Mixing your own Gas (Home Brew)

[rockjock3]

I would not do it myself unless I lived and dived in the middle of nowhere.

And then I would go ahead and buy a $10K compressor with all the right nitrox filters and a booster.

The booster allows you to suck gas out of a bank tank and force it into your scuba tank. In that way, you can push the tank pressure above the pressure in your banks. That wastes less O2 and He.

The hard part is getting access to breathing-grade oxygen and breathing-grade helium. You are going to need to beg for the oxygen, and going to need to search for the helium. If you have a gas blending card and a scuba tech cert card, the distributors may acquiesce to your requests. But there is never any guarantee.

If you having a "welding" business it is easy.

 

[fweber]

To the OP, check this thread to get an idea of what people actually spend to get started. I could see getting started with a home compressor in the 4k range, if kept small scale, used, and in no hurry. Doing it properly, new, and to any scale and you'll be around 15K+

http://thedecostop.com/forums/showthread.php?t=26283

 

[dumpsterDiver]

If you are just making nitrox and the shop will let you top it off with their air, you can save some money (in other words, don't buy a compressor). The waste of oxygen is pretty minimal if you have 6-8 tanks to fill. Just fill each with the last 3-2-100 psi as the bottle empties and then top the oxygen off in each tank with a fresh oxygen bottle.

The ability to fill your own deco bottles of 100% is also a significant savings. To save money, I also didn't always empty my nitrox bottle before adding oxygen. You can make a pretty quick calculation to figure out how much (less) oxygen to add to a bottle that has 700 lbs of 36% left over from a previous dive. This also can save some money on oxygen. Another source of savings, is when you are making lean mixes like 30% or something. It takes a lot less oxygen to make a bunch of 30% tanks than it does to make a bunch of 38% fills, yet the dive shop will usually charge you the same amount.

 

[Jimmer]

DM for a shop that gives you free air fills. Right now I'm looking into getting O2 at my house to do the O2 portion of the PP fill then top up for free at the shop. If you can wrangle that deal that will help a lot.

 

[bigchrisb]

I mix at home, and have done so for some time, and will continue to mix at home. However, I have had two incidends with home mixing, both which are documented on another forum (not sure I can link to it though). Essentially, one failure was a bank burst disc going - imagine ~600cf of gas empyting in about 15 seconds. Burst disc was corroded, and its taught me to get all my bank valves serviced. The other incident was a failure in the final stage of my compressor, which sent a chunk of the head flying. This occurred when pumping nitrox, and was a combustion event, at about 37% EAN - again the full story is already posted on another forum.

 

[StraitsdiverGeo]

I’ve been mixing at home since April, with no problems. I have done a lot reading before hand, and yes the Oxyhacker book is a good one to read. But it's not going to cover everything you need to know.
The compressor, I have use of new, and very nice system. It's 70 miles to the LDS, so the savings for me is huge. Also we dive most every weekend.
We are looking to make our setup mobile, so we can take it with us on weekend trips. We also have a compressor on the boat, that we make use of on the water and back at camp after a days diving.
I'm happy to not hear any stories of people blowing-up the garage, although I’m sure it happens, and yes it's important to remember knowledge and safety go hand in hand.
I Thank all for the advice. I understand, I don’t know everything, but I’m willing to share what I do know. Oh, one other thing, someone said, do the math, you are right. Do the math, have a written procedure to follow, and check list.
Label everything, and if your not sure, don’t dive it!
“The road to hell is paved with the souls of those that had the best intentions.”
Also, if anyone has good source for an O2 booster, please email me. I don’t wish to make this piece of equipment.

Regards, George

 

[aowdan]

i just signed up for the nitrox/trimix blender class at sierra dive center in reno nv.
can't wait!!

dano

 

[stevewirl]

the course is the main thing to do . reading books is great but you need the cert and the the course note as referance notes .

slowly . under a watchfull eye there are no great mishaps that can happen . keep your equipment in service and look after it and it will look after you and your pocket

 

[nereas]

If you having a "welding" business it is easy.

I dont believe that welding grade O2 would work. You need hospital grade or aviation grade.

 

[The_DivePirate]

If you only want first hand stories, you'll only get the survivors.

Gas blending is somewhere between a pie and rocket science. There is lots of information available through classes, the internet, books, and mentors. Use as many sources as you can find and don't blow yourself up!

Get the training!! IANTD and TDI/SDI have blending courses, as well as others. It's kinda like loading your own bullets, you don't save any money, you just shoot more!!!!
And like bullets, you can KILL yourself!!! GET THE TRAINING!! Keep it clean,keep it slow, and keep it safe. V-planner is a great program that helps in the aid of blending, does the math for you without errors. ALWAYS ANALIZE!! Don't skimp on knowledge, the life you save may be your own!!!