Argon bottle setup?

[mikeguerrero]

Hi all,

Just a quick question regarding my argon bottle setup. My LDS built me my setup; 6cf Luxfer aluminum tank, brushed no-coat and a Salvo inflation regulator w/OPV. They also measured me in my drysuit and built me a 20 inch LP hose.

I read that the 6cf argon bottle will give divers about 3 dives before needing to be filled. I dove two dives off a chartered boat and they went great; incredible warmth compared to just regular air.

Then I came back to shore and bumped into a friend that asked if I wanted to join him on dive #3 on his Zodiak. I started setting up my gear and when I went to check my Argon bottle I remembered I had no gauge on it.

I have an extra mini-spg laying around and wanted to use it but my Salvo only has two ports, one for the hose and one for the OPV.

I had to run over to the shop and have them check the bottle, I had 1700 psi left and I did the dive successfully at 85 feet for 35 minutes.

Question to all you Argon users, does it matter to have the HP plug for the mini-SPG?

Higland sells one that has 2 LP connections and 1 HP should I change out for this one?

Thanks,

Mike G.

 

[Blackwood]

I'll usually get at least 4-5 dives off the bottle unless they are deep.

I check occasionally with a standalone pressure gauge I have in the garage, but normally just get it filled at the same time as my other tanks.

 

[TSandM]

I got one of the little button gauges. It's not easy to read, but it at least tells me if there is gas in the bottle or not. Since we have a lot of gear that rattles around the house, it would be all too easy to pick up an argon bottle that hadn't gotten filled.

If you only have one bottle, you'll figure out pretty fast how long it will last you, and you'll also learn how to pop the inflator hose off your wing and put it on your dry suit

 

[jtivat]

Hi all,



I had to run over to the shop and have them check the bottle, I had 1700 psi left and I did the dive successfully at 85 feet for 35 minutes.

The Reg does not come off? If it does why did you not just pop a reg with and SPG on it?

 

[Blackwood]

If you only have one bottle, you'll figure out pretty fast how long it will last you, and you'll also learn how to pop the inflator hose off your wing and put it on your dry suit

And you'll hope you aren't diving mix.

 

[Colliam7]

Question to all you Argon users, does it matter to have the HP plug for the mini-SPG?

I don't have a SPG on my 6cf bottle. Haven't really needed it.

If you only have one bottle, you'll figure out pretty fast how long it will last you, and you'll also learn how to pop the inflator hose off your wing and put it on your dry suit

Exactly. I have had the bottle go empty a couple of times, once when I hooked up on shore before a dive, once in the water. I simply use the BCD inflator to put air in my suit, as needed, on the descent, and haven't had a problem.

 

[mikeguerrero]

TSandM,

You seem like you have a regulator for your Argon bottle that supports 3 ports. I don't the dive shop sold me a Salvo that has only 2 plugs; one for OPV and second for hose.

I would like to have a mini-spg on my 6cf but I guess I can do without it.

The reason I didn't use my main 1st stage breathing regulator to check PSI on my Argon was that I thought that would push Argon through my Air system, of which I don't know if thats bad or not?

I simply knew the dive shop could check it and whether or not they sold Argon gas.

I have an extra mini-spg that I'm not using so I wanted to place it on my Argon bottle but I'll have to live without it.

I thought of maybe purchasing a PSI pressure gauge for all my bottles. That way I could manually check all my bottles if I had to. Simply keep it in my dive bag and pull it out when uncertain of gas, in this case it would be good for the Argon bottle.

But at $100 bucks for this type of gauge I might pass and spend that on a dive boat.

How many divers leave the long hose on their 1st stage main regulator? If so, where do you stow it so it's safely out of the way but easy to deploy on a out of Argon situation?

Thanks,

MG

 

[nadwidny]

You seem like you have a regulator for your Argon bottle that supports 3 ports. I don't the dive shop sold me a Salvo that has only 2 plugs; one for OPV and second for hose.

My suit gas 1st stage has 4 ports. I only use 2. One for the OPV and one for the hose. I check the gas remaining in the cylinder before I get in the water with a pressure checker or any handy reg setup that has an SPG. This avoids the problem of running out during the dive. If someone finds that they are running out of suit gas on a semi-regular basis, then they should look into checkers as a pastime.

The reason I didn't use my main 1st stage breathing regulator to check PSI on my Argon was that I thought that would push Argon through my Air system, of which I don't know if thats bad or not?

If you don't know, why are you using it?

How many divers leave the long hose on their 1st stage main regulator? If so, where do you stow it so it's safely out of the way but easy to deploy on a out of Argon situation?

????

 

[rjack321]

The reason I didn't use my main 1st stage breathing regulator to check PSI on my Argon was that I thought that would push Argon through my Air system, of which I don't know if thats bad or not?

Its inert, it won't hurt anything. Its part of the atmosphere as well. Never breath off your argon bottle though, 100% argon will asphyxiate you.

How many divers leave the long hose on their 1st stage main regulator? If so, where do you stow it so it's safely out of the way but easy to deploy on a out of Argon situation?

You can route a standard suit inflation hose along the left side of your tank behind the wing. It will stay there fairly compactly.

I don't leave a suit hose installed since I don't get in the water without enough argon to do the dive. When I've got $100 worth of trimix on my back, driven for hours, and paid $$$ in travel expenses to do a dive, the last thing I want to be doing is bailing because I don't have suit inflation.

 

[mikeguerrero]

Brian,

I meant to ask the drysuit hose that comes with the drysuit, how many divers leave it connected to their first stage, even though they are using Argon.

There is talk about leaving it connected and stowing it, just wanted to get an opinion on that.

Also is it okay to check your Argon bottle with your main air/breathing regulator that has a SPG connected to it?

Thanks,

MG