Argon inflation syetems

[Firediver32]

If your using a 6cuft pony bottle as a dry suit inflatuion system....

How many dives will a 6cuft argon bottle usually give you?
Can an argon system be refilled with air in a pinch?

 

[onfloat]

It really depends on the depth of the dive, but you can usually get a couple of dives on the bottle and yes you can use air instead of argon.

 

[karstdvr]

I've done many dives with argon and air,and in a side by side blind test I wouldn't be able to tell a difference. My preference would be to use air,and transfill that bottle so it is always pressureized,which would eliminate the question of how many dives you can get off of the one bottle. FWIW,don't ever use CO2 as a drysuit inflation gas.

 

[DA Aquamaster]

To be fully effective you need to fill the suit with argon , purge and refill a couple times before you even hit the water in order to remove as much as as practical from the suit.

That seriously limits the number of dives you can get from the suit unless you live in the suit all day...and have a pee valve.

At best argon is only about 1/3 more efficient an insulator than air, and that is based on the assumption you manage to purge all the air from your suit and undergarments. So in my opinon it makes little sense to use argon given the bother and expense.

If you dive helium mixes then a separate inflation system makes sense and is in fact almost a neccesity, but you gain very little using argon versus air in that separate system.

 

[kjundvr]

I would agree. Using argon is a bit of a waist. Filling even a small tank gets expensive so unless you are using odd gas mixes (and even then) its really not worth it. I would just stick to air, its cheeper and you will never know the difference.

 

[Tavi]

Hi Dan,

I use a 13 cu. ft. bottle. I can dive a weekend without having to worry about refilling. Once you're in the water, you don't even know it's there.

Sometimes I use Argon, sometimes air.

 

[loosebits]

I read the results of, as I recall, a double blind study. The divers couldn't tell the difference neither could the experimenters when looking at their body temperatures.

I recently start diving mix. I've dove 25/25 in 58 deg water and I didn't notice much of a cooling effect vs nitrox/air. Now, if I was diving something like 21/35, I'm sure it would be more apparent.

 

[Firediver32]

Well, I'm not even ready for it yet, but I hope to take Deco procedures/helitrox training over the winter so, i'll need it then. and since, i get free air.... I think I'll be using air vs. argon for the most part.