Helium

[cbrich]

Airgas also has "diving grade" Oxygen. They have filled exactly 1 cylinder of it, somewhere in Georgia. HP helium is 5.0, which if you're blending your own mixes is fine to use, it's like the difference between medical and ABO. If you are selling it, it is NOT breathing grade, where 5.5 is. On my Texas Airgas account, 5.5 helium is $95 per T. On my Key West account (yes, Airgas splits at Tallahassee) my 5.5 is $202 a T. If I needed a couple of pallets, I'd have it shipped.

Airgas has territories, and in Texas they go by Southwest Airgas.

I just did a search for Helium Grade 5.0 & 5.5 vs. HP & UHP on Airgas website. This is what I found.

Welding/Balloon = (99.995%)
Diving = Grade 4.5 Helium (99.995%)
Grade 4.8 = HP Helium (99.995%)
Grade 5.0 = UHP Helium (99.999%)
Grade 5.5 = UPC (Ultra Pure Carrier) Helium (99.9995%)
Grade 6.0 = Research Helium (99.9999%)

Even tho each grade appears to be similar, there are other requirements for each grade.

Took a phone call to Airgas to find the Diving grade percentage. I was told HP is the minimum for Breathing Helium, but they recommended UHP or the Diving Grade. Go figure that one.


I just notice "Diving Grade" Oxygen and Argon on Airgas website yesterday. WTF is up with "Diving Grade" Argon? I would just use Argon gas for welding; it's not like you breathe that stuff.

 

[FIXXERVI6]

Most of the "grades" are bogus, they all fill off the same tap, the difference is 1. do they pull a vacum on the cylinder before they fill it and 2. do they give you a nice piece of paper with it stating it's pureness.

I'm currently sitting on a UHP stockpile since travis is almost dry. I've been known to dive welding grade before.

Oh and "balloon grade" just means there is a sticker on the cylinder.

 

[DandyDon]

I checked around and my main gas vendor quoted me $130.00 but here is the issue, there is a "shortage" of helium and some suppliers like him are only selling it to their existing Helium customers which I am not so he wouldn't sell me one and the vendors that will sell what they have to anyone want $400.00 and up plus tank rental for a "T" cylinder. I have heard different stories about the "shortage" but the only one that matters is the one where suppliers really are limiting the usable supply to wholesalers and retailers, that is a fact. Wow from about .50 cents a cubic ft to $1.70 a cubic ft..that really sucks for the Trimix divers!

The shortage & price increases hit the big Gas Balloon Race originating in Albuquerque in October. Their participation dropped from 9 to 4 balloons. I saw them fill the fleet once several years ago, then postpone the launch because of winds - so they lost all of that gas and had to refill. There was talk about Gas balloonist switching to Hydrogen, but those are different balloons - and that race goes on for 100 hours or so straight thru whatever weather they hit. The same month, the big Red Bull balloons were filled twice - and those were huge. Anytime they fill those, they lose that gas forever.

The popular story goes that the US government stockpiled it but...

By 1995, a billion cubic metres of the gas had been collected and the reserve was US$1.4 billion in debt, prompting the Congress of the United States in 1996 to phase out the reserve. The resulting "Helium Privatization Act of 1996" (Public Law 104–273) directed the United States Department of the Interior to start liquidating the reserve by 2005.

So they had the liquidation sale, even tho they didn't get rid of all of it.

By 2007, the federal government was reported as auctioning off the Amarillo Helium Plant. The National Helium Reserve itself was reported as "slowly being drawn down and sold to private industry."

Additionally...

As of 2012 the United States National Helium Reserve accounted for 30 percent of the world’s helium. The reserve was expected to run out of helium in 2018. Despite that a proposed bill in American Senate would allow the reserve to continue to sell the gas. Other large reserves were in the Hugoton in Kansas, United States and nearby gas fields of Kansas and the panhandles of Texas and Oklahoma. New helium plants were scheduled to open in 2012 in Qatar, Russia and the United States state of Wyoming but they were not expected to ease the shortage.

The US government still needs a domestic supply so it will still be mined & processed, but the generous supplies from the liquidation are more or less depleted.

 

[sea_ledford]

I'm pretty sure that with the pending natural gas boom, helium will not be in short supply for long. They are probably making up all this hype, so they can sell it for a premium until the bottom dropps out and it starts selling for less than $.10/ CUFT.

Whoever "They" is.

I just need it to stay high long enough to justify a rebreather

 

[DandyDon]

I'm pretty sure that with the pending natural gas boom, helium will not be in short supply for long. They are probably making up all this hype, so they can sell it for a premium until the bottom dropps out and it starts selling for less than $.10/ CUFT.

Whoever "They" is.

I just need it to stay high long enough to justify a rebreather

Handling & shipping expenses are probably challenging with such low volume. If it gets too cheap, they'll just off gas it.

 

[bl6394]

Wow. Really jealous of you guys in other parts of the country. In St. Louis, MO - none of the suppliers will sell to a new account. All claim to be severly impacted by the shortage... I have a dive shop in Poplar Bluff that still has it - otherwise - it's pretty dry up here.

Hear things might open up a bit in the first quarter of 2013. We'll see.

Bjorn