Is it better to lease or buy welding gas???

[c wagner]

Lots of place around here just exchange for a full bottle... actually I don't know ANY that will refill your bottle on site but I don't own my own bottles anyway.

[wb4rt]

Sammy,
I bought 2 tanks from Airgas and bought a couple off CraigsList.org. My LWS will exchange basically any tank, they have not even checked the hydro. I bought a couple of 250's and exchanged them for 125's because they were much easier for me to haul and handle. My fills for 80 cf are about $22.

I suggest you look for a used tank, but get to know the guys at your LWS. They will let you know whether they will exchange a tank or not and any requirements. The price of gas changes +/- $2 depending on which counter guy writes me up. Kind of aggravating, but not worth making them mad. I wish they had their prices posted, but they have a lot of leeway in pricing. Several months ago they put me into their computer and I guess gave me a discount code they use. Seems like the prices have been more consistent.

I do not recommend spending a lot for a new tank (TSC, Internet, etc.) because most likely you will end up exchanging it for one and then you will have a used tank anyway.

[Andy]

The larger sized tanks are roughly $1 per cubic foot to buy. Smaller tanks are a little more. Last time I filled my 250cf argon it was somewhere around $45. The local place just exchanges the bottle you bring them for one of the full ones in their stock. I think they get sent off somewhere in Dallas to get filled. I also have a 330cf bottle the LWS guy calls a "*******" bottle. It was owned by a rental company that is now out of business. You can find these every so often at garage sales The LWS guy will happily exchange these also. Seems like my LWS guy is easier to get along with that some of the others I've heard.

[BudgetWelding]

In NJ I bought a 125cf 75/25 for $250 and it costs $24 to refill. If I were to rent it, in 3 years I would have spent enough to buy the bottle. I know I'll need it for much more than 3 years so purchasing one is the best option for me.

[Sammy]

Any experience with NORTHERN TOOL?

What do you guys think about this? Is there anything to look for in a tank? I kind of doubt it cause a tank is a tank??? I maybe wrong, can you guys clarify?

Thanks alot in advance!!!
http://www.northerntool.com/shop/too...7977_200317977

[Thinker upper]

My LWS has a 1 year or 5 year lease. The 5 year lease is 185.00. That is cheap enough considering if I bought the bottle size I want it would be 360 new and in ten years I would have to pay to have it recertified. Therefore I rent. Not sure what the cf is but they are about 5' tall and 10" across. However if I get robbed (AGAIN!) I will have to pay for the bottle and be out the cost of bottle replacement. Insurance is handy for this but be sure you are covered, don't assume!

[maddog]

Buy BUy bUY

If I were you I would check everywhere I could think of for a used bottle. About a month ago I bought an 80 off ebay for $148.00 delivered to my home. If you decide you don,t need it later sell it to the next guy and recover your investment. As for getting the biggest bottle you can handle, I would stick with the 80 just because they are so much easier to move around.

[vid1900]

My LWS does not actually fill YOUR bottle, they simply exchange it for a full one.

Even if you have a nice, new bottle, they won't fill it and give it back; you have to exchange it for another. They laugh at you if you ask them to fill your exact bottle and return it.

SO...If that is how they run things in your neck of the woods, it sure does not make sense to buy a brand new bottle - because you are going to get one in return that looks like it came out of a fire.

Look on Craigslist. A full 125 can usually be found for $100, empty $75. Just make sure that the date code is still good (that is the retest date with the star next to it) If the tank is out of date, they might charge you $10-15 to re certify it.

Find an ad like this: http://detroit.craigslist.org/wyn/tls/1642897094.html the guy has a bunch of different gasses, all full, 125 tanks for $100 each.

[shovelon]

You are kidding, right Vlad?

[MAC702]

Y'all are too late, I already bought it all.

Actually, I reported the posts this morning, using the flag so as not to bump the thread and perpetuate the spam....

[Broccoli1]

Fuel for Air Force One?

[MAC702]

Fuel for Air Force One?

Hmmm, can we pick which term to use it in?

[OscarJr]

Sorry. The $240 for the 50CF is full! Then $53 to refill.
Some others are 80CF- $289 to buy and $80 to refill.

If you use a standard 50psi regulator, the gas blast when you first squeeze the trigger will momentarily consume about ~55+ CFM for that split second that the blast exists. If you do a lot of tacks and stitch welds then each one of those blasts will consume disproportionate amounts of gas compared to normal calculations. A 25 psi regulator will curb this loss down. I'd venture to say that 80 ft³ would last about 2.25 to 2.5 hours just based on the fact that he's going to weld 18 gauge and likely will be starting/stopping a lot.