Is Argon just as good as Nitrogen?

[mrwizard11]

I am able to get Argon delivered whereas I was unable to find a place to get Nitrogen delivered. I don't want to risk being question by going to a welding gas supply store. Therefore, is Argon just as painless as Argon when used with the Exit bag method?

 

[jojointhebus]

I am in the same situation, I have already received my regulator and I am waiting for the gas which should arrive within 1 week.

Ar and N are both inert and odorless gases, so technically they work the same way. The only difference in my opinion is the density of the gas, the N is lighter than the Ar so it technically stays easier in the bag and would allow the CO2 to be extracted more easily from the bottom of the bag.

But again in my opinion, from what I've read as long as your setup is fairly well prepared and mastered there should be no differences.

I may keep you posted when I receive the Ar and have done some testing

 

[mrwizard11]

I went ahead and ordered my Argon so I will be going with that anyway. I am also thinking about ordering some SN too just in case. I think the exit bag method is probably the most peaceful but it's so technical I am worried about doing something wrong. Please keep me posted.

 

[orca87]

I guess they're both doing their job for our use cases.

But it could be that you need to make adjustments to your setup because of the density of these gases.

Maybe @GasMonkey can help?

 

[GasMonkey]

Argon is the worst inert gas to use with the ExitBag due to its weight (less eficient CO₂ purging), but there are people who have CTB'd with Argon+ExitBag like Deafsn0w and the PPeH says that Argon is viable for CTBing. imcadt99 also CTB'd with an Argon SCBA.

The best gas for the ExitBag is Helium (huge weight difference with CO₂) followed by Nitrogen. The most common CTB gas nowadays is Nitrogen, which has infinite supply (78.08% of the atmosphere is Nitrogen). Helium supply is dwindling since it cannot be manufactured, is more expensive and more difficult to find in pure form. The optimal flow rate of 15 LPM was determined by the EXIT International experiments using Air which has basically the same weight as Nitrogen.

There have been folks here reporting having to abort attempts due to feeling bad (suffocation/panic) with Argon+ExitBag (claiming that they did everything correctly). I tend to think that they did something wrong in the process, but the truth is that we only have strong evidence of 15 LPM working well for Nitrogen and Helium. The supposed issues of Argon should be solved by increasing the flow rate to have a faster CO₂ purging.​

 

[Obliviate]

I do not recommend argon with an exit bag, my setup failed numerous times I'm assuming due of the weight of the argon even though everything else was perfect. They should really mention that in the ppeh before I spent a lot of money on argon. Wish I knew sooner so I could have gotten nitrogen instead. Argon and the hood should be fine though

 

[Hurts too bad]

I have cpap equipment. Can I succesfuly ctb with argon and cpap hose/mask?

 

[GasMonkey]

No, CPAP masks are not good to CTB.

 

[Hurts too bad]

No, CPAP masks are not good to CTB.

Too bad. Seems like it would work since there is positive pressure inside the mask. But I asked for guidance, which you have provided. Thanks

 

[saderaser]

I do not recommend argon with an exit bag, my setup failed numerous times I'm assuming due of the weight of the argon even though everything else was perfect. They should really mention that in the ppeh before I spent a lot of money on argon. Wish I knew sooner so I could have gotten nitrogen instead. Argon and the hood should be fine though

Sorry to hear that, but I thought CO2 was slighter heavier than argon. Would't that make CO2 stay at the bottom and eventually leave the bag?

 

[Obliviate]

Sorry to hear that, but I thought CO2 was slighter heavier than argon. Would't that make CO2 stay at the bottom and eventually leave the bag?

The problem with my my bag was inflation with argon. You can check out my failed posts about the technique.

 

[DurkheimsCat]

I went to my local welding supply store and told them my friend wants to make nitro cold brew coffee so I was picking up the nitrogen gas for them. No more questions, got the tank just fine. I'm in the US. Just don't offer more information, be cool.

 

[uniqueusername4]

What about using a non-rebreather mask instead of cpap? I think hood/bag is too claustrophobic for me, wouldn't be able to go through with it.