Hi we just bought the helium canisters you can get from supermarkets here in the UK just wondering if anyone knows how long they last without inflating anything. I had a canister a few years back I blew up a couple of balloons.and stored the canister and when I came to inflate more the canister was empty. Do they slowly leak or was there a problem with the valve. I'm wanting to store the helium for a couple of weeks before we have time to play again and obviously want to avoid losing helium
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Re: Helium canister
The same happened to me. I put it down to my not turning the valve off. A bit frustrating as the canister was bought for an occasion blowing up only 12 balloons. When it came for second outing, it was when I had some fun time to myself
. Still the good ole lungs saved the day.
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Re: Helium canister
If you actually shut the mechanical valve that you have to open the first time you use the tank, the helium should stay inside indefinitely. If you just rely on the valve in the nozzle, those are prone to leaking...as you both seem to have discovered the hard way.Comment
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Re: Helium canister
I recently pulled out of the closet a canister ahead from New Year's that was about half-full, I still got another 20 balloons out of it for a event at work, always make sure that valve for the nozzle is completely tightComment
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Re: Helium canister
Tracy's right !! You have to ensure the mechanical valve is closed tightly or your precious helium will go bye bye !!Popper ! I love helium balloonsComment
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Re: Helium canister
How do I know how much is even in the tankComment
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Re: Helium canister
With those little disposable tanks, the speed with which a balloon gets inflated is a pretty reliable indicator. I don't know the sizes over there (and you're SOL if they're metric!) but in the States that come in roughly 9CuFt and 14 CuFt. The 9 CuFt will give you about a dozen 11"-12" balloons (maybe a couple more); only about 1/2 dozen Q16s.
If you're blowing up 11-12" balloons, the first few will inflate pretty quickly. Not as fast as a real helium tank, but quickly. The next 4-5 will inflate steadily but noticeably less zippy. The last few are going to inflate very slowly. So depending on how quickly you go from uninflated to party-ready, you get a sense for how much helium is still in there.Comment
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Re: Helium canister
That's awesome thanksComment
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