Anybody making a multistage electric O2 Booster or compressor?

[michael-fisch]

Since 1994 I've been boosting Helium to 300 bar using my Omni Booster and any of my Bauer compressors without any problems.
If you've never heard of it, do a search on TheDecoStop for articles about "OmniBooster"
As long as the compressor is cold you can also boost Argon for 20 minutes at a time.
I only see a need for a real booster for O2, everything else, including natural gas for car engines works fine through a properly made compressor.

Michael

 

[tbone1004]

on the compression ratios.
Haskel does not recommend more than 5:1 compression for single stage, and 35:1 total for multistage boosters, that will get you down to 9bar or so which is as low as you really want to get anyway. If you want to get the last little bit, mix some nitrox.

@michael-fisch and @The Chairman can we look at getting those articles uploaded here before the TDS tanks for good?

 

[michael-fisch]

What I've learned about Haskels over the years is that directly from the factory they don't run either well or long. Reeds and check valves need to be replaced with something that will still be working 50 hours later. Seals eventually stop sealing and there are better boosters from Masterline, Stansted, and American Airworks. Nonelectric boosters are not anything I want to get involved with since wasting massive quantities of grade D or E gas as drivegas isn't cheap.
The old Draeger electric boosters were great but are now 50 years or more out of date, and the USSR electric booster is almost as old.

Michael

 

[tbone1004]

@michael-fisch for about $400 you can get Grade D drive gas. The filters in the bottom of the image below are from Master Pneumatic and are designed for breathing gas filtration. Air coming out is grade D from normal shop compressors and the first two stages have auto drains. No need to use scuba compressors for that nonsense. Pick your poison on which booster you use, but if using an air booster, it's cheap insurance.

 

[Wookie]

Did you avoid the 10:1 just for the lack of efficiency?

Trying to keep as much of the heat out as I could. 10:1 is pretty severe as far as heat goes.

I've pretty much drunk the PSI kool-aid. They are really leery about boosting O2, they want 50 PSI per minute, and a max pressure of 3000 PSI.

After my second cylinder fire, I started to listen to what they have to say. Never had another cylinder fire. I've had 3 liter bottles so hot you couldn't touch them.

 

[tbone1004]

@Wookie I have a pair of 2:1 splitters that can be hooked up together. Even with that small compressor running the booster, a single bottle will get quite hot. I try to boost at least 2 bottles at a time, if not 3 or 4 to keep the fill rates down.

 

[Wookie]

@Wookie I have a pair of 2:1 splitters that can be hooked up together. Even with that small compressor running the booster, a single bottle will get quite hot. I try to boost at least 2 bottles at a time, if not 3 or 4 to keep the fill rates down.

I learned to put an 80 on if all I needed to do was fill a 2 or 3 liter.

 

[michael-fisch]

I've got 10 Air Liquid 50L 300bar tanks in my garage that Air Liquid doesn't know about and when I retire they will end up in northern Florida with me. Maintaining a good sized cascade at 300-330Bar doesn't produce a lot af heat very quickly, boosting individual 23cuft (3L) tanks does.
So far, getting 300Bar O2 from Air Liquid, I've never had to boost O2. After I retire in northern Florida, I'll have to start boosting O2, but my RB O2 tanks will only be filled from the O2 cascade.
Back to my original question, anybody know of a 3 or 4 stage electrical O2 booster or compressor? The 2 stage Haskel is a step in the right direction but it's air powered and inefficient as hell when I have around 3000cuft of O2 to boost to 5000psi.

Michael

 

[rddvet]

and American Airworks.

Michael

What american airworks boosters are you talking about? The only electric they have is a sierra? I actually bought a sierra and my compressor tech and I were going to modify it and turn it into a masterline clone. In the end it wasn't worth the time and I just bought a masterline. I still have the sierra that I need to sell. It's at the compressor tech's shop, so it's out of sight out of mind and I keep forgetting to sell it.

I learned to put an 80 on if all I needed to do was fill a 2 or 3 liter.

Makes sense on the heat. I don't think I've had to get anywhere near a 10:1 ratio yet. I rarely pump over 3500, and generally keep it to 3000 as well. Since I have my own booster, getting that last 500 psi really makes not difference to me. If I was trying to do multiple ccr dives without a refill, then maybe. I always fill a 40 or an 80 with my 3L tanks as well. Definitely keeps the temps down.

 

[tbone1004]

IIRC the Sierra and Masterlines are 2-piston, but single stage compression, so doesn't really help for this.