Would this work??

[Dan_Br]

I have worked my way thru all the threads on booster pumps and wonder how efficient this might be. I don't think anyone will rent/lease me a 6000psi nitrogen tank in my area, but they might rent/lease a 3000 psi tank.

With a Shoebox 10 and a regulator to step down the nitrogen tank to 125psi, would that work to fill gun directly or even fill SCBA bottle.

I am thinking that using nitrogen would eliminate need for multiple driers/filters, and filing off the tank, no shop compressor needed.

Am I correct in thinking that the Shoebox (having a motor) does not lose/use air(nitrogen) to run the pump.

I know that Alteros booster does consume a lot of air to run the pump.

I would love to get this booster (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9VM_s5uFCec) but his site does not seem to list it anymore

Anyone know how to source this pump or one like it?

dan

If I am missing the obvious, please shoot pellet sized holes in this idea

 

[prfssrlee]

Dan_Br, Yes, it would work to use compressed N2 from a tank to boost the Haskel boost pump in the video. As you say, you would down reg it to 125psi for the inlet. But first fill your tank/gun to 3000 directly from the N2 bottle then just boost the rest of the way to your final fill pressure. Also you are correct in that starting with bottled N2 means you don't need moisture filters or driers. That particular booster is fairly common in dive shops and runs about $2500 new (I think I saw a used one on ebay for under $1000). 

BTW, Haskel calls it an air pressure amplifier: https://www.haskel.com/products/air-amplifiers/

 

[Dan_Br]

Dan_Br, Yes, it would work to use compressed N2 from a tank to boost the Haskel boost pump in the video. As you say, you would down reg it to 125psi for the inlet. But first fill your tank/gun to 3000 directly from the N2 bottle then just boost the rest of the way to your final fill pressure. Also you are correct in that starting with bottled N2 means you don't need moisture filters or driers. That particular booster is fairly common in dive shops and runs about $2500 new (I think I saw a used one on ebay for under $1000). 

BTW, Haskel calls it an air pressure amplifier: https://www.haskel.com/products/air-amplifiers/

thanks, so that pump is too expensive, how about using the Shoebox F10, would that work?

dan

 

[prfssrlee]

dan- Sure. you can send bottled N2 into any booster pump that is designed to run compressed air - just make sure you down reg it to the appropriate inlet pressure. I've even boosted my Yong Heng just to see how it would do (probably not something I would recommend, though a 10 psi inlet boost seems quite safe and cut the pump time in half). Booster pumps bascially just replace the first stage of compression with a compressed gas source like your N2 tank or another shop compressor. I have a 6K N2 tank that is now down to 3900 psi - so I fill my 45-min bottle to 3900 psi directly, then feed my YH compressor with N2 (not boosted at all, just at ambient air pressure) to top it off up to 4300 psi. Works like a charm. 

 

[intenseaty22]

I’m kinda curious as to the ultimate end goal here. If you went this route, and it worked, what are you really saving on? Space? How does the cost work out? How many fills would you get out a single rental? Etc? 

I use an Alteros. My shop compressor is about $300 Dewalt 15 Gal, and have several filters in line. All in all I would say there’s about $1200 in the system. The Altaros is about $600? That would be an initial saving of $600ish. How many rentals would you get out of $600, etc. 

I’m not putting down your idea btw, just trying to understand it better and see if it’s a good idea or not, etc. 

 

[Dan_Br]

I’m kinda curious as to the ultimate end goal here. If you went this route, and it worked, what are you really saving on? Space? How does the cost work out? How many fills would you get out a single rental? Etc? 

I use an Alteros. My shop compressor is about $300 Dewalt 15 Gal, and have several filters in line. All in all I would say there’s about $1200 in the system. The Altaros is about $600? That would be an initial saving of $600ish. How many rentals would you get out of $600, etc. 

I’m not putting down your idea btw, just trying to understand it better and see if it’s a good idea or not, etc.

I am not sure it is a great idea, wanted to use Nitrogen, no filters, getting almost all the gas out of the tank, no shop compressor (quiet), not having the eventual rebuild of air compressor, but I am finding out that the expense of a regulator, even if I can get a rental, might make it more costly for $1200, I might just look at a Carette compressor. Ideas you get in the middle of the night don't always pan out.

 

[prfssrlee]

intense- can't speak for OP, but my 6K setup cost just under $200 in total. That includes delivery of a full tank. But I happen to have a CGA677 reg already, which can be quite expensive to buy. For me, tank rental is $85/yr and refills are $60/bottle (+ fees - they just swap out the bottle so you only pay a single rental fee per yr but about $80 every time they deliver a refill). I am 10 months into my first year of this and the 6K tank just dropped under 4000 psi. So now I fill to 3900 psi then top-off the CF tank by feeding down-reg'd N2 into my YH as described. For most of the year I just filled directly from 6K.

So while I've wasted alot of time and money figuring this out (buying the wrong fittings, trying out moisture filters, etc), the total cost to get this setup going should have just been $200. One 6K tank can top a synrod from 2000psi to 3000psi over 425 times (or an Urban from 1800 to 3200 more than 550 times) so you either have to shoot *a lot* or waste lots of air trying to figure things out and stopping leaks (like I did). I could get by just with the 6K tank and no YH (but it's a nice backup).

For the sake of comparison, let's call it $200/yr for the 6K tank - so that's 6 years of completely dry N2 before spending $1200. But again, I had a CGA677 reg already. Everyone has to figure out what makes sense for their situation. I'm happy with the 6K N2, but likely would not have gone this route if I had to buy a new CGA677 reg.

 

[intenseaty22]

I hear you loud and clear! Those ideas are the building blocks of geniuses. Creativeness. Thinking outside of the box and burning it. I love it. 

I personally like the Booster. It keeps everything in components. The Altaros is supposed to be easy to fix. If the shop compressor goes, all I need to do is buy a new one and I’m up and running again. Filters are easy. 

That being said: one day I may get a Coltri

 

[John "spysir" Blount]

 Should anyone want to run Helium a booster is certainly the way to go.

The original seemingly got delete in the ytube thing a while back but thankfully the internet never forgets.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=LPdImL-cEUY



In this area just the 6,000psi tank delivered, rental, ( no reg. ... ... ) would have been $380.00. In Fla. rented with a reg from the smae folks it was $180+ refill if needed, lot's of gas.



John

 

[Dan_Br]

Should anyone want to run Helium a booster is certainly the way to go.

The original seemingly got delete in the ytube thing a while back but thankfully the internet never forgets.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=LPdImL-cEUY



In this area just the 6,000psi tank delivered, rental, ( no reg. ... ... ) would have been $380.00. In Fla. rented with a reg from the smae folks it was $180+ refill if needed, lot's of gas.

John

I wish they explained it as they were unhooking and hooking up lines. Does the Alteros, with this setup, consume/exhaust /loose the air needed to run the pump? I know it uses/consumes air when intake is just a shop compressor

It 's crazy that there is that much of a difference from the same company in different areas