Welding Tip: Check your gas before leaving the dist.

[Jetboy]

Went to get a refill on my regular C25 for a project this weekend. Didn't get started welding until after Praxair was closed for the weekend. First tack and I could tell something was really wrong. As it turned out I got a bottle of 100% argon. - The guy at my local praxair will put the bottle at your vehicle while you're inside paying. Just grabbed the wrong one.

Anyway it's really tough to make a good weld with pure argon. The bead builds really tall no matter what you do and the arc jumps all over the place. I made a couple sealing chimney dampers and I was able to weld them, but it cost me a lot of time grinding down the beads.

I should have checked the gas before I left.


Out of curiosity what do you guys pay for a Q size bottle of C25. I'm paying $70 as a cash customer. I might need to get an account started. Unfortunately the dist. my dad uses for his shop doesn't have a location where I live. I know he only pays about $50 for a K size bottle.

 

[fj40charles]

IMHO, it is good idea to have at least 2 welding cylinders to use. Never have to worry about running out.

 

[zebrabeefj40]

Not sure what a Q or K sized cylinder is as my LWS uses cubic feet as a measure. I just swapped my empty 80cf cylinder for a full one = $30 with all the extra fees and taxes out the door from Indiana Oxygen. I "own" the cylinders not paying rent for them. I have 2 for the reasons fj40charles states - but that only works if the empty gets filled before the other gets empty too!

Nick

 

[Jetboy]

I don't do a lot of welding. This is just for my home hobby shop. I really should at least buy an adapter so I can use my paintball CO2 tank in a pinch. I haven't shot a paintball in probably 10 years. Or I could just get a spool of flux wire I suppose.

Q size tank is 80cf. K size is 224cf. The volume is a nominal volume which is why they often use the letter to indicate size. For example the q size tank actually holds 92 cf of C25 and probably 200cf of co2. Anyway, I fee like I'm paying way too much for a refill. I own my bottle, but I just swap it out like you would with a propane tank. So the bottle I have now is not the same I started with, but it's still an unmarked customer owned bottle.