AbstractWe extend Blatt's and Lim's calculations for the energy of the helium trimer (4He)3, for a Herzfeld potential. We use the unitary pole approximation. We constrain the effective range and scattering lenght to values of 7.4 A and infinity, respectively. As the core radius increases from 0 to 2.8 A, the trimer energy increases monotonically from −97 to −59 millikelvin. The Yamaguchi potential gives a trimer energy of −123 mK. Two additional two‐body parameters suffice to fit these, and earlier, calculations of the trimer energy: i.e., the expectation value of the kinetic energy for the dimer, and Sprung's wound int