Practical use for 6cf bottle

[Graeme Tolton]

A while back, I had for some reason been compelled to buy a h2odyssey 6cf redundant system... I have just come up with a practical use for it.. Using a pony tamer that i previously got with a cylinder I bought, I turned it into a drysuit inflation system. I will be testing it using air for now, but will eventually get a large argon bottle to fill it with.

 

[NorthWoodsDiver]

if your doing the argon or ds inflation thing then you dont need any fancy mounts/brackets. just 2 small hose clamps and a piece of 2inch webbing.

 

[Rick Inman]

Here ya go: Argon setup

 

[Graeme Tolton]

I am currently not using a BP/W (it's next on my list). The BCD I have is not exactly accommodating for a lot of these things. I had to even add extra D-rings to sling my pony bottle. It would be easy to go and buy all sorts of new gear if I wasn't always going on diving trips, but I figure that I'm better off going diving than sitting at home and looking at all my fancy new gear. Besides... to set this up, i didn't have to buy anything new. The other advantage is I won't be removing my drysuit hose every time I go on vacation now.

 

[DA Aquamaster]

Unless you are boosting argon you will only get 2000 psi max fills, so you are really diving a 4 cu ft tank.

In that regard a 13 works better.

On the other hand testing has indicated that divers can't tell the difference between air and argon in terms of warmth and temp measurments indicate your body can't either.

So unless you are diving trimix there is no need for an inflation system and if you are diving trimix, you can use air in your inflation system with no measurable loss of efficiency - and the 6 cu ft tanks makes perfect sense then as you can easily get a full 3000 psi fill and at least 2 dives per fill.

 

[Rick Inman]

Unless you are boosting argon you will only get 2000 psi max fills, so you are really diving a 4 cu ft tank.

In that regard a 13 works better.

I use about 900psi on a 130' dive. 2000psi is more than enough, and the smaller tank is really nice. I used to use a 13cf, but really like the smaller 6cf better. MHO, YMMV.

On the other hand testing has indicated that divers can't tell the difference between air and argon in terms of warmth and temp measurments indicate your body can't either.

That's an old study that has been refuted. There is a new study (Hobbs, Rubicon I think. I'll go looking for it later when I time. EDIT: found it. See next post below) that says that there IS an advantage to argon.

So unless you are diving trimix there is no need for an inflation system and if you are diving trimix, you can use air in your inflation system with no measurable loss of efficiency - and the 6 cu ft tanks makes perfect sense then as you can easily get a full 3000 psi fill and at least 2 dives per fill.

If I need the additional warmth (cold water or trimix) then I need the argon. If the water is warm enough for air as my suit gas, I don't need any bottle at all.

Some people really like the 13cf, but I personally find no use for it. I decant my argon from an al80 I get filled at the LDS, and then get it topped when it hits 1500psi, which is a lot of dives.

 

[Rick Inman]

Here it is: http://www.scubaboard.com/forums/3928705-post14.html

 

[Graeme Tolton]

I am not trying to spark the old "is argon warmer or not" debate. I understand that I would be dealing with only 4cf of argon. My intention is to take the cooling load away from my breathing air system while I am descending.

 

[JeffG]

I am not trying to spark the old "is argon warmer or not" debate. I understand that I would be dealing with only 4cf of argon. My intention is to take the cooling load away from my breathing air system while I am descending.

If you are not using a helium mix, why bother. Just another gizmo that complicates a simple thing.

What problem are you trying to solve? Or is it the cool factor?

 

[NorthWoodsDiver]

The only reason I switched to a inflation bottle was for diving trimix in which case I use air in either a 6 or 14 cubic ft bottle. on air dives it isn't necessary though I still use it for consistency sake.