Helium prices ...

[Storker]

Where are you from

Norway

how much are you presently paying for Helium in your area?

Our club - and other clubs in our Diving Association - pays some 0.05 NOK (rougly a half cent US) per liter of O2 and I believe some 0.4 NOK (roughly 4¢ US) per liter of He. In our club gas is sold to the members at cost. It's also standard to have double filtering on the compressor and air is generally O2 compatible so there's usually no price difference for "ordinary" air and O2 compatible air.

In non-metric units, those gas prices are about 0.14 USD/cu.ft for O2 and 1.1 USD/cu.ft for He.

 

[elgoog]

San Francisco Bay area - $1.39/cu.ft for He.

Just picked up a set of filled doubles - tanks were actually filled about 6 weeks ago and sat there due to me not diving 'cause of a foot injury. Rate I got charged was the same on the board yesterday. I know this shop bought a lot of helium some months ago so I wonder if they're just using their supply from before it got crazy expensive and not gouging us in anticipation of short supply. IDK.

 

[seeker242]

Pompano Beach.

TRIMIX 25/25 PER CU.FT. .45
TRIMIX 30/30 PER CU.FT. .60
TRIMIX 21/35 PER CU.FT. .60
TRIMIX 18/45 PER CU.FT. .75
TRIMIX 10/50 PER CU.FT. .82
TRIMIX 15/55 PER CU.FT. .90
FILL HELIUM PER CU.FT. 1.15

 

[Jared0425]

We got lucky with a supplier and it only cost me my arm! I got to keep my one leg from the last time.

We bought 4 K bottles for $1500 so in the end we are paying roughly $2.30 per cu ft. I think my local shop is the only game in town state wise until a large shipment comes in after the new year.

 

[WantSomeScuba?]

Had to claw at our local bulk gas supplier to keep prices reasonable (granted, for a penal colony like Alaska).

Paid $260 for a 300 cf bottle of helium today, and was told to consider ourselves lucky to pay that amount.

Very much considering paying a hazmat freight forwarder to challenge that as a reasonable price.

If anyone knows the politics behind helium allocation right now, let us know. Because it feels like we're being hustled and can't do anything about it.

 

[MichaelMc]

If anyone knows the politics behind helium allocation right now, let us know

Two recent NPR stories:
- Episode 933: Find The Helium (25 minutes) (particularly 9:30-16:00)
- Helium Shortage Forces A Search For New Sources (3 minutes)

A short version, according to that story: Starting in 1960 the US government created a (huge) secret military strategic reserve. But in 1996 decided to get out of the helium business by 2021 as the private industry market supplied it. They started liquidating stocks, tanking prices, tanking other sources. By 2013 they realized their liquidation had created no other suppliers, so raised prices to encourage others to produce. Producers, related to natural gas drilling, are spinning up, but that has not shaken out yet. And the stockpile can only pump it out so fast.

Science, welding, and medical may be higher on any critical customers list than blowing bubbles deeper underwater for fun. Though I'm all for clearer thinking at depth.

 

[Dominik_E]

Everything else being said, at some point the world will have to start considering helium a finite resource. That may mean higher prices, and for some this may mean to not use it for diving, or to switch to CCR. In Germany, Helium prices have always been very high compared e.g. to the US, so that science labs (where liquid helium is used for cooling) have always had recapture systems, even in times where US colleagues still treated it as expendable...

 

[taimen]

OTOH, German helium prices have been lower than what has been paid in the Nordic countries until at least very recently.
I predict we will see not only high prices but sales for recreational use will be restricted in the future.

 

[Kevin A.]

There was a huge shortage here in Malta..

New stocks just came in.. rumor has it it's around $450 for a 350cuft (€400 for 10cu meter cylinder)

Scary!

 

[MegDiver792]

I stocked up last year at 199$ for a few 300s.