Helium

[mthieme]

Wonder what would happen if you were to fill the tubes with helium?

 

[mike64]

Re: Helium

Ha...I clicked on this from 'new posts' and I thought you meant tubes that get pulled behind the boat...was about to speculate on that when I saw it was the pontoon category.

Anyways, I would guess it wouldn't be too big a deal. Mythbusters had a show where they filled footballs with either helium or hydrogen, and control balls with just air. Then had a pro kicker do his thing...didn't make much difference, suprisingly. I woulda thought the ball with lighter-than-air gas would have gone farther.

Myabe the 'toon with helium would get a wee bit better gas mileage...?

 

[Bob_VT]

Re: Helium

It will lighten your wallet......... beyond that zero effect.

 

[5150abf]

Re: Helium

See sticky at top of this forum.

We get ask about this all the time, it is simple science.

Pontoons are displacement hulls so the only way to increase flotation is to increase there size, they will float exactly the same with 20lbs of helium in them or a 20lb vacuum, the helium in theory would make them the tinniest bit lighter but as stated the biggest affect would be on your wallet.

 

[kenmyfam]

Re: Helium

Nothing noticeable.

 

[branman1971]

Re: Helium

Tried it today, but only had enough helium for one pontoon. I think if I had enough for both pontoons it could have turned out really bad. I filled one pontoon with helium and went out and noticed nothing, until I realized that I had filled the port-side pontoon, which had 4 people on that side's J-couch, and a big cooler filled with Corona's and ice, and the fuel tank was on that side too. While cruising, I had everyone move to the non-helium side of the boat, and moved the cooler over there too, and you would have had to see the results to believe.

The entire helium filled pontoon levitated about 7 inches above the water. Anything that wasn't bolted down went into the drink, including all the dogs and guitars. I looked like the Dukes of Hazzard out there. I'm thinking of painting it orange and installing a Dixie Horn. ALL the sailboaters were jealous too, cause I had more "List" to Starboard side. Standby for pictures.

 

[mike64]

Re: Helium

See attached pic: Branman is right...don't ever fill both 'toons with helium unless you have proper airspace clearance permission, protection from -60 degree temps and supplemental oxygen!

 

[branman1971]

Re: Helium

HAHAHA...That is awesome...Should'a had her anchored...

 

[quantico]

Re: Helium

The more frequent issue with our river pontoon boats is putting so many people on board that the pontoon gets about 75 percent under water.... that is actually a pretty bad situation as there is very very little lift left in those toons... and getting the front under water can have a bad result unless you always wanted a submarine....


I started to figure out what 24 gallons of fuel and two large batteries and five chairs and a power tilt for the outboard / and a 1000 watt amp / speakers and stereo all weigh combined... with typical anchor / hardtop and assorted passengers..... the boat feels pretty good with a person or two, but bleeds speed easily with six - 10 passengers....


So I don't see either of my pontoons floating away just yet...

 

[fubar007]

Re: Helium

The helium will leak out quickly. The aluminum on the molecular level can be visualized as a tiny screen. The helium will escape just like water through a screen. I would suggest after all the helium finds its way out..well have you ever seen a baloon that sets with helium in it? Interesting but I would suggest that a vaccum may form and the atmospheric pressure exerted on the outside may collapse the log like a beer can. I would like to see it done on a junk log.....

 

[Volphin]

Re: Helium

I thought helium was for breathing! (he said squeakily)

V

 

[Blank-N-Ship]

Re: Helium

The net buoyancy of helium versus air is 28.9 grams/ft[SUP]3[/SUP]. The net buoyancy of air versus water is 62 pounds/ft[SUP]3[/SUP].

Given a particular design of two 24' x 25"D pontoons, that's about 164ft[SUP]3[/SUP] of volume overall. Disregarding the weight of the aluminum...

Air-in-pontoons-on-water: 10,168 pounds of buoyancy/lift
Helium-in-pontoons-in-your-back-yard: 10.5 pounds of buoyancy/lift
Helium-in-pontoons-on water: 10,178.5 pounds of buoyancy/lift

Working backwards, given a 3,000-lb. pontoon boat if you wanted to add 2,500 lbs. of lift the pontoons would need to have 39,238ft[SUP]3[/SUP] of helium. If there's 3.42ft[SUP]3[/SUP] of helium lift per linear foot of 25" pontoon then you'd need 11,473 linear feet of pontoon. And of course there's an aluminum weight per linear foot of pontoon that you're adding onto the boat's weight.

 

[paultjohnson]

Re: Helium

The net buoyancy of helium versus air is 28.9 grams/ft[SUP]3[/SUP]. The net buoyancy of air versus water is 62 pounds/ft[SUP]3[/SUP].

Given a particular design of two 24' x 25"D pontoons, that's about 164ft[SUP]3[/SUP] of volume overall. Disregarding the weight of the aluminum...

Air-in-pontoons-on-water: 10,168 pounds of buoyancy/lift
Helium-in-pontoons-in-your-back-yard: 10.5 pounds of buoyancy/lift
Helium-in-pontoons-on water: 10,178.5 pounds of buoyancy/lift

Working backwards, given a 3,000-lb. pontoon boat if you wanted to add 2,500 lbs. of lift the pontoons would need to have 39,238ft[SUP]3[/SUP] of helium. If there's 3.42ft[SUP]3[/SUP] of helium lift per linear foot of 25" pontoon then you'd need 11,473 linear feet of pontoon. And of course there's an aluminum weight per linear foot of pontoon that you're adding onto the boat's weight.

Well DUH! Everybody knows that !...... I mean.... huh??? So does that roughly work out to a gain of 1/10th of 1 %, or 1/1000 % gain in buoyancy ?

 

[Volphin]

Re: Helium

well duh! Everybody knows that !...... I mean.... Huh??? So does that roughly work out to a gain of 1/10th of 1 %, or 1/1000 % gain in buoyancy ?

roflmao.

 

[bigdee]

Re: Helium

Is how they get the term "party barge"

 

[Blank-N-Ship]

Re: Helium

Well DUH! Everybody knows that !...... I mean.... huh??? So does that roughly work out to a gain of 1/10th of 1 %, or 1/1000 % gain in buoyancy ?

Yep, 1/1000th or 0.1% gain.

We've got a helium cylinder here in the showroom (for filling promotional balloons) and a week doesn't go by that someone doesn't see that and get this excited look on their face like they're inventing something in their head... :laugh:

 

[sschefer]

Re: Helium

It will lighten your wallet......... beyond that zero effect.

Ballon Grade Helium with 16% oxygen is probably what he's thinking but that will cause corrosion. 99.999 pct Helium like I use for TIG welding will melt your wallet in a hurry trying to fill a toons tubes. Definitely not worth the gain which I agree, will be zero. My 500cf Helium tank aint no lighter than my 500cf Argon.