Jim,
As you are aware heat is a killer for compressors. As UP suggested an additional fan would do wonders to help cool the compressor. As he also mentioned, I didnt select a RIX because of the supposed maintenance and durability issues of the third stage. If I get another unit I will strongly look at a RIX. Interestingly, the ANDI site has a couple of I-R type 30s, which is what I use, for sale.
As for the continuous blending stuff. You need to have a little patience and trust that the marks you have set for the percentage are correct. Constantly tweaking the flow for the gas addition will cause it to jump around and it seems that you can never get it just right. This is somewhat common with units that have low output and fairly sizable filtration setups.
Renting or even buying some storage tanks is a heck of a lot cheaper than a booster. With storage tanks you can bank the gas you want and it also allows you to figure out the correct flow rates. I dont run my compressor for filling individual sets of doubles, I wait until the bank is down and I have tanks to fill and then run the unit all day. I now bank a bottle of 30/30 and 2 of 21/35. If I need a higher helium content I can usually just add some helium to the tanks directly and then top with either of the storage mixes. I have found that this is the easiest and best way for my trimix blending needs.
I have got a setup where I analyze the mix right after the blender and before the compressor in addition to after the compressor. There are some differences between the two that I am working out. I expect that I will have them figured out in the spring. (I am not doing a lot of diving right now).
As for boosters I would look at an electric drive unit. This way you will not need a second high volume compressor to drive the booster. FYI, there are 1728 cubic inches in a cubic foot so a output of 6.2 in^3 @ 1 cycle a second will get you 0.21 ft^3 per minute. A very slow process. As for boosters you get what you pay for.
omar
As you are aware heat is a killer for compressors. As UP suggested an additional fan would do wonders to help cool the compressor. As he also mentioned, I didnt select a RIX because of the supposed maintenance and durability issues of the third stage. If I get another unit I will strongly look at a RIX. Interestingly, the ANDI site has a couple of I-R type 30s, which is what I use, for sale.
As for the continuous blending stuff. You need to have a little patience and trust that the marks you have set for the percentage are correct. Constantly tweaking the flow for the gas addition will cause it to jump around and it seems that you can never get it just right. This is somewhat common with units that have low output and fairly sizable filtration setups.
Renting or even buying some storage tanks is a heck of a lot cheaper than a booster. With storage tanks you can bank the gas you want and it also allows you to figure out the correct flow rates. I dont run my compressor for filling individual sets of doubles, I wait until the bank is down and I have tanks to fill and then run the unit all day. I now bank a bottle of 30/30 and 2 of 21/35. If I need a higher helium content I can usually just add some helium to the tanks directly and then top with either of the storage mixes. I have found that this is the easiest and best way for my trimix blending needs.
I have got a setup where I analyze the mix right after the blender and before the compressor in addition to after the compressor. There are some differences between the two that I am working out. I expect that I will have them figured out in the spring. (I am not doing a lot of diving right now).
As for boosters I would look at an electric drive unit. This way you will not need a second high volume compressor to drive the booster. FYI, there are 1728 cubic inches in a cubic foot so a output of 6.2 in^3 @ 1 cycle a second will get you 0.21 ft^3 per minute. A very slow process. As for boosters you get what you pay for.
omar
