Pros & Cons of Leasing vs. Owning your tanks

[J hall]

Well, I have 5 sets of oxy acet cylinders that are on 10 year leases.
I tried, but could not find an real advantage to owning them.
I prefer to let the supplier be responsible for maintaining cylinders.
Jeff

[Paul Seaman]

My OA tanks I have are a lifetime contract, that the companies do not offer anymore. I owe no retest fees, I owe nothing on them-ever- except to refill.

The OA torches was a gift from my folks for my 16th birthday and I bought the tank contract. 22 years and never a service fee.

[fun4now]

aaaaaaaa the good old days.
now it seems everything is about the $$$$$$.

[Leons2003]

For the hobbyist as I am to rent would be a waste of money. I to was gifted w/my O/A for my 19 b-day in '57, I purchased "S"(~120cf) size jugs from a local Linde dealer. Down here these cylinders are an exchange basis, and in all these years I have never been dunned for a hydro. I have two dealers that provide my gases, of which I own the bottles. As was said before, depends where you live and your dealer.
BTW, since I purchased my Spec.2050 a couple of yrs ago I use the O/A even less.
Good luck
L*S

[garybdavis]

The decision to rent verses own will largely depend on the policy of your local welding store.

I've just switched to a different welding store as we are moving. There they won't sell you a ~200cfm bottle (they only rent them), but if you bring a "smooth ring neck" bottle in, they will put it into their rotation. When your bottle is empty, you swap it out for another one and pay a refill charge. They take care of testing all the bottles at their own expense. When I'm done dealing with them, I have a smooth ring neck bottle that is current with testing and I can go somewhere else.

The first welding store I started with sold me my bottles and when I was readdy to move, they offered me the current going price as a refund if I wanted to return the bottles. They also took care of the testing when I was in their rotation.

For me, this makes owning my own bottles less of a hassle and probably cheaper in the long run.

[MtotheIKEo]

I was just quoted ~300 bucks for a filled cylinder of CO2. The guy said it was a "50lb" size cylinder, Im thinking he was talking about the large cylinders. This was at AirGas btw. Does that price seem right? I thought it would be cheaper for some reason.

[Coalsmoke]

that price seems real high, unless its one of the 330cu ft bottles, then its just plain high.

[Coalsmoke]

however, if that includes buying the cylinder, then thats not bad. To buy 244 cu ft bottles here, its about $500 Cad or about $400USD

[calweld]

I was just quoted ~300 bucks for a filled cylinder of CO2. The guy said it was a "50lb" size cylinder, Im thinking he was talking about the large cylinders. This was at AirGas btw. Does that price seem right? I thought it would be cheaper for some reason.

You are talking about buying the bottle?

Checked Fresno Oxygen's website ( http://www.ramweldingsupply.com/ ) and it has a price of $282, since it is internet and being shipped I doubt it is filled. Seems airgas is in the ballpark, 50# CO2 runs about $25-$30 or so. You can double check with the Fresno Oxygen store in Stockton, they are open Saturdays too, they might have a different deal than the website.

[hankj]

I was just quoted ~300 bucks for a filled cylinder of CO2. The guy said it was a "50lb" size cylinder, Im thinking he was talking about the large cylinders. This was at AirGas btw. Does that price seem right? I thought it would be cheaper for some reason.

50# is a lot of CO². If I wasn't too lazy (and hadn't had my normal cocktail hour(s) in me) I'd try to give you the arc-on time for a 50. It's huge.

If you don't need that much, a 20# should go for around $140. There is a LOT of welding in 20# of CO²!

I think Mike W runs a 50#. If he spots this, maybe he'll tell ya how often he needs to fill it!

Hank

[Tailshaft56]

Just so you know i traded out my oxygen bottle today. $15 and change for the fill. The bottle is a 120. Mine are 15 yr lease from Linnweld

[MtotheIKEo]

however, if that includes buying the cylinder, then thats not bad. To buy 244 cu ft bottles here, its about $500 Cad or about $400USD

That price included buying the cylinder.

[MtotheIKEo]

You are talking about buying the bottle?

Yeah buying the bottle. They have 20lb bottles also. How many cu ft does 20lb equate to?

[calweld]

Yeah buying the bottle. They have 20lb bottles also. How many cu ft does 20lb equate to?

CO2 has approximately 9 cu. ft. per pound of liquid.

[hankj]

The density of CO² is .12341 lb./ft³. Do da math! Ain't dat FUN?

Hank