Where can I hire helium in the UK?

September 12, 2007 3:56 AM

Hiring Helium in the UK (to inflate party balloons)?

Where does one get it from, bearing in mind I already have the balloons. I can't find an appropriate yell.com category to search under.

I vaguely recall somebody saying that it's expensive because of the insurance. Was she right?

posted by humblepigeon to society & culture (12 comments total)

Most cities will have a "Party Shop" e.g. in Glasgow we have Arty Party!

You hire helium by the cylinder. Usually there is a charge per half or quarter (cylinder dial reading) depending on how much you use. There will also be a deposit of £50 approx. It comes with a simple push valve to inflate and a quick 2 minute demo. When the cylinder is empty / you are done then you return it and get the deposit back. Easy peasy.

No insurance problems or expenses.
posted by brautigan at 4:10 AM on September 12, 2007

Searching for helium on google.co.uk seems pretty promising.
posted by roomaroo at 4:12 AM on September 12, 2007

Hire? You can't return the helium!

Individual disposable canisters can be purchased, this is one site takes orders for just canisters of gas and will do next-day delivery. The smallest one will cost £18.95 and fill 30 normal balloons (or half the number of the big foil ones). It's not too expensive, depending what your budget is.
posted by methylsalicylate at 4:13 AM on September 12, 2007

Go google: balloon helium hire uk

Lots of next day delivery services!

eg Balloon Works etc
posted by brautigan at 4:16 AM on September 12, 2007

Meth: You can hire the cylinders with helium in them. You can also return them half full so you can indeed return the helium.
posted by brautigan at 4:18 AM on September 12, 2007

What?! You squirt the helium out of the balloons and back into the canister?
posted by gene_machine at 4:25 AM on September 12, 2007

Just to make it clear:

a) I'm asking for info on the type of SHOPS that sell Helium, so that I can look up somewhere local. Maybe this wasn't crystal clear in my original question

b) I know you can't hire helium, but you hire the cannister containing the helium. This is a simple slip of phrase.

PLEASE, PLEASE, PLEASE read what it says under the box before you type an answer:

note: Ask MetaFilter is as useful as you make it. Please limit comments to answers or help in finding an answer. Wisecracks don't help people find answers. Thanks.
posted by humblepigeon at 4:29 AM on September 12, 2007

Sorry, HP, but no, it wasn't clear (crystal or otherwise) in your question that you wanted LOCAL sources that you would have to visit IN PERSON. If you would like the answers to be more informative you might tell us where in the UK you are as it's not on your user page.

I'd apologise for the wisecrack, but I thought my answer was reasonable.
posted by methylsalicylate at 4:36 AM on September 12, 2007

it wasn't clear (crystal or otherwise) in your question that you wanted LOCAL sources that you would have to visit IN PERSON

Your answer was a good one and I've just placed an order on the site you found. I wasn't aware that helium came in "disposable canisters" or that it could therefore be ordered online without having to pay for the return of the canister or insurance. So thanks.

But the clue that I was initially looking for a local shop was in the question. I mentioned that I was using yell.com (Yellow Pages), which is what people generally use to find local shops and services.
posted by humblepigeon at 4:43 AM on September 12, 2007

[Some "Yes it was" / "no it wasn't" derail nixed. humblepigeon, it sounds like folks don't necessarily know what the heck yell.com is; next time, probably better to state explicitly that you're looking for a local brick-and-mortar storefront.]
posted by cortex at 6:14 AM on September 12, 2007

I'm sure Clinton Cards or Birthdays do this sort of thing. They might sell disposable canisters. I know for certain that they'll inflate any balloons you take in (even from another store) for a fee!
posted by dcbarker at 8:56 AM on September 12, 2007

You might consider that we're facing a worldwide helium shortage. We can certainly create biodiesel, but we can't replace the helium; it floats off into space.
posted by Netzapper at 3:29 PM on September 12, 2007