[Noisebridge-discuss] Buying quality helium (Spacebridge folks?)

[Christie Dudley]

When I set up the tank rental for Spacebridge, I went to Atlas welding
supply in Berkeley, not only because they're open on Saturday (although that
was a consideration), but because they had better prices and more helpful
staff than anywhere else around.  They're great at answering your questions.
 We debated to a fair extent renting vs. buying, and after some discussion
about trading in and commitment and damage to the tanks, it just made more
sense renting vs. buying.  A full tank of helium was about $100, which is
enough to fill about 1.5 balloons.  They do not offer any smaller tanks.

Christie
_______
"It is the time you have lost for your rose that makes your rose so
important."
Antoine de Saint-Exupéry



On Fri, Dec 3, 2010 at 7:52 PM, Sean Cusack <sean.p.cusack at gmail.com> wrote:

> Airgas in South San Francisco may have what you need. And they do sell pure
> as in 99.999% pure helium. Prepare to pay for it though. We typically use it
> in our labs for some fancy pants chemistry equipment.
>
> http://www.airgas.com/customer_service/site_locator.aspx
>
> Sean
>
>
> On Fri, Dec 3, 2010 at 4:38 PM, Andy Isaacson <adi at hexapodia.org> wrote:
>
>> On Fri, Dec 03, 2010 at 04:07:19PM -0800, Josh Myer wrote:
>> > Comrade Kennedy,
>> >
>> > Any welding supply store should have what you need:
>> > http://maps.google.com/maps?f=q&q=welding+supply+near+noisebridge
>> >
>> > The standard tank is ~270cuft of helium, which costs about $100.
>> >
>> > Don't forget to rent a regulator!  The 1500psi in the tank is...
>> difficult
>> > to use as-is.  And you can't get the regulator at Home Depot.  If you
>> look
>> > trustworthy enough, you  may be able to put a deposit down at a party
>> supply
>> > store and borrow one, but don't count on it.
>>
>> Indeed.  If you only need 35 cubic feet, the smaller tank will work
>> fine.  I bought a small tank (rather than renting) at Airgas, in the
>> Bayview, a few years ago; including the regulator and the fill, my bill
>> came to under $200.
>>
>> Of course, then you've got a helium tank.  In retrospect, renting would
>> have been more sensible.
>>
>> Note that for "pure helium" (90% helium 10% argon, according to the
>> internet) you want to go to a welding supply store, not a party store;
>> I'm told that party store tanks are filled with "balloon gas", which is
>> a mix of helium and standard atmosphere to reduce the cost.  (Kids'
>> balloons still float just fine.)  Less float in there.
>>
>> Here's a helpful reference:
>>
>>
>> http://www.airproducts.com/NR/rdonlyres/7CCE748B-35BA-45B2-93D4-48AE3D3EEDF3/0/reference_cylinder_information.pdf
>>
>> The "standard tank" jbm references above is a "high pressure A"; the
>> smaller tank I bought is, I think, either D or 4X (I'll check this
>> weekend).
>>
>> -andy
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>
>
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