We need to invest in fusion power production. Then we'll have plenty of helium.
Party Bazaar supplies the helium to the Walmart on my route.
Had the same problem when I opened my business. Finally found James Supply who has never shorted me. I just found Air Gas is selling helium again.
Are they selling to the general public? We use Helium in locating leaks and AG wasn't selling to us. We use tons of Nitrogen from AG but they will not sell Helium to us. Go figure. Must be a larger market over seas.
Air Gas won't sell it to you unless you are on a guarantee contract. My contact said they have been threatened with getting fired if they break the rule. There isn't a shortage of helium, the problem is with the quantity AG buys. They are the largest buyer of helium. You can find it in about any other welding supply store. AG has decided that supplying the little guy is no longer in their best interest.
Try hydrogen
Helium is not produced. It is mined, just like natural gas. There is a finite supply on the earth. The US stupidly sold off our helium supplies in the 90s. It was stored under Oklahoma and Texas in an empty oil shale (underground). Balloons are just a side effect, helium is used to cool nuclear reactions such as making electricity. While it is the 2nd most abundant element on the earth, it is basically impossible to extract it from the air. It can be refined into pure forms, but pulling it out from the air is very difficult and the process is extremely expensive, rendering it not a real option.
I might tell my bud to try party galaxy, but I'm skeptical that it will be enough or worth it from a price point if there's a markup for the fact that they're selling it in small containers.
Just to give you an idea, weather balloons need to be filled between 4 - 6 feet in diameter. We exausted a whole tank (the bigger industrial type tanks about 3-4 feet tall) of helium in our last flight.
We thought about hydrogen, but because there is school children involved, it's not ideal. The weather balloon specialist down in the weather center advised highly against using hydrogen, due to safety, insurance concerns and would require the children to be atleast a quarter mile away, which would defeat the purpose.
The industrial supply shop he purchased the helium from told him that helium is currently in very short supply and everyone that's not part of a major industrial company is having problems getting helium. Even if they get a tank, they are not allowed to sell them to the general public. Weird, since only 6 months ago getting helium was no big deal.
Just to give you an idea, weather balloons need to be filled between 4 - 6 feet in diameter. We exausted a whole tank (the bigger industrial type tanks about 3-4 feet tall) of helium in our last flight.
We thought about hydrogen, but because there is school children involved, it's not ideal. The weather balloon specialist down in the weather center advised highly against using hydrogen, due to safety, insurance concerns and would require the children to be atleast a quarter mile away, which would defeat the purpose.
The industrial supply shop he purchased the helium from told him that helium is currently in very short supply and everyone that's not part of a major industrial company is having problems getting helium. Even if they get a tank, they are not allowed to sell them to the general public. Weird, since only 6 months ago getting helium was no big deal.
He should have figured out a way to capture Obama speech in Cushing in that balloon. All that hot air would have kept it aloft for days.
You have to pull the heavier methane out of "oral flatulence" before it'll float.
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