Courthouse Square Association wrote:
>
> Thanks for the suggestions. In reality, I was simply being a bit
> obsessive, afraid of over inflation, necessity to use pure oxygen,
> that kind of stuff.

I would tend away from oxygen: a less chemically active gas is what you
use if you're worried about deterioration.  Carbon dioxide and nitrogen
are two commonly-available possibilities; the more exotic options are
generally also more expensive.  Carbon dioxide is widely available from
food and beverage suppliers.

Also (to address the leakage problem raised by someone else) a gas with
a large molecular weight would leak less than gas with small molecules.

Blowing the thing up with your own breath will also carry water vapour
into the cavity which may create storage problems later (not necessarily
for the elephant, but maybe for items stored nearby).

Overinflation?  I have no suggestions there - is it easy to determine
the safe pressure limit?

--------------------------------------------------------
Alistair Kwan
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