Low Cost Hyperbaric Chamber?

[ges888]

Dear all,
A friend asked me how he could cheaply obtain a robust chamber that would be capable of being pressurised to 2bar, be sized at about a cubic metre (give or take 200L), be able to screw pipework connections into, and with a decent sized lid - about 500mm to 600mm diameter.

An off the shelf item would be great, but probably out of his price range (upto £100)

My suggestions were as follows:

1. Food grade pvc drum with lid (could take the pressure, but would deform at each end)

2. Length of Ductwork, maybe Stainless flue duct with two endcaps (not too sure that this would stand upto 2bar?)

3. Cut the top off an old water cylinder, and form a new lid and seal. (all a bit heath robinson - could be tricky getting a decent seal)

What do you think of the three ideas above?

Does anyone have any other good (low cost) ideas?

Many thanks,

Ges.

 

[prex]

Did you inform your friend that such a thing could destroy an entire building? And, supposing this is to be used with someone inside (1 cubic meter?), what would happen in case of an uncontrolled depressurization because a seal is going away?
Please stay away from me with your do it yourself solutions.

prex

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[ges888]

Thanks Prex, but you have the wrong idea. No-one is going inside the chamber.
Anyone else got any good constructive suggestions? Thanks

 

[JStephen]

"hyperbaric chamber...also called decompression chamber or recompression chamber sealed chamber in which a high-pressure environment is used primarily to treat decompression sickness, gas embolism", etc. If no one is going in it, it's not a hyperbaric chamber in the usual sense of the word.

But first off, check if there are regulatory requirements for pressure vessels in your area. If so, that would mandate the requirements for your construction.

It seems to me that the obvious way would be to use steel pipe and pipe fittings. That's not necessarily cheap compared to ductwork or PVC drums, but about as cheap as I'd care to be around.

 

[moltenmetal]

You won't enclose 1000 L against 2 bar pneumatic pressure safely for under 100 pounds sterling, so you should give up. Even a used water heater tank of that size, WITHOUT a body flange closure of any kind, will cost you more than that. All you're doing is tempting your friend to kill him/herself. A huge volume like that contains a significant amount of potential energy even at a very modest pressure such as 2 barg.

A drum might withstand 1/3 of a bar wth serious deformation, and it's only 205 L.

 

[ges888]

Thanks JStephen & moltenmetal.

Splitting hairs first: I always understood "hyperbaric" to mean greater than atmospheric pressure. Greek origins I think.


OK, I get the message. To do this safely and correctly is going to take a few quid. So do you know of a good company that could suggest a budget cost for a pressure chamber in the UK, and follow up with a design if the cost is acceptable?

Who do you guys reccommend?

Or a standard product that fulfils the basic requirements?

Thanks again.

 

[sreid]

You might be able to find an old, junk medical autoclave, maybe for free.