@mainedvr
I only use Helium on dives below 50m, and carry stage tanks on most dives but use 50% on dives deeper than 30m, even if I'm not on deco, I switch gas at 21m to 50%.
I belong to a small group and we buy our own O2 and Helium to fill our tanks. One of the group also owns a Haskel pump so we can manage to empty most of the Helium from the J bottles.
However as we don't have a compressor our fills are calculated to add air at the end and this is done courtesy of the LDS who then charge a normal air fill which is USD2.2 per fill.
Nitrox here costs USD5.69 a fill no matter what size bottle and up to 50%
For 80-100% the cost is USD11.38 at the LDS.
For the LDS to fill my twin steel 10s with 18/40 I'm looking at USD100 but I pay less than half that though our group.
On deep dives I prefer my stage deco tanks are full. I use S40s for 100% and S30s for 50% and I'll typically breathe 50 bar between 21-6m, and will use an S30 stage probably for two tech dives. The remainder is breathed usually on non tech dives just to allow for some longer bottom times on certain sites where I plan for some short deco, or as mentioned above during some deeper dives to 30m even though I've not run into deco.
Occasionally I'll bring an additional tank for travel gas depending on the dive, 18/40 or 20/20.
By now you'll understand that at a minimum you really need 4-5 regulators, several stage tanks and possibly more than one twinset.
I only use Helium on dives below 50m, and carry stage tanks on most dives but use 50% on dives deeper than 30m, even if I'm not on deco, I switch gas at 21m to 50%.
I belong to a small group and we buy our own O2 and Helium to fill our tanks. One of the group also owns a Haskel pump so we can manage to empty most of the Helium from the J bottles.
However as we don't have a compressor our fills are calculated to add air at the end and this is done courtesy of the LDS who then charge a normal air fill which is USD2.2 per fill.
Nitrox here costs USD5.69 a fill no matter what size bottle and up to 50%
For 80-100% the cost is USD11.38 at the LDS.
For the LDS to fill my twin steel 10s with 18/40 I'm looking at USD100 but I pay less than half that though our group.
On deep dives I prefer my stage deco tanks are full. I use S40s for 100% and S30s for 50% and I'll typically breathe 50 bar between 21-6m, and will use an S30 stage probably for two tech dives. The remainder is breathed usually on non tech dives just to allow for some longer bottom times on certain sites where I plan for some short deco, or as mentioned above during some deeper dives to 30m even though I've not run into deco.
Occasionally I'll bring an additional tank for travel gas depending on the dive, 18/40 or 20/20.
By now you'll understand that at a minimum you really need 4-5 regulators, several stage tanks and possibly more than one twinset.