Argon bottles

Be careful here. You could end up buying a bottle that nobody local to you will fill. You need to contact some of the welding suppliers nearby and find out what there policy is regarding owner bottles. While you're at it get there price for the bottles. Many if you buy there bottles will just swap you out when it comes time to refill. This has the advantage of eliminating you paying for tank inspections in most cases.

Wayne Cook Shamrock, TX

Thanks... I am going to call a few places. Surprisingly, they are not easy to find.

Welding cylinders are treated differently everywhere. I am told that C25, for example, is often sold in one particular size which is also a very common size for rental tanks, and if you go up just a tiny bit to the next size tank it is only used for owner tanks so you will never have any trouble getting it refilled or swapped out anywhere in the country.

Most good deals on welding cylinders on the used market wind up being rental tanks, and the unsuspecting buyer takes them to be refilled and they get repossessed and the buyer's out the money. Look up "welding supplies" in your local yellow pages and call every store, or every business (some places will have multiple stores in your area) and get their pricing on an owner tank. When you buy one, SAVE THE PAPERWORK. This will instantly resolve any issues you ever have over the life of owning that cylinder, and it will bring you much more $$ if you decide to sell it. If you buy one used and it is an owner tank, the next time you swap it out, save that paperwork, same reasons.

GWE

i've been there done that, leased purchased upgraded bottles.

the best thing to do : don't lease, it is not worth it for a hobby welder. you are throwing out rent money, and will end up with a huge non transportable bottle.

get your self an 80 or 125CF bottle, I think the 125 is the most common, all welding supply stores carry it , they have plenty filled ready to exchange, if you go with an 80 , it is a may be. a 125 is not too big nor too small, it can fit in most trunks (car) it is some what transportable around your house if needed. (weight)

make friends with the supply store employees, ask how much to deliver/exchange bottles. where I live it is $7 delivery charge, I usually order other stuff at the same time (filler rods, tungsten, contact tips for my MIG, and so on.)

That also depends on the supplier. I know that most have the 125 but the one I'm a drop dealer for (they're Praxair/Westair) normally only stock 80 and 155. Anything else causes problems getting. I know because I'm running into this with a customer who has several bottles in sizes they don't normally stock.

Definitely get to know them. Some are very friendly and will bend over backwards to help. Westair who I'm dealing with now is a example. On the other hand Airgas out of Elkcity who I was dealing with before was like trying to deal with the three stooges.

Wayne Cook Shamrock, TX

true, what ever size the local or near by supplier carries or have in stock all the time is the size you should get.

here 125 is the size that allstore carries, however AIRGAS has some odd 133s in stock, and exchange as well.

also true, as far as sales staff goes, twist some arm around, most salesperson will swear that the price they offer is their wholesale cost and can not sell it for less.... that is BS,

I learned from my buddy ......who spends money at the welding store like there is no tomorrow , now he gets the "real deals" on stuff. he showed my what he paid for some spare bottles and suggested to go and only talk to "his guy" next time I need something. sure thing, I was able to buy a 125 cf bottle for about $25 lower than what "wholesale price was at the rest of the stores.

at the same time keep in mind large stores like -air gas- get discount because they buy a lot in bulk vs. the little store that only buys 10 bottle /month.

In Colorado I was amazed at the variation in bottle prices among the different suppliers. Definitely better to buy there, provided you buy from the right supplier (Buckeye Welding, Denver and Greeley).

Here in Maine, not only don't I have as many places to shop, it turns out to be a pretty reasonable deal to rent. So you have to call around and see what is being offered.

Steve

Ignoramus19652 wrote:

Does it count when a machine tool dealer gives you two 125 CF tri-mix bottles, both inside the test date?

Had that happen to me today.

Im collecting enough damned bottles to start thinking about a cage.

and I was only looking for a nitrogen bottle for the plasma cutter.

Shrug...still cant find a nitrogen bottle. Hummm...I see them chained to telephone poles all the time.......

Gunner

"Pax Americana is a philosophy. Hardly an empire. Making sure other people play nice and dont kill each other (and us) off in job lots is hardly empire building, particularly when you give them self determination under "play nice" rules.

Think of it as having your older brother knock the shit out of you for torturing the cat." Gunner

Don't nitrogen bottles have the same 580 valve that Argon and Tri-mix bottles have. My local welding supply would exchange the bottles you were given for bottles filled with nitrogen.

Dan

Update...both bottles turn out to be...full, or nearly so.

Gunner

"Pax Americana is a philosophy. Hardly an empire. Making sure other people play nice and dont kill each other (and us) off in job lots is hardly empire building, particularly when you give them self determination under "play nice" rules.

Think of it as having your older brother knock the shit out of you for torturing the cat." Gunner

Huh? What does the telephone pole reference mean?

If you pay attention, you can see nitrogen bottles around telephone poles and around other telephone equipment. The phone companies use low pressure in their lines to keep the moisture out, which reduces corrosion, and improves the quality ofthe phone service. It is used mostly with older phone lines and I don't think it is used with fiber optics.

It depends, I lease bottles from a (regional) welding supplier that is in a town about 45 miles away from me. The lease price is about 15% more than the two name brand suppliers here in town and another place that also serves here, but it is still very reasonable. I did have to submit a credit application, and sign a three year lease for each bottle. I lease an O2, an Acy, a 75/25 mix and an argon, bottles. The lease price is nearly the same for all the different size bottles.

The other places lease for less but charge more per refill and have a delivery charge, while my supplier runs routes, with no delivery charges on regular route days. (A special delivery on non route days does have a substantial delivery charge and usually involves a van or pickup truck making a special trip). On Tue and Fri the truck comes past my house my house. I just call and tell then what I need and when I need it and the truck will drop them off. They actually will let me keep the empty ones for one week at no charge. This way I never run out of gas and never have to turn in a partial tank of gas. It comes in handy when I know I am going to do a lot of welding on a weekend. This is really good deal, and would be worth a extra amount to me, but overall they are quite a bit cheaper that the other suppliers. Also the driver knows where the full bottles go and where the empties are, they will drop the bottles/paperwork, so no one has to be here to sign for them

I guess one big reason that prices are reasonable around here is that there are two large, two medium, and one small military bases within an hours drive. Plus another large military base and another small military base within two hours drive. And the large military bases and shipyards in Norfolk Va are just four hours away. That's a lot of competition for welding supplies, and it helps the price for everyone.

Indeed. Nitrogen is hygroscopic and will "absorb" water vapor in cables, while permeating a long multipair cable run.

So the phone company will stick a nitrogen bottle at a cable splice where they have been having problems, and flood the entire cable run with gas, which removes the water. We are certainly going to see a lot of those setups in the Gulf States in the very near future.

And no...its not used for glass..just for copper

GUnner

"Pax Americana is a philosophy. Hardly an empire. Making sure other people play nice and dont kill each other (and us) off in job lots is hardly empire building, particularly when you give them self determination under "play nice" rules.

Think of it as having your older brother knock the shit out of you for torturing the cat." Gunner

Don't think I've ever seen the nitrogen near phone stuff. Around here most of it is underground so it would be harder to spot.

Keep your eyes peeled for a black bottle heavily chained to a telephone pole as the winter rains start.

Gunner

"Pax Americana is a philosophy. Hardly an empire. Making sure other people play nice and dont kill each other (and us) off in job lots is hardly empire building, particularly when you give them self determination under "play nice" rules.

Think of it as having your older brother knock the shit out of you for torturing the cat." Gunner

Around here I've seen the big stainless tanks about 24" dia frequently as well. Even seen a group of three or four next to a ped installation. Also seen freestanding with the hose going into a vault.

Pete C.