h2g2 The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy: Earth Edition

I have a few foil balloons for our wedding that need inflating with helium.

Two local shops will do this, both sell the foil balloons, I didn't buy mine from either of those (over priced) shops.

At the first I asked at, they will inflate for £1.50 per balloon.

At the second, they will inflate for £1.00 per balloon, but also warned that they would not be responsible if the balloon burst while inflating.

Now, I've got a bit of a suspicious mind, that is telling me that the second, cheaper shop will not inflate my balloons with adequate care, as I've not purchased the balloons from their shop (and if they burst any, they think I'll replace by buying their foil balloons).

Two questions really -

Have you experience with helium balloons, is bursting while inflating common?

Would you pay the extra 50p per balloon with a shop you trust more than the other?



Emmily

i think anything can be burst, if inflated carelessly. I'd be a tad suspicious, too. But that's probably just me.

Don't know if this is something available on your side of the pond, but I can look up a business or other service, and there are places where they get reviewed, and rated. Best I can suggest.

Emmily dear - 1.50 per balloon and telling you that they will burst some of them - wow. The most lucrative business idea since the invention of highway robbery, and legal, too.

Shops that sell propane for heating, CO2 for tapping beer etc will get you a bottle that will inflate hundreds for what you pay for filling half a dozen. You only pay for the gas - when you bring the bottle and armature back you retrieve that collateral money.

No idea what the shops are in English phone directories. In Germany they are listed under "Industrial gases".

It´s a pity I can´t make it to your wedding - but give me the exact date and time and I promise to raise a glass.

Pit

It depends on how many you have. If it's not a huge amount then I'd got with paying for peace of mind.

Looking at it from the other side of the coin, the shop charging £1.50 may just not have mentioned that some may burst. When they do they could go down the "everyone knows that's a risk" road.

I'd see about getting your own gas.



Deb

Just once.

B

I'd go to the £1 shop and say I'll buy x for £1 each you inflate them at your own risk or you don;t get my business.

If they tell you where to go go to the £1.50 shop. Though even that sounds pricey.

Or work out some costs from here:

http://shop.click4warehouse.co.uk/disposable-helium-cylinders-755-c.asp

http://www.urbanjunkie.co.uk/product.php/184/0/disposable-helium-tank-with-party-balloons-30---50-pack

Dependign on how many you want might be worth buying the whole kit and caboodle yourself and stuff the shops...

Some googling of 'helium tank cost uk', 'helium balloon tank cost uk' should g tyou some options.

Overinflation???

With care, it should not be possible. It is not a standard 'rubber' balloon!

All that is neccessary is to inflate it slightly, and away you go!!!


No need to 'blow up' in the normal sense!



GT

Lighter than air is the way to go anyway. As I have told Orville and have told Wilbur - your contraption will never fly.

I also don´t think they will need much pressure, so they´re not likely to burst. However helium molecules are small enough to seep through the foil itself, so they will lose helium over time. I wouldn´t get them inflated more than a week before you need them.

*Foil* balloons? Maybe it's just me, but I've never heard of them. The closest I can think of is the inner packets from boxes of , which are a kind of reflective plastic. They always end up getting removed, because you can always squeeze at least an extra glass-and-a-half, and then can be reinflated (by holding the tap open and blowing into it) and played with. This is reasonably entertaining to people who have just had a whole box of ...

My brother bought a cannister of helium with about 30 balloons and some ribbon for around £20 from a high street shop, can't remember which one, possibly one of the card shops or Wilkinsons (UK centric).

You can also get the same sort of pack on Amazon.

Deb

Thanks you replies

I went back to the first shop today, to ask a few more questions.

Foil balloons can't burst (under normal circumstances) there's an automatic cut off for when they are fully inflated.

However, latex balloons can, and do sometimes burst. In the second shop, I asked the lady behind the till about foil balloons, but when she asked someone else, she must have left out the word 'foil', so I got the answer for latex, not foil balloons the size I've got (18 inches) are £1.50 in both shops, so I'll use the first shop, 1) they're a little bit closer to my venue, 2) they're easier to talk to.

I've got just 4 foil balloons, so it's not worth buying a canister of helium for around £20.00.

I know they don't last long, I'll be getting them inflated the day before (Friday 15th, for Saturday 16th [at 12.00pm]).

And for Just Bob, these are foil balloons

http://www.google.co.uk/images?hl=en&source=hp&biw=887&bih=444&q=foil+balloons&btnG=Search+Images&gbv=2&aq=f&aqi=g2g-m6&aql=&oq=

Emmily

costco sell a helium tank and latex baloons for arount £15, ideal for parties and just bin it when its empty

OMG! Look, a Dalek balloon! *faints with joy*

Bottom row, on the left...
http://www.parteaz.co.uk/32-birthday-balloons

There won't be any latex balloons, I have a phobia of them, and like my dentist phobia (I now have to be sedated for dental treatment), and my needle phobia (on the verge of panic attack when or tries to stick one in me), my latex balloons phobia has got worse as I've got older .

Alex, my son, who's now nearly 24 years old, had a childhood deprived of balloons at his birthday parties, and could never bring them home when he went to friends parties, poor lad he always had birthday !

As my theme is butterflies, I would've liked to have got a or foil balloon, but with a very tight budget, they were a bit too pricey

I got some strings of butterflies off eBay, but I've lost them I've spent the last 4 days searching for them, and I've ran out of places to look. I even tried meditating, trying to remember the last time I held them, and what I did with them after that, but no joy.

I'm rabbiting on a bit tonight, time to shut up me thinks


Emmily