Argon tank problem

Depends on the supplier.. some may want a POP, others don't care. Did you acquire the tanks properly? Is there a name on the neck ring? If the name on the ring is ground off you may not find anyone who'll take them. If nothing else, buy one new tank and then use that POP for the others- once you exchange a tank you likely won't see it again, that's common.

John

If someone gave them to you, find out where the tanks were registered in his name. Then go to that place and ask to have the registration transferred to you. That worked for me.

After I'd done that, then I got them to transfer the registration from them to a welding store closer to me. They said they do that all the time, no problem.

It depends on the area. My area is completely open. Bring a bottle in, somebody grabs it and brings you a full one. No questions asked, no accounts, no demurrage, no nothing. Bottles can be bought and sold among individuals. Other places are picky about owner bottles and assume that if you have it, you stole it. I'd call all the shops in town and find out if any will fill an owner bottle.

Gary Brady Austin, TX

Same here, I've dealt with 3 different welding supply shops and no one has ever asked me.

Lane

Depends on the vendor. I'm somewhat like you in keeping tanks for years, until the hydro is dated, but I've never been questioned in swapping them for filled-with-fresh-hydro tanks. Most gas suppliers seem to expect to make money on the gas itself and not on the tank-swapping or hydro testing. As a customer, I appreciate that because it would be a nuisance to be always concerned about it and dickering over it.

I'm in the Seattle, Wa area, actually about 30 miles north. Mostly I go to Central welding. I called about buying some used bottles because I didn't want to buy any stolen bottles. Central told me that they have Owner bottles and Rental or Lease bottles. The Owner bottles are different sizes than the Rental or Lease bottles. So even though there are several sizes of each there are no overlaps. This way, if someone steals a Leased or Rented bottle and tries to get it filled they know just from the size that it's not an Owner bottle. They will ask you who you are or who you represent and if they don't know you by sight will ask for ID. If it doesn't match with the bottle they confiscate it. And maybe call the police. If it's an Owner size though they will just fill it or exchange it. When I called Central about buying used bottles they told me how to identify them to make sure I wasn't buying a Rental or Leased bottle, because only Owner bottles can be sold. Central told me that the other gas suppliers in the area use the same system. It seems to be true too, because I had no trouble exchanging my bottles filled at Central at Airgas and then later taking the Airgas filled bottle to Central for exchange. Eric R Snow

If your tank is 125 CF or smaller and you have a Tractor Supply store nearby take it there. They now have a program where they'll take any other company's tank as long as you sign a form stating that you are the rightful owner of it and their gas prices are better than most local welding suppliers unless you buy large quantities and get a great discount.

They don't have pure argon but you really don't want that for MIG anyway. You want C25 which is a 75% argon / 25% CO2 mix and they do sell that.

They're also open on weekends for when you run out of gas in the middle of a project! :-)

If your tank is larger than 125 CF then it may very well be a leased tank and you shouldn't have it. And instead of getting it filled you'll have to swap it out for a full one and the only place that will likely swap it out is the company that it was leased from.

Best Regards, Keith Marshall snipped-for-privacy@progressivelogic.com

"I'm not grown up enough to be so old!"

This is what I was told in a local shop: bottles smaller than 80 cu ft are always owner bottles. Larger that 80 are always rent/lease bottles (exception - there are some large military surplus bottles that can be owned). 80 cu ft can be either owner or lease. The guy said that this was federal regulation, but I'm not sure that I believe that.

Bob

Ok, Thanks for the quick info. I will just happen to stop by and try to have it exchanged. See what happens. I haven't picked up the tanks yet, so I have no idea as the the neck ring information. If I cannot decipher the info look for me to ask yet another question.

Searcher1

My local supply asked if the ring had a name - no slick ring. And I have the sales document showing size and what was in it. Slick ring - No problem. Anytime. So I will copy the sales slip and provide that if needed. Still, I won't need gas for some time unless the value is open. Nice large tank, and low usage.

Martin

Do you use the one in Everett or the one in Lynnwood more ?? (the Lynnwood one is dangerous -- too close to Costco ! )

mikey