Lethal percentage of oxygen?

[PleaseLetMeMakeAnAc]

I've found no definitive source on this. Reading through alot of papers, asking around, and consulting chatgpt, from what I can gather <10% should be fatal in a mater of minutes & cause quick unconsciousness anything below more so.

I plan to use a tank with 80% helium 20% air for this; I got alot of feedback saying it wont work, but as far as I've read otherwise it should.

If I'm correct in assuming this formula will give the correct oxygen percentage by volume:

TotalOxygenPerecent = ((TotalCubicFeet * TotalPercentAir) * PercentAirOxygen) / TotalCubicFeet

Then the 80% helium tank should be 4% oxygen. The sources I found say this should be more than lethal. Please someone correct me if I am mistaken.

My current plan is to rig up a box airtight with a plastic skirt draping down to create a stagnant pocket of helium that I can lay in until the end. I reason that I shouldn't need to make anything airtight so long as the sides are contained; Like putting an empty cup upside down into water ya know. The air stays inside even if you submerge it totally; Shouldn't the same happen with helium in air?

Please someone correct me if this is incorrect or my math is wrong.

What if I use fire to burn the last 4% of the oxygen out too? Say a well contained box of smouldering coals I could put in the tent with me. Also helping to give some CO & give an extra layer of lethality? Is this as stupid an idea as I'm feeling?

I've read PPH & the stickied threads on this; They had no definitive info on lethal oxygen levels. I know this isnt proper or recomended. I am in a hurry & broke I don't have a way to get the proper setup I have to rig something. This is the only peaceful method I know in reach. I have a gun, but I don't wanna go out like that. Please someone help me work this out

 

[devils~advocate]

One way to be sure of the concentration of the inert gas tank is to measure the oxygen level. within it.
There are oxygen concentration testers available, relatively inexpensive.
Normal atmospheric air is 78% Nitrogen & 21% oxygen.
From what I have read, if the oxygen goes to less than 1/4 of that, then it would be quickly lethal.
So that would be oxygen levels that are below 5%.

 

[Tesha]

They add 20% oxygen into the tank to prevent people from asphyxiating on the helium. It's not 4%, it's 20%.

The O2 % needs to be below 10% in the air to result in a quicker death, although anything lower than 19.5% can impede and affect you.

 

[Lady Laudanum]

If you use fire to try and burn off the oxygen, you can end up causing an explosion if there is a tank of compressed gas.

 

[Kapsyl]

I've found no definitive source on this. Reading through alot of papers, asking around, and consulting chatgpt, from what I can gather <10% should be fatal in a mater of minutes & cause quick unconsciousness anything below more so.

Maybe I'm old fashioned but I don't trust chatgpt for life altering decisions, the shortest amount of time to ctb in a complete oxygen deprived environment is around 10 min. Serious brain damage starts to form around 3 min but you're not completely dead before the 10-15 min mark.


If the environment isn't completely oxygen deprived it takes longer! That's why it's so vital that no oxygen gets in and also why we use so much redundant inert gas just in case. The double amount of gas is recommended to succeed since if the gas runs out there's a pretty big chance you survive with serious brain damage, if you don't have a redundant method like suffocation.

For example a Swiss right to die movement tried using rebreather oxygen mask to distribute the inert gas, in one of the subjects it took 37 min to ctb because air was getting in.

I plan to use a tank with 80% helium 20% air for this; I got alot of feedback saying it wont work, but as far as I've read otherwise it should.

The helium/oxygen blend of 80/20 is to deterrent ctb, the amount is to low too effectively work with ctb but sure sit there long enough it will work in theory. But that's the size of the canister becomes troublesome, there's simply not enough inert gas in these retail ballon helium canisters. The biggest size is roughly around 400 liters just enough to safely ctb if the helium were completely pure. Here's an article specifically how the 20/80 blend is designed to work.

My current plan is to rig up a box airtight with a plastic skirt draping down to create a stagnant pocket of helium that I can lay in until the end. I reason that I shouldn't need to make anything airtight so long as the sides are contained; Like putting an empty cup upside down into water ya know. The air stays inside even if you submerge it totally; Shouldn't the same happen with helium in air?

Might work, but I would highly recommend much purer helium at a significant volume and flow rate to keep the oxygen away. The only advantage of this than a regular exit bag is more efficient co2 removal. Be sure to rig it sturdy so you don't knock it down or put it at a not horizontal angle.

 

[PleaseLetMeMakeAnAc]

Maybe I'm old fashioned but I don't trust chatgpt for life altering decisions

Well yea me too lol. That's why I'm asking here too.

I think I'll abandon this method it has too many points of failure.

All things considered, especially lack of money & time, I'm thinking I should switch gears to taking a knockout dose of DXM tablets + carbon monoxide. I can afford a CO sensor they are really cheap & sold in local stores. Data on lethal levels is also very comprehensive.

The cheap CO gauges I see go up to 1000ppm; The PPH has a chart saying 1000 PPM should take a little over an hour to be fatal. I assume can use some jerry rigged method to measure higher PPM with it by diluting a sample of the air I'm testing & use that data to confirm total PPM with a target goal of >1600 PPM for at least 20 minutes.

I'll make sure to do a practice run & monitor PPM throughout to confirm lethality. With some effort this seems promising & mostly peaceful. Will get come back with an update on results & my exact equipment & methodology.

Please anyone tell me if I'm mistaken on any of this. Thanks for ya'lls help so far!

 

[Tesha]

I would recommend you pay a bit more for an analyser that goes to higher ppm levels. You won't be able to dilute the sample accurately or consistently enough to enable you to ascertain the actual ppm.

Edit - and you may need to buy a test gas to calibrate the sniffer. They can misread if exposed to high or variable levels so it's always worth 'bump testing' the analyser before each use.

 

[PleaseLetMeMakeAnAc]

I would recommend you pay a bit more for an analyser that goes to higher ppm levels. You won't be able to dilute the sample accurately or consistently enough to enable you to ascertain the actual ppm.

Edit - and you may need to buy a test gas to calibrate the sniffer. They can misread if exposed to high or variable levels so it's always worth 'bump testing' the analyser before each use.

If I immerse the gauge in a balloon & fill it using say a turkey baster or something just counting the number of pumps how would that not be accurate enough? I fill it up within the car, seal it, go outside & dilute it, would that not work if I'm shooting for an absurd margin of error?

I don't think that test gas is necessary; Watching the reaction to being in a sealed vessel with charcoal should be enough to see if it is functioning. I'd have grabbed some anyways but it's damn expensive here & I'm coming down to my last few dollars right now

 

[Tesha]

If I immerse the gauge in a balloon & fill it using say a turkey baster or something just counting the number of pumps how would that not be accurate enough?

Because ppm is parts per million… a turkey baster isn't a calibrated piece of kit; it just isn't a sensitive enough test for a gas that depending on the 'balloon' you use may seep out anyway due to its permeability.

I do wish you the best with your plans.

 

[PleaseLetMeMakeAnAc]

Because ppm is parts per million… a turkey baster isn't a calibrated piece of kit; it just isn't a sensitive enough test for a gas that depending on the 'balloon' you use may seep out anyway due to its permeability.

I do wish you the best with your plans.

Why must everything be so expensive and/or complicated

Like shit these anti right to die lunatics campaigned to get just about every pleasant method banned or made half impossible. I have people watching my mail & am broke anyways so I can't order anything like SN since amazon stopped selling it, can't get pure inert gases without spending an arm & leg, it seems like they'd just rather you shoot yourself