i need a argon/co2 bottle

[rusmannx]

what size of bottle do you all use?
i finally got myself a mig (the sp175 lincoln) and i have all of the
rigging to hook on a bottle, but no bottle. i don't really want to do
the whole exchange program that local guys like to do, i just want to
buy my own bottle. would something like this be right?
or should i get something larger?
how long would this little one last
(minutes of welding, pounds of wire, spools of wire)?

http://www2.northerntool.com/product-1/200317977.htm
or
http://www.welding-direct.com/gascyl55cfar.html

 

[Steve C]

I would just go ahead with the exchange thing usning C25, an argon-co2 mixture. I initially wanted "my own" bottlealso, but the gas places that I have seen aren't set up to well for giving you back your own bottle. I think that it takes some time to actually fill up the bottles, so it's not really a "while you wait" kind of thing. Although you just got your welder, and I am sure you want to keep it nice and shiny, the gas bottles are just a commodity thing, and it's easier just to drop into the gas store, swap bottles and go.

I would get the bigest bottles you can get. I think mine are 80cf.

One more thing, you really want to shop around at several places before you buy. I've seen big prices between different distributors. I think that some of the places only want to deal with big corporations, whild others give the little guy a decent price.

 

[rusmannx]

well, exchange is the way to go i found out.
i called praxair for co2/argon (they distribute to my town) and i can get into a 10year lease
for $140, then $25 to get the first full bottle, and about $68 every time i need
it filled afterwards. it's a 125cu bottle, so that seems cheaper then buying my own.
i guess this is the way for me to go.

 

[honk]

That's an absolutely crappy deal!
$150. for a 40? Ridiculous!!

Go onto ebay and buy an 80 from Indiana for about $80. shipped for free.
I'll go find you a link in a few minutes to where you can buy-it-now for the price and have it in two or three days. I'll vouch for the seller until the moon crashes into Earth - he's reliable, accurate, and fast.

edit: Well, well, the price of steel, I guess. Nevertheless this is a link to an 80 gal. tank for C25 for $144. delivered to your door. If you look around the seller's auctions you'll find that he will sell you the size you posted for $94. So still a MUCH better deal than in Northern, but not as good as the last time I bought a bottle from him.

There's no way to accurately predict your usage as it depends on severa variables.

BTW, when you own a tank you still do the exchange thing. Take yours in, they'll give you another one. You'll likely never see your original again. The good thing about owning tanks is that you don't have to pay anyone's tank rental fee.

http://cgi.ebay.com/80-CF-WELDING-C...546437659QQcategoryZ67058QQrdZ1QQcmdZViewItem


Sheesh, I hadn't seen your post about the lease. How much a month, if anything?

 

[rusmannx]

no monthly fee. you just pay the $140+25 the first time, and you only have to pay again when it's time to refill ($68).
they have a rental plan too for like $10 a month, but in a year it would cost about the same as the lease, and the lease lasts 10 years. plus it's a 125cu tank... which is way larger then the ones i was looking at buying.

 

[NMuzj100]

I figure that filling these is a lot like filling large O2 bottles which I have done. You have to fill slowly or the heat builds in the tank. So you end up filling , waiting to cool , filling , waiting to cool and so on. On the thick metal bottles the cooling could take some time.