Nylon Parachute

Weather balloon grams sufficient?

I’m planning to launch a weather balloon later this month, however the weight it will need to carry will be 1350g (includes payload, parachute and nylon rope weight). Will a 200g weather balloon be sufficient? It will be filled with approx 1.8 cubic metres of helium. And with an aim altitude of 90000 feet.

It is unlikely a 200gm balloon will get to 90,000ft even with a small payload and certainly not with helium. For a weight like that I would use a much bigger balloon, at least twice the size if not larger. The higher the weight, the more gas you need to lift it. The more gas you use, the bigger the balloon has to be to start with to cope with the expansion as the balloon rises.

I wouldn’t use helium either, I would use hydrogen. Hydrogen gives more lift and does not require as much room as helium. A helium filled balloon will burst before a similar balloon filled with hydrogen. There are problems with hydrogen (it is highly inflammable) but it is the gas used by weather services worldwide because it is cheap and the lightest gas. You need to know what you are doing and how to handle it but it is the best gas to use if you can. If you are going to use helium, I trust it will be pure helium and not party gas which is only 30% helium (the rest is nitrogen).

Grand Trunk Single Parachute Nylon Hammock