I want to switch to argon for my dry suite. I have a 13 cu ft tank recently hydro'd, but my local welding supply store (U.S. Alloys Co. in Walnut Creek) refused to fill it with Argon. The reason was, "we don't fill scuba tanks with argon - it is dangerous". Trying to explain it is not for breathing didn't help. Any advice?
Where to fill Argon in East Bay?
- Thread starter MrSpock
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Go back to the welding shop and ask to lease a 300cuft argon cylinder. It will have a CGA 580 valve on it. You can trans-fill into your 13 if you make a whip, but you'll likely never get 3000psi that way.
I'm going to ask why?
The difference is marginal and you have to completely flush the suit every time you don it in order to get any benefit at all.
I would just use regular air.
The difference is marginal and you have to completely flush the suit every time you don it in order to get any benefit at all.
I would just use regular air.
OTF
Coney Island Whitefish Biologist
Not just flush the suit, but flush it multiple times to have any real benefit IIRC
Actually, I read about a study using argon and they concluded that you had to flush your dry suit SIX times before the fraction of argon in the suit was high enough to make a measurable difference.
If you've ever tried to fill a rebreather with 100% o2 to calibrate the cells you know how many times you need to suck out all the gas and refill with O2 before you get close to 100%...
Argon is a placebo at best. But if it makes you feel warmer then go for it. The placebo effect is real and it can fool the mind and body.
As I said complete flush and marginal benifit.
the other lincoln
Registered
I have Argon for my tig welder, if you supply the fill whip i will supply the gas. it will be to what ever the tank pressure is however.
It is actually worse than that. The biggest problem is perspiration raises the humidity in the suit so much that the 30% gain from pure dry Argon over dry air is more than negated.
| Times as conductive as air | W/(m·K) | Name |
|---|---|---|
1.0 | 0.024 | Air (gas) |
0.7 | 0.016 | Argon (gas) |
0.6 | 0.0146 | Carbon dioxide (gas) |
5.9 | 0.142 | Helium (gas) |
7.0 | 0.168 | Hydrogen (gas) |
90.8 | 2.18 | Ice (0°C, 32°F) |
1.0 | 0.024 | Nitrogen |
1.0 | 0.024 | Oxygen |
24.2 | 0.58 | Water |
Purging the suit with air over Helium is certainly justified based on thermal conductivity and cost.
SaltyWombat
Contributor
Since you're likely diving in Monterey, you could just get an argon fill at Aquarius. I'm unsure if the other Monterey shops have argon.
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