Argon use

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even ice diving there is no need. I've done it and had no problems with a proper undergarment.
 
geraldp:
OK I finally splurged on an Argon system. I got tired of getting cold during my dives (48-52 degree PNW water). Adding drygloves last Spring helped, but I still get cold by the end of my second dive. I hope to get out in the next week or two to try it out.

I got a 14 cu. ft. LP (2215PSI) AL tank. For those of you who dive with Argon can you give me an idea as to how many dives this will last? I've read here that you should purge the air out of your drysuit with AR before the dive for optimal thermal benefit. This obviously means less dives before refilling, but I'd like to get a feel for how much Argon I can use for flushing the suit.

I use a 6 cu. ft. bottle and can easily do 2 deco dives (120 - 150 fsw) or an entire weekend of shallow NDL dives. My buddies, who are cavers, use the larger bottles for caving because their run times are longer.

With regard to pre-purging, I believe that it does make a difference if you really make an effort to get all the air out of the suit. I usually fill, stretch and dump 3 times before I get in the water. By the third time, I can feel the warmth.

To accommodate this, I carry an old Steel 46 with an OMS deco reg first stage and an LP hose with me on the boat. It is small enough to stow like a stage, and I don't need to touch my small bottle in order until I am ready to dive. In addition, I can transfill off of it.

I find argon particularly useful when diving helium based mixes. I cheated once and used my back gas to fill my suit on a training dive. I froze my butt off. The difference is less pronounced when I dive Nitrox. I use argon then, primarily because its easier to fill off the argon tanks in my garage than it is to go to my LDS and fill with air.
 
I dive a 6 cf argon rig here in Monterey and I swear, placebo or not... it's warmer.

Here it is:
 
CALI68:
I dive a 6 cf argon rig here in Monterey and I swear, placebo or not... it's warmer.

Here it is:
I'm thinking...You need some more Halcyon logo's...Looks like you don't have enough
 
JeffG:
I'm thinking...You need some more Halcyon logo's...Looks like you don't have enough

Very funny! :)

Hey man, they make the best stuff and I'm not in to removing logos to be "cool".
 
CALI68:
Very funny! :)

Hey man, they make the best stuff and I'm not in to removing logos to be "cool".
Well...that new webbing sucks...I'm getting rid of mine (along with the Blue H's :) )
 
JeffG:
Well...that new webbing sucks...I'm getting rid of mine (along with the Blue H's :) )

OK now we're getting off the topic but how does the new webbing suck? That stuff is great! It's not too stiff and it's not too flimsy. Is it the H's that are bothering you? :)
 
CALI68:
OK now we're getting off the topic but how does the new webbing suck? That stuff is great! It's not too stiff and it's not too flimsy. Is it the H's that are bothering you? :)
No (not the H's...but they suck too )...way too soft...I like stiff webbing.
Heck...I I'm going to use the H webbing for crotch straps...an H G-string so to speak :wink:
 
JeffG:
No (not the H's...but they suck too )...way too soft...I like stiff webbing.
Heck...I I'm going to use the H webbing for crotch straps...an H G-string so to speak :wink:

LOL! Whatever works man!
 
I have not tried an Argon system. I spoke to some friends who have used it and they did not feel they were any warmer with Argon compared to air. Have others noticed a a real difference? You certainly don't want to pump trimix into your suit so a small suit inflation bottle is taken. I am curious if Argon is worthwhile compared to air.
The only scientific study (that I'm aware of) that's been done on the air vs argon topic found that there was no measurable difference between the 2.
Copy of the article compliments of the Undersea Hyperbaric Medical Society can be downloaded as a 500 kb PDF file: http://www.angelfire.com/ca/divers3/Argon.pdf

As already mentioned, helium mixes do rob your heat & you would not want to use that as a suit gas.
 
https://www.shearwater.com/products/perdix-ai/

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