Markings on "owner" gas cylinders

Best Regards Tom.

The local dealer told me that in general the knee-high 20 cubic foot cylinders are presumed to be customer-owned and exchangeable unless you want your own tank refilled, the tall 80 cf ones are presumed to be rented.

Check the hydro-test date stamp.

Here is TriCo's breakdown:

-jsw

The minute you exchange your "owner" cylinder for a gas company cylinder, you no longer have the owner cylinder. It is a very unfortunate mess.

I use a lot of oxygen and acetylene (about 5 tanks of oxy and one tank of acetylene per month). I found a welding gas supplier who is inexpensive and quite liberal about what cylinders they exchange. I acquired a lot of tanks at closed down plants and such, they exchanged them all for Airgas cylinders and they now supply all my welding gases. I actually have too many tanks and need to sell some.

"Ignoramus24975" wrote in message news: snipped-for-privacy@giganews.com...

But the occasional user can get a cylinder with a later date stamp.

-jsw

Airgas has been my supplier for over 25 years, never had a problem. When i moved from chicago to las vegas i took my cylinders with me and have never been refused a refill. I would be very cautious buying cylinders from an individual, i see a lot of people trying to sell realy old (linde,airco,etc) for what you can buy a cylinder from airgas or praxair.

Best Regards Tom.

Actually , Iggy , when you take that cylinder out the door you own it every bit as much as the one you left . To the OP , if the cylinder has a collar that says it's the property of whatever company , that is usually their cylinder and you'll be charged rental for it . I've heard cases where someone buys a used tank , takes it in to swap and is politely told thanks for returning our tank , now get lost .

My supplier is an airgas dealer, not airgas direct, he takes just about any cylinder except for Terrace supply etc

I'm starting to appreciate the depth of the mess. It appears that a cylinder with no engraving on the collar and no hint of a gas distributor name anywhere in the metal is considered "customer owned". There seems to be some controversy regarding size. Little cylinders aren't a problem but anything bigger than about

I'll have to do a little more research before I take the plunge and buy anything, new or used. In the mid '70s I paid $250 for a Purox set with no tanks. Now I'm seeing Victor sets with tanks for similar prices. Given inflation, that's a huge discount. One explanation is that the existing tanks are worthless and new tanks and gas will be much more expensive in the future. A discouraging trend, indeed!

Thanks to everyody for your guidance!

bob prohaska

"Jim Wilkins" fired this volley in news:me3rv7$9ls $ snipped-for-privacy@dont-email.me:

Yeah... my 'local' NAPA store is the only place closer than 30 miles away that has gas, and they don't carry every gas in every size of container.

They will readily swap out my tanks, even though I go a year sometimes before finishing off acetylene. Although he's _remarked_ about the age, he's never refused to swap.

But he won't let me take a tank unless I have an open truck or my trailer. I tried once in a cargo van, and he wouldn't allow it to be loaded. I think he's a smart guy.

LLoyd

Given the potential risk, I can see why.

I use a hitch mounted carrier to move mine on the back of the Jeep.

I must respectfully disagree. A little soapy water or a reasonably sensitive nose is enough to forestall problems. The last video, of the plumber's van, is the only relevant example and clearly he didn't check for leaks.

Thanks for the links!

bob prohaska

The first set of tanks I bought, back in the 80's, heated up in the hot car enough to hiss while I was driving them home.

When I carry tanks in my car, I put them in the trunk with the lid propped open about a foot and some rope holding the tanks down.

Here's a good one

And even better

It's _because_ people don't check for leaks that DOT made the laws. I'll bet that plumber got hassled about moving his "dangerous business" to another neighborhood/city after that.

Jewelcome.

Ok, what's the rest of the story?

bob

As I understand it, DOT requirements are meant to ensure the tanks are sound structurally and will fail gracefully (vent) if overstressed. Is there a clause about end user leak testing? Most folks do it anyway, either to avoid product loss or prevent product contamination.

It's interesting to note that in the Dallas fire video it appears that the majority of tanks did fail gracefully by venting. Seemingly only a few blew up. I suppose that counts as partial success 8-)

An aside, one should remember that an acetylene cylinder contains more acetone than acetylene. Either one is capable of making mischief. Would a pile of propane cylinders behave much differently?

bob

He flicked his Bic to see if he could find where the hiss was coming from and died right there in a fiery explosion. The next day, he stopped by the Airgas store and the manager refused to refund his money for the bottles. "Sorry" he said "we don't serve shades here."

Meanwhile, back at the ranch, little Suzie was making cookies.