Helium FAQ

Helium is a very lightweight gas that is both abundant and cheap (relatively) in the US. We have most of the world's supply of helium, which accounts for the fairly low price here. This is one of reasons why the Hindenburg was forced to use hydrogen - a much cheaper, plentiful, but more flammable gas which can blow up if mishandled.

Helium is totally safe, and cannot ever, under any circumstances blow up. The US Navy used it on ships as a fire extinguisher. When flooded with helium, fire is deprived of oxygen and goes out. The only way you CAN hurt yourself with helium is by breathing too much of it - you'll pass out from lack of oxygen, fall down and hit your head. You'll soon wake up, but with a bump on your head.

Little Known Fact: The reason your voice gets higher if you swallow helium is that it displaces the air in your voice box. Since helium is lighter, it provides less air resistance to the vocal cords and they vibrate back and forth more quickly at a higher frequency. Higher frequency = higher pitch.

WARNING: Although you can't hurt yourself with helium, you can hurt yourself, quite easily, with anything that is pressurized to 2000 PSI which is the pressure in the welding tanks. Be very careful around them, always screw the protective cap back on when moving it around and don't ever grab it by the regulator or valve. If it's stored upright make sure the surface underneath is solid and if possible keep it secured to a wall or something else. If you lay it down, make sure it can't start to roll on its own. Keep the regulator facing so that it won't be broken if it gets bumped or jostled.

The other way you can get hurt with the tanks is that larger ones can get quite heavy. Be very careful about lifting them. You can hurt your back if you overdo it, and you will definitely hurt anything (such as your toes) that you drop a tank on.

The three main ways to buy helium are:

1. Party stores: In the beginning I tried to fill up a few small blimps at party stores or to rent tanks from them. They will not rent tanks for a long time, and they charge a lot of money to fill the thing up for you. Not only that, but their filler valve is not very suited for the valve on blimps. If you have a place you really like by all means try them, otherwise don't bother. (Note: if you are associated with a party store and have different policies, let me know and I'll list you on the helium list -- see Resources)

2. Party stores, some toy stores and warehouse clubs: These sell disposable tanks that are rated for 15 cubic feet and cost around $10-20. Their advantages are that there's no deposit involved, they are easy to carry around, and don't have to be returned, refilled etc. They come with a rubber fitting to press on the valve, and when you buy an NYBLIMP, we send a latex hose that fits over this fitting. This way you don't have to buy any extra hardware to fill your blimp. Disadvantages of these tanks that the amount of helium in them is unknown. I tried several containers and they all had only around 10 cubic feet. Other people have reported the same results. You may have better luck, but don't count on it. Also, this helium is not a very pure a grade and will not lift as much. This is only a difference of a few percent, and NYBLIMPs have enough built-in extra lifting capacity to handle this, but you should be aware of it.

3. Welding Supply Shops: This is by far the best way to go. The helium here is better quality and much cheaper than the disposable tanks. It is a bit strange that you don't buy it by the cubic foot like gasoline, but rather like soda where a 12 ounce can costs not much less than a 2 liter bottle. This means that the bigger the tank you get, the cheaper it is per cubic foot of helium. The smallest size is 40 cubic feet, but a 60 or 80 cubic foot tank is still fairly small and not much more expensive to refill. I'm fairly strong but even so can only lift a 110 cubic foot tank, and it's no picnic. Don't start with that size unless you have a carrier of some kind handy. Many shops will let you swap a tank for one a size larger or smaller than what you have if you want to. The large "standard" size tanks are 240 cubic feet, and at that level the helium gets ridiculously cheap. On the other hand you need a cart and very strong shocks in your car if you are going to move it around anywhere. Most shops will deliver tanks to you for a small fee. The only drawback to going this way is that there are some costs to start with: most shops rent tanks for only $5 or so per month, but they also require a deposit of $50-100. At least it's not really spent, you get this back eventually. The other cost is that you must buy a regulator. These will cost $50-75 depending on what goodies you get. A gauge is optional but very nice. I found (as you see in the pictures) that the best way to control the flow is to have a secondary regulator attached to the main one. See the pictures and explanations there.