David Jenkins
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| posted on 11/6/09 at 12:08 PM |
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Welding gas (again)
I want to do a small amount of TIG welding of stainless steel - I'm talking about just a few cms of weld, very occasionally.
I had considered those disposably gas canisters, but then I realised that they would last between 6 and 8 minutes at a reasonable gas rate of ~
10L/min. That's a quick and expensive way of spending £15.
Just for a laugh, I thought I'd ring Air Products and BOC in Ipswich to find out the price of their smallest cylinder of Argon...
Cylinder rental - BOC=£55-31 A-P=£83-77
Gas fill - BOC=£56.17 A-P=£60.00
Collection charge - BOC=£13.66 A-P=£15+VAT
So I won't be doing that, either!
Now, I have a vague memory of a different kind of disposable bottle - I think they were black, and about twice the length and width of the normal
disposables. Trouble is, I can't find out where I saw them!
Does anyone else recognise my dubious description?
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200mph
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| posted on 11/6/09 at 12:13 PM |
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SCUBA DIVING TANK!!! 
Sorry 
If it isn't broke, fix it until it is
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200mph
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| posted on 11/6/09 at 12:21 PM |
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http://www.thewelderswarehouse.com/Welding/Mig_Welding_and_Tig_Welding_Gas.html
These are £13, or 3 for £30 and they say they are High Capacity at 110 litres.
If it isn't broke, fix it until it is
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David Jenkins
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| posted on 11/6/09 at 12:45 PM |
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quote:
Originally posted by 200mph
http://www.thewelderswarehouse.com/Welding/Mig_Welding_and_Tig_Welding_Gas.html
These are £13, or 3 for £30 and they say they are High Capacity at 110 litres.
Yes - I saw those mentioned on the other welding gas thread. If I can't find the ones I'm looking for then they may be a solution.
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wilkingj
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| posted on 11/6/09 at 01:07 PM |
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Adams Gas in Margate do non-rental bottles from Air Liquide.
Maybe worth a trip to pick one up.
I'm thinking of changing to them rather than paying rental at £80+ per year.
Pain is when its empty... a trip to Margate, or a courier bill.
http://www.adamsgas.co.uk/stat_ind_product.aspx?ctrl=argon
These are proper Industrial bottles, not mini tin cans
[Edited on 11/6/2009 by wilkingj]
1. The point of a journey is not to arrive.
2. Never take life seriously. Nobody gets out alive anyway.
Best Regards
Geoff
http://www.v8viento.co.uk
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GeoffT
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| posted on 11/6/09 at 01:16 PM |
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Personally I wouldn't bother with the 110 litre cylinders - whilst they are great for mig, and seem to last for ages, you'll be lucky to
get more than a few inches of tig welding from them. You also find yourself rushing the weld, in the sure knowledge that it's going to run out
very shortly.....
I went through a similar exercise to yourself a couple of years back trying to find sensible diy quantities of argon, without much luck. I did find
one or two, but as always at the wrong end of the country. I think Adams Gas was one of them, can't remember where they were now, maybe worth a
google.
Damn, too slow again.....!
[Edited on 11/6/09 by GeoffT]
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David Jenkins
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| posted on 11/6/09 at 01:23 PM |
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quote:
Originally posted by wilkingj
Adams Gas in Margate do non-rental bottles from Air Liquide.
Any idea how much they cost? I found the £40 deposit charge, which is fair enough as they probably want their cylinders back eventually!
If their cylinders have the usual industrial fitting at the top then that would save me some money - I have a proper regulator & flow meter (rated
to suit the high pressure commonly used in BOC bottles these days).
[Edited on 11/6/09 by David Jenkins]
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big_wasa
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| posted on 11/6/09 at 01:38 PM |
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I just bent over and went with BOC
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David Jenkins
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| posted on 11/6/09 at 03:58 PM |
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Found out the Margate cost (the phone is very useful... )
£40 deposit (refundable)
£38 + VAT for the gas
£22-odd + VAT for delivery
or
£35-odd + VAT for delivery & collection of empty cylinder
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eccsmk
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| posted on 11/6/09 at 05:02 PM |
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in the end i gave in and went halves with a friend on a boc account
its a shame but if anyone wants any welding doing i have to ask for a little cash and hopefully when my bottles are empty i will have enough cash to
pay the rental etc.
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David Jenkins
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| posted on 11/6/09 at 06:41 PM |
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That's the trouble - I have a TIG & a MIG, but only a tank of pub CO2. The CO2 is fine for the sort of MIG welding I do (scruffy but
functional) but no use for TIG.
I did have a BOC bottle of Argon for a while, but realised that the rental was just plain stupid for the use I was giving it - in 4 years I had 1
refill, and that was long before the recent massive price increases. I have the correct regulator, gauges and so on, so a real bottle IS
preferable.
I think that I might be having a day trip to Margate...
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David Jenkins
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| posted on 12/6/09 at 03:09 PM |
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I've been to Margate!
It's like Great Yarmouth, but without the style, sophistication and charm...
(with apologies to anyone who loves Margate, and apologies for the sarcastic reference to Gt Yarmouth...  )
I now have a cylinder of Argon from Adams Gas - slightly less pressure than BOC (137 bar instead of 200 bar) but priced accordingly (£38 + VAT for
gas, rather than £58 inc. VAT at BOC). Cylinder size about the same as the BOC X cylinder, fractionally smaller than a pub CO2 bottle. They have all
the usual welding gasses.
Very straightforward to deal with - walk in, give your name and address, pay your money, walk away with a cylinder. I get the £40 deposit back when I
return the cylinder in good order. A satnav is a good idea, as it's down a back road.
One down-side - the cylinder connection comes out of the top at 90 degrees, instead of vertical as on a BOC cylinder (it is the right thread though).
As I have a regulator with a flow meter that uses a pellet in a glass tube, I'll either have to lay the cylinder on its side (it doesn't
matter with Argon) or find a 90-degree adaptor. Not a big hassle, considering the benefits.
BTW - I drove (a) because my wife and I wanted an outing, and (b) because their courier will only deliver to business premises - something to do with
H&S + being sure of having someone in to take delivery.
Hope this helps anyone in the same situation...
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DorsetStrider
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| posted on 15/6/09 at 08:12 PM |
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Does anyone know how long one of these argon cylinders from adams gas lasts?
Yes I do realise that this is like asking how long a piece of string is! lol
Who the f**K tightened this up!
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David Jenkins
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| posted on 15/6/09 at 08:35 PM |
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Rough guess - if I ran my TIG continuously, it would probably last 25 - 30 minutes. By that time my welder would be fried!
To be honest, I expect it to last 6 - 12 months of very occasional use, as long as I remember to turn the cylinder valve off after each session...
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