This thread needs new life. I think I need an electric o2 booster. What are my best options starting from scratch. I need everything, booster, whips, filters the works. Masterline ($$$$) ? Sierra+modification($$$)? Home brew?
O2 conversion on Sierra Booster
- Thread starter tbone1004
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A masterline will be awesome and set you back north of 10 grand by the time you add whips, etc.
The Sierra conversion is no more unless you have a machine shop.
American Airworks is a good place to start looking.
I always liked Hydraulics International for my boosters, although I had both Haskell and a Masterline.
Ok, Looking for one booster. Would prefer a project. No timeline, only assembling items to use in the future as my diving goes from 30m to 60m more or less. I will want to boost O2 and scavenge trimix from spent bottles back into storage tanks. Filling 3L bottles will also need to be done as I suspect I will try to go from OC to CC as swiftly as I can to save on He costs as my training deepens. I don't see myself doing a ton of deep OC stuff beyond what is required to advance necessary training. While I have no timeline on this build, I do find the hobby of breathing gas equipment and techniques as interesting as exploring cool stuff at depth. I have only begun to look around at compressing gases and still learning the dangers of boosting O2. Building whips is the easy part. Determining which booster to buy/build and how to maintain it is my current path. I have a supply of o2 .049 SS tubing, bending and flare tools for JIC. So if there is a, buy a block add filters, check valves, accumulators, fittings, ect. path, I would choose that option. Pressure needed is up to 3500 or what is recommended for selected gas. I suspect I will need to scavenge o2 and trimix into cylinders as small as 3L up to K size. Once I determine my gas plan for what diving I am doing here along the West coast of California I will have o2 clean cylinders for all my gasses. I have ultrasonic and tumbling equipment along with my plan to do all my own visual inspections. PSI courses in the works.
Does that help determine a plan of attack for me?
To kick off I think it best to first define the outline design performance parameters and requirements.
1. Define your requirement of scavenging. You can go down to 3 psi or 30psi or 60 psi and compress oxygen or helium safely to 3000 psi. Just not with the Masterline / Sierra or even Haskel type of pump.
2. Stainless tubing I would avoid at all cost and suggest an Alpha Brass or bronze material such as Tungum. Your CR is way too high for stainless steel or stainless iron. Your flow rates in gas velocity terms for the .049 wall is much too fast and the heat dissipation at the approach side of the second stage head if you make that 2 stage modification is going to put you in the red zone of risk.
Slow the velocity down increase the cooling exchange and lower your approach temperature onto that 2nd stage if that's the way you wish to proceed. Also get rid of the Flaring tools if you intend scavenging helium even with a brass cone fret your going to loose your helium lowering the interstage pressure and increasing the compression ratio on that poor 2nd stage valve assembly. You don't need to add to your heat loading.
3. You will need to modify the heads and the spring on at least the discharge side from the original piano wire steel to at least an inert to oxygen Monel spring simply to reduce the fuel that the original steel spring/spring would cause in the event of an oxygen fire.
Check that the valve ball again critically on the discharge side ball is ceramic and not a simple steel ball bearing. For the same reasons given earlier.
4. Filters? what filters if inline filters for particulate contaminant then again you should use brass body and again for non return valves again use with ceramic balls and monel springs for oxygen safety. Depending on the application I would argue that a large porosity say 90 micron for the 1st filter and same for the 2nd Even go to a 120Mu porous monel mesh type.
However If you want a finer final micronic filter say a 15Mu fit this in line after the final stage and after the cooling then you will need a much larger surface area to avoid clogging and experiencing an explosive failure of the sintered bronze inside the tubing due to excess delta P at high pressure. Further most off the shelf in line filters in brass limit the working pressure to 3000psi and stainless isn't the best option in this application albeit with a 5000 to 6000psi working pressure. So costly alternative bronze housing drop filters are the preferred way to go.
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