The Gas Blender’s Cheat Sheet

By Shaun Notley, July 2020

Disclaimer: This is not intended to replace Gas Blender training, it is designed as a tool for qualified gas blenders. Blending gases can be extremely dangerous, please seek proper training before any gas blending activities. For more information click here.

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You can download the Gas Blender Cheat Sheet V1.2 as a .pdf by clicking the link to the right.

Useful Conversions
Maximum Filling Rates
Booster Pump Maximum Theoretical Output
Dalton’s Triangle
Free Gas Calculation
Equivalent Narcotic Depth (END) Calculation
Continuous Flow Top Up Calculations
Partial Pressure Blending EANx Calculations
Trimix Blending Calculations
Transfilling / Decanting Pressure Drop Calculations
Cylinder Model, Water Volume and Working Pressure Charts

Useful Conversions:

1 Bar = 14.5 PSI

1 Cubic Foot = 28.3 Liters

1 Megapascal = 10 Bar

1 msw = 3.3 fsw

°C to °F = (°C × 9/5) + 32 = °F

°C to K = °C + 273.15 = K

Maximum Filling Rates:

Air : 300 – 600 PSI/min or 20 – 40 Bar/min

Oxygen : 60 PSI/min or 4 Bar/min

EANx less than 40% : 400 PSI/min or 27 Bar/min

Booster Pump Maximum Theoretical Output:

Single stage, Single Acting Gas Boosters:

Single Stage Double Acting Gas Boosters:

Dalton’s Triangle:

PP = Partial Pressure, example PPO2 for Deco Gases 1.6. PP = G x D

G = Gas, always as a fraction. Example, O2 in EANx32 would be 0.32. G = PP ÷ D

D = Depth, always in ata. Example 27m = 3.7 atm. D = PP ÷ G

Approximate Free Gas Calculation:

Knowing the water volume of the cylinder and fill pressure approximate free gas is calculated.

A cylinder with a water volume of 11.1 Liters filled to 207 Bar would have approximately 2298 Liters of free gas ( 11.1 x 207 ).

Equivalent Narcotic Depth Calculation (END):

The END for an 18/45 Trimix at 60m would be worked out as follows. 60m = 7 atm. The fraction of narcotic gas in 18/45 mix would be 0.55. The END is 3.85 ata or 28.5m.

Continuous Flow Top Up Calculations:

Used for calculating the correct EANx top up mix for partially filled cylinders wanting to deviate from the current mix.

SP = Starting Pressure

EP = Ending Pressure

SO2 = Starting O2%

EO2 = Ending O2%

SPO2 = Starting Pressure of Oxygen

EPO2 = Ending Pressure of Oxygen

If we had a partially full cylinder with 50 Bar of EANx32 and wanted to fill it to 200 Bar with a resulting mix of EANx36, the top up gas needs to be EANx37. The equation would look like this:

Partial Pressure Blending EANx Calculation:

For use with 100% Oxygen, with or without a booster, using air as a top up gas with an empty cylinder.

An empty cylinder that we want to fill with EANx36 to 200 Bar would look like this:

Trimix Blending Calculations:

Follow steps 1 and 2 if using EANx as a top up gas. If using air, step 3 converts the EANx top up mix in step 2 to an Oxygen fill pressure.

Having a target mix of 21/20 filled to 200 Bar, we would need to add 40 Bar of He and use EANx26 to top up to 200 Bar. Alternatively, we could add 10 Bar of Oxygen, 40 Bar of Helium and top up to 200 Bar with air. The calculations would look like this:

Transfilling / Decanting Pressure Drop Calculations:

Useful for determining if there is enough banked gas to just decant or if a gas booster pump will be needed. The calculations are split in two. One is for an empty recipient cylinder. The second is for a recipient cylinder with residual gas in. If the BP2 is greater than the RP2 then no gas booster pump is required.

BP1 = Bank Starting Pressure

BP2 = Bank Ending Pressure

BV = Bank Water Volume

RP1 = Recipient Cyl. Starting Pressure

RP2 = Recipient Cyl. Ending Pressure

RV = Recipient Cyl. Water Volume

As an example, imagine we have a Helium storage cylinder with a water volume of 50 L. It contains 72 Bar of Helium. We have a set of empty twin cylinders with a combined water volume of 22 L and need to put 40 Bar of Helium inside.

Because the bank ending pressure (BP2) is greater than the required pressure of 40 Bar in our twin cylinders, we will not be needing a gas booster pump and can just decant.