which welder for novice??

The portable rigs are useful, but I don't think they'd do too well for learning. You'd have to refill them too many times. I'd look in the local swap meets, local papers, Recycler, etc... for a used set up with larger bottles.

Of course if you don't have any space to store the larger O/A rig, or any way to transport it, then go for the smaller portable one.

Just my $0.02.

Oh, one other quick word of advice... I'm at 1 1/2 cents worth now...

If you do buy a used set of tanks from a swap meet, be sure they're not stolen tanks. If they have, for e.g. "X's Welding Supply" embossed on the tanks, then you can be fairly sure you'll have trouble getting them refilled. At least that's what I've read on this group.

I bought a set of tanks from the swapmeet and I forgot to check, and they say something like "Texas Welding Supply House" on them. They were a good size, about mid-thigh high, and I'm certainly not going to ship them back to Texas. I have to figure out what I'll do with them, though. Maybe if I explain what happened to the gas supply... or maybe, if I'm careful, I can grind the embossed letters off and see if they'll still pass the pressure test.

Probably I'll make bells or something out of them...

Im in California and purchased a set of bottles that were last filled by some supplier in Phoenix.

The gas house didnt even blink when I exchanged them.

Gunner

" We have all heard that a million monkeys banging on a million typewriters will eventually reproduce the entire works of Shakespeare...Thanks to AOL and WebTv, we know this is not possible."

embossed

getting

I sure hope I don't have to drive to Taft to get them refilled...

Do they have "STOLEN" on them somewhere?

If they have, for e.g. "X's Welding Supply"

I bought them once. X's Welding had changed hands, so it worked out fine.

If you have a good contact at a gas supply place or a welding supply place, you would be amazed at what they can do. Attitude and your monthly business there have a lot to do with the way they handle these things.

See what I mean?

Steve

Refilled or exchanged? Big difference. Nearly any shop will refill your bottles. You will have to wait for them to send them off, inspect them, maybe hydro them, then fill and return them back to your dealer.

Its a hell of a lot simpler to stick the empty bottles on the loading dock, pay the man and have him roll you a full one so you can load it.

I own 6 gas bottles. They are somewhere in the Bottle System. The last time I saw any of them was the first time I put em on the loading dock. And I dont care, as long as they keep giving me another full bottle in exchange. And I know the "new" bottle will be inside the last hydrotest date.

Gunner

" We have all heard that a million monkeys banging on a million typewriters will eventually reproduce the entire works of Shakespeare...Thanks to AOL and WebTv, we know this is not possible."

Jeff comes up often enough that I can swap him or get his swapped out easily enough and then the bottles he will have will be legal.

Gunner

" We have all heard that a million monkeys banging on a million typewriters will eventually reproduce the entire works of Shakespeare...Thanks to AOL and WebTv, we know this is not possible."

This is IMHO the best way to "own" bottles. When you purchase out of the suppliers stock, you are usually not responsible for maintenance and testing of the bottle.

Shawn

"Shawn" wrote

And, if you get a leaker, they give you a replacement FULL bottle.

Steve