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How can I keep a inflatable object inflated?

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defuse54

Junior Member
Ok, so this is a weird question. I want to purchase a inflatable animal head to hang in my man cave. Well I was wondering what the best way to keep this thing inflated so I won't have to constantly refill it with helium. Im guessing the helium leaks from the air valve?

Here is a pic of the inflatable animal head for reference.

Inflatable-Bear-Head_11929-l-500x333.jpg
 
A pressure gauge tied to some kind of control system, which controls a small air pump. Ideally, it'd also be able to measure the ambient air pressure, and maintain sufficient pressure inside the bear head to make sure that it stays inflated.


Or maybe try filling it with Good Stuff, or some kind of expanding foam like that. 🙂
(Just a thought, no idea how well that'll actually work.)


Helium: That'll leak out. Those are darn tiny atoms, and they're good at getting out of enclosures - and then they subsequently find their way to the upper atmosphere, where they depart the planet, into space. Yes, we're slowly bleeding away helium, forever. :\


Also:
defuse54
Junior Member

Join Date: Nov 2009
Posts: 19

Lurker. Mine.:awe:
 
Last edited:
defuse54 said:
Ok, so this is a weird question. I want to purchase a inflatable animal head ...
Click to expand...

Hey, what a man and an inflatable animal head do in the privacy of their own man cave is none of our business, we don't need details.

Just go easy on the hickies and give it a night off once in a while.
 
i've read expanding foam doesn't set if not in open container, people tried hacking their ice coolers with hollow lids by spraying that stuff in, it never set.
 
0roo0roo said:
i've read expanding foam doesn't set if not in open container, people tried hacking their ice coolers with hollow lids by spraying that stuff in, it never set.
Click to expand...
Hm, it might be air-dry.

Hydraulic cement then? 😀

Fill it with epoxy?


Inflate it, then coat it with varnish. Assuming varnish doesn't dissolve PVC. :sneaky:
 
Come to my city and roam the streets at night with a shot gun, kill bear, cut off head, run off with it. Nobody will be concerned enough to try tracking you down, and you'll have a bear head that wont deflate. 😛 Though now would be a bad time, they're probably hibernating.

On serious note, try filling it with just air, it may still deflate over time but wont do it as fast, and air is free. I wonder if a thicker gas would last longer. Nitrogen is a big bigger than oxygen I think, so maybe putting pure nitrogen would help. Though this is assuming the valve and everything is 100% air tight. If there's a pin hole leak anywhere it does not matter how big of atoms you put in there the hole will be bigger.

If it has to float for some reason and you need a gas that floats, then switch to hydrogen, it's renewable, assuming that the water supply on Earth is not finite. Either way, we have WAY more water than helium. Just don't light it on fire, it will hurt your ears. 😛

I wonder if there is a lacker of some sort you could spread on it while it's inflated, that would get hard and strong enough to stay in one piece. Could maybe look into that.
 
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