Hydrogen or Helium: Gas used for Flying Balloons

For those who do not know, there are two ways to make a balloon fly – first is to inflate it using a hydrogen-filled tank and second is using helium. The most popular in more modern or advance countries is helium because they can produce the gas abundantly using their advance technology. In the middle-class countries, such as the Philippines, they prefer using the hydrogen because of the rich supply.

Many are asking, “What is the best gas for flying balloons?” the answer is both. Helium and Hydrogen are about 8 and 16 times lighter than air respectively. Because these gases are less dense than air, it will easily fly high in the sky but since Hydrogen is lighter, it tends to have a higher lift. These two are in competition with each other but the factors on how to choose a good gas for flying balloons are definitely “night & day”.

#1 ABUNDANCE – Hydrogen is easier to produce compared to Helium, which is a limited resource here on the planet. Only created by radioactive decay on Earth, getting a Helium tank to fill your balloons may become a problem eventually if you are living in a middle-class or third world country.

#2 PRICE – In terms of price, Hydrogen is much cheaper than Helium because of its abundance. Companies in the Philippines, such as Sugeco, which provides both Helium and Hydrogen, can easily produce the latter compared to the former. Helium is about 18 to 20 times more expensive than Hydrogen. In the country, one 47-kilo Hydrogen Tank costs P1,200 to P1,500 compared to the similar tank filled with Helium, which costs P22,000 to P23,000. In terms of pricing, Hydrogen is significantly better than Helium.

#3 LIFT – Because of the lightness of Hydrogen, the flying balloons filled with it tends to fly much faster than Helium-filled balloons. Some balloon shops in the country try to save on cost by combining Hydrogen and breathable air but this is definitely risky and the balloons will not have its lifting power in just a matter of hours. This is only useful if you are going to use it instantly after inflating. Those who are trying to be the best balloon shop in the Philippines does not mix air and hydrogen because their clients will surely appreciate seeing their balloons still fly after a number of days.

#4 SAFETY – In terms of safety, Helium is easily the winner. Even if it is costly, many balloon shops in highly urbanized areas prefer to use Helium. Hydrogen is beyond doubt not good in terms of health and safety. Hydrogen is an explosive, highly flammable gas, which is capable of blowing up hard objects. Kids, who love to run around must not bring any Hydrogen-filled balloon because it might get near an open flame or even a cigarette and would eventually explode and burn the nearby person. A number of hotels in the world do not allow the use of Flying Balloons as decoration because they know most shops use Hydrogen instead of Helium. If the client insist on bringing a flying balloon in the hotel (that bans the hydrogen-filled balloons) must bring a certification that his balloons are inflated using Helium.

Around 99% of the Balloon Shops in the Philippines uses Hydrogen because of its abundance, price and lift. In terms of safety, it might not be very good but party shops are doing their best to inform their customers about the flammability of these balloons.

Cebu Balloons, in an experiment, have tried flaming both Helium-filled and Hydrogen-filled balloons and they have seen the huge difference. They always tell their customers about the safety issues. It is a good thing that there are no reported accidents so far. They have asked other balloon shops, who are in the industry for decades, and good thing no one got hurt with the hydrogen-filled flying balloons.

This page is last updated on May 23, 2017 @ 11:25 am