gas is not really good for diving. It is much more narcotic than nitrogen and is very fat soluble. This solubility means that a great deal of it will dissolve in fat tissue. During decompression, there is the potential that this will be released as gas bubbles into the blood stream. When this occurs, there is a considerable potential that bubbles could pass the lungs and reach the brain. This can lead to very serious outcomes – even death of the diver.

Crude Neon

In the 1970s, Drs eintz Schreiner and Bill Hamilton and his staff tested the use of “crude neon” for diving. This is a mixture of helium and neon and is recovered from industrial plants that produce liquefied air. [In these plants, the primary objective is to recover liquid oxygen; several byproducts remain, e.g., the helium/neon mixtures.]

Because this gas was essentially available to commercial divers worldwide, it might serve as a substitute for helium, available only in North America and Russia. This was one rational behind its use.

Animal and Human Trials =-)

Experiments were first performed with pigs diving on the neon/helium mixtures with good results. The animals were observed for DCS and venous (Doppler) bubbles. [Powell MR. Doppler ultrasound monitoring of venous gas bubbles in pigs following decompression with air, helium, or neon. Aerosp Med. 1974 May; 45(5): 505-8.]

Later trials with human divers yield very good results. The advantages over pure heliox were never great enough to consider it to be economical for commercial use. It did have good thermal, voice, and decompression characteristics.


Dr Deco :doctor:
 
I decided the best way to confirm or deny a rumor is to go straight to the source. I received a response back this evening.

Dr. Hamilton states "I have never said anything like this".

So for the record, the rumor is untrue.
 
https://www.shearwater.com/products/teric/

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