Switch from Argon to Air in Pony

[JonnyB]

Hi, i have a 9cf pony bottle, and it has been used with argon this winter and i am thinking of switching to normal air for the rest of the summer. Do i need to have it cleaned somehow for this? or can i switch from argon to air and back without cleaning it. I am only going to use it for the drysuit.


kind regards JonnyB

 

[Snowbear]

I am only going to use it for the drysuit.

No, you don't need to clean it.

 

[chrisch]

When you have tried the air to inflate please post back as I think there is no advantage to Argon and would like the opinion of someone actually using it. There is so little difference between the density of air and Argon surely the extra cash isn't worth it.
Chris

 

[JonnyB]

Snowbear thanks for your reply, if i in the future decide to use the bottle for breathing as well, what kind of cleaning will i have to do then?
Chrisch, i will post here as soon as i have tried it.

kind regards JonnyB

 

[Uncle Pug]

You don't need to clean the cylinder... but if you ever plan to use it for breathing gas then you should purge all of the argon out of it. That is, empty the argon and then fill with 50psi and empty that, repeat several times. I was going to say, "shake well between purges" but you probably wouldn't have know I was only kidding.

In any case... argon bottles must be labelled as such and if you convert the bottle to *breathing gas* then the label must be removed. You don't want to create a situation where someone might end up breathing argon!
*********************************************
Addtional note regarding argon useage:

Speaking of purges... argon suit inflation gas won't help at all if your suit hasn't been pre-purged with argon to begin with. If you are using argon you should fill your suit with it before the dive and then open your neck seal while squatting to get the gas out of the suit. Repeat several times.

It doesn't make any sense to add a little bit of argon to a suit full of air... no benefit will be realized. However adding a little bit of air to a suit full of argon will not unduly eliminate the thermal advantage of argon.

With a suit full of argon you will stay warmer during the dive though you won't necessarily feel warmer unless you have the placebo effect working for you. Even a thermometer measuring core temp won't notice the difference (right away at least) since we are warm blooded and our bodies compensate by burning more fuel to keep our tempurature constant. However the argon will keep you from losing as much heat and your body won't have to work as hard to replace it.

Make sense?

 

[Ontario Diver]

You don't need to clean the cylinder... but if you ever plan to use it for breathing gas then you should purge all of the argon out of it.

As usual, UP is dead on. But if I may, a faster method of purging the argon is to remove the valve and shoot HP air into the tank for 45 sec. Blast the whole thing out. Slap a new o-ring on and re attach the valve.

Make sure you remove the "ARGON" sticker tho'

 

[roakey]

You don't need to clean the cylinder... but if you ever plan to use it for breathing gas then you should purge all of the argon out of it. That is, empty the argon and then fill with 50psi and empty that, repeat several times.

I wouldn't go even that far, I'd unscrew the valve, upend the cylinder and leave it that way for an hour (you probably only really need 5 minutes). Argon's heavier than air (my welding friend talks about "pouring" argon over the weld area) and it'll all run out and be replaced with air.

Roak

 

[Green_Manelishi]

if he is planning on continuing to use the pony for suit inflate he should leave the sticker in place and just start filling it with air. Noone needs to know it contains air and he won't have to worry about some "maroon" grabbing his pony bottle and using it as a breathe-from-it pony.

Heck, I have two al6s that are marked ARGON and they contain AIR. Perhaps I should mark them "Argon or Air? Try it and find out."

 

[chrisch]

Heck, I have two al6s that are marked ARGON and they contain AIR. Perhaps I should mark them "Argon or Air? Try it and find out."

Cool.. We have some CO2 cylinders behind the bar for charging beer. Now I really have an idea....

 

[Green_Manelishi]

:dazzler1:

Cool.. We have some CO2 cylinders behind the bar for charging beer. Now I really have an idea....

Hey, uh, I don't know if this is true but just in case ... I've heard that if you use CO2 in a drysuit and you sweat there is a reaction between the water of your sweat (H2O) and the CO2 that creates a weak form of acid and it can itch/burn your skin.

So, if you are planning on using the CO2 in your suit, think twice.