Booster prices

[Scrappy]

I am wondering if anyone knows what the price difference is between a booster for filling just inert gasses (ie: HE and argon) and one that will also do O2. When I leave Okinawa and go to Colorado I want to fill my own trimix by putting in the HE then getting a 32% topoff. Also if you know any other brand names besides Haskel that are worthwhile would be great too.

Thanks Shane

 

[LUBOLD8431]

Uhhhh.... dude... originally Haskel's were built for pumping inert gases, you need to get one cleaned for pumping O2. I think that any thing you want to breath, you might want to get those things cleaned... Maybe oils in those old haskels you dont wanna be breathing mon...

Good Luck

 

[dmdalton]

Scrappy once bubbled...
I am wondering if anyone knows what the price difference is between a booster for filling just inert gasses (ie: HE and argon) and one that will also do O2. When I leave Okinawa and go to Colorado I want to fill my own trimix by putting in the HE then getting a 32% topoff. Also if you know any other brand names besides Haskel that are worthwhile would be great too.

Thanks Shane

Call John Allen at Northeast Scuba Supply.

http://www.northeastscubasupply.com/

John sells one that is O2 clean for about $3000, about 1/2 the price of a Haskel.

Dave D

 

[roakey]

No need to get an O2 booster since it doesn't matter which gas you add first; just add the O2 first when ther pressure's low. Also because you don't add much O2, just do that first off of one or preferably two cascaded storage bottles of O2, then lift the He. It's safer and saves you a TON of money.

If you're mixing Nitrox as well, you'll get very efficient use of your O2 from cascaded storage bottles.

Heck, for the cost of an O2 clean booster you could probably get a decent compressor, and then ask Uncle Pug about continuous mixing.

Roak

 

[Scrappy]

Ok, maybe I was under the wrong assumption. I thought that boosters designed to pump o2 were built differently, thus more expensive. The mixes I am using do not need o2, just the he then the 32% on top( ie: 21/35). I know with enough bottles you can get most of it out, but a booster for the he would be nice.

Eventually I would like to get a compressor, but that is a nice chunk of change.

Roak, I had my dad check on UPHE prices in CO and he was quoted adout $0.76 a cuft. Does that sound about right?

Shane

 

[dmdalton]

Scrappy once bubbled...
Ok, maybe I was under the wrong assumption. I thought that boosters designed to pump o2 were built differently, thus more expensive.

There are boosters made specifically for nitrogen that can be found cheap. These can not (according to Haskel) be made suitable for boosting O2. I heard about one in the last 2 years that exploded when one tried. I think Airspeed Press web site has the details about it.

There are also a series of boster that Haskel refers to as Air Amplifiers (signified by the "AA" in the model number - like AA-30). These can not be utilized for boosting O2 because the drive side is not sealed from the boost side and you will get contamination from the oily drive gas into the boost gas, not good with O2. The other boosters like the AGT (which is what I have) can be serviced for boosting O2. It requres an O2 service kit consisting of approximately 1.3 million o-rings and special lube (cost about $400), and some time to do it! Once O2 serviced you could boost, O2, HE, Argon and what have ya, since all the gases you buy will have hydrocarbon level so low it won't matter. Don't boost air from a workshop compressor, it is dirty!

Dave D

 

[roakey]

scrappy,

If you're in the greater Denver area, or in the delivery area (I'm in Colorado Springs and I get delivery) look at Linweld, located where I225 meets I70.

If he's still there, talk to Dale Wang (303-373-5633). Last T bottle (~291 cf) of UHP He I got from Linweld was $70-$80 for the gas if I remember correctly (about a year ago). Though they'll rent bottles like most gas suppliers, you have an option of a "large deposit" of about $250 on a bottle and there's no monthly fee. If and when you return the bottles, you get your deposit back in full. Though this is a large initial investment, I don't fret when I don't use them for a number of months, thinking of the rental fee going down the drain.

Search on "Linweld" in this file, I know I have a couple other postings about the supplier. They were significantly less than any other supplier around.

http://www.linweld.com/

Roak