Gas Supplier

[keefbeef]

Gonna get me either a 10L or 20L gas bottle 95 argon/5 co. One of those rent free boyo's. We have two suppliers here. Hobbyweld or SGS.

Any experience of either? I think the hobbyweld ones come with built in regulator, but have to get a converter.

[solarman216]

Got no experience of either, but built in reg does not sound good as you will be buying one with every can, and 20lt is very expensive way of getting gas, but depends on how much you use your welder, Rick

[jims-terrano]

I use Hobbyweld 5 bottles and they don't come with regulators. A standard regulator from Machine Mart fitted just fine. Costs £60 for the bottle and then £35 for each refill.

Don't know if mine works out cheap to use or not but have a local place that refills for me so nice and easy.

[keefbeef]

Your right Jim, misread their web site - no built in reg. Got a price for 10L ... £60.00 deposit + £31.00 fill. Sounds like the 10L is the way to go. The 20L is £95 for bottle and £68 for refill. Waiting for prices from SGS.

[solarman216]

I hire a Y bottle from BOC £115 per year plus about £65 per changeover, even if I do lots of work a bottle can last almost 2 years, if it was my job and used it every day it would last 6 months, just for comparison, Rick

[jims-terrano]

If you want any photos of the bottle just let me know.

To be honest I suspect if you were welding professional I think the bottle would be too small but DIY seems just fine. There are times when it's run out on me but it's never been end of the world just an inconvenience as much as anything.

[solarman216]

"Y" bottle stands 4ft high but the crucial difference is it is charged to 230 bar or 3500 psi, that is a lot of gas, Rick

[keefbeef]

What about the pressure to which the bottle is filled? Claimed to make a different, but not sure why.

Hobbyweld - 137 bar

not sure about the other one.

[macabethiel]

The only Gas Bottle I have is a Calor Gas one that I have used since 1974 initially for burning off paint and latterly just for plumbing jobs. It stands about 15 inches high and it is now on it's second re-fill !!

Last time I had to change the bottle at no extra cost for one with a push on type connector instead of a threaded valve!

When I bought it the deposit on the bottle from BOC cost more than the blow torch on the end but boy it has been useful over the years.

I even managed to fit a flywheel ring gear by putting the flywheel in the freezer overnight, heating the gear with the torch then using mole grips she just fitted over giving me enough time to hammer it into a snug fit !

[terranosaurusdoug]

The only Gas Bottle I have is a Calor Gas one that I have used since 1974 initially for burning off paint and latterly just for plumbing jobs. It stands about 15 inches high and it is now on it's second re-fill !!

Last time I had to change the bottle at no extra cost for one with a push on type connector instead of a threaded valve!

When I bought it the deposit on the bottle from BOC cost more than the blow torch on the end but boy it has been useful over the years.

I even managed to fit a flywheel ring gear by putting the flywheel in the freezer overnight, heating the gear with the torch then using mole grips she just fitted over giving me enough time to hammer it into a snug fit !

I learnt to solder with one of those back in me college days, got a compact rothenberger superfire now, very posh :lol

[Blocky10]

Various places are doing a 10 year lease.
E.g. here. This is what I'm going for :thumb2
8031

Crap photo. Apologies.
Here's a link to the info page
http://www.ibweld.com/bottled-gases/3291349