Buying oxy and oxygen

[fred55]

An old friend of mine has an oxyacetylene gas welder with hoses and torches in his garage and has offered it to me! could any one give an idea of cost to get the tanks refilled I know the oxygen is has run out. British gas only seem to rent out there own bottles, for my usage its not worth a regular rental payment. I weld only occasionally in my home workshop. Or should I keep with the stick welder.

 

[mind_the_goat]

Look to see if there is a Hobbyweld supplier in your area.
If you think you might want to braze or cut (if you have the right torch) then gas system will be useful. If it is just for the occasional weld then there may be no advantage, and another skill to learn before you can use it. A lot may depend on how well you get on with your current welder.

 

[pcb1962]

An old friend of mine has an oxyacetylene gas welder with hoses and torches in his garage and has offered it to me! could any one give an idea of cost to get the tanks refilled I know the oxygen is has run out. British gas only seem to rent out there own bottles, for my usage its not worth a regular rental payment. I weld only occasionally in my home workshop. Or should I keep with the stick welder.

Look at http://www.albeegascylinders.com/ for rent-free cylinders

 

[woodpig]

Might be worth checking with your insurance company to see if you're covered as you don't want to be uninsured if the worst happens.

This cylinder went up only a few minutes after a flashback, not the several hours we were told when I last worked in a garage.

http://www.benier.co.uk/Health_Safety/S ... NDG327.pdf

 

[graduate_owner]

If you are concerned about the risks associated with acetylene then you could use oxygen in conjunction with propane as a convenient source of heat for freeing siezed parts, brazing, cutting steel etc but not for welding as the flame is not hot enough. You would need a different torch from oxy acetylene though. Hobby weld gas is dearer than BOC etc volume for volume but as you know there is a rental charge. Hobbyweld will charge you a deposit ( refundable, but they may keep 10% or so) plus the cost of the gas. I recently paid about £115 for a medium sized bottle of argoshield, I suspect oxygen would be similar.
So overall the bottles may be of no use ( once empty) , and the torch may not be suitable ( although you may just need a new nozzle). Also I think you will need a different hose for propane, which leaves just the oxy hose and flashback arrestor, plus the torch with replaced nozzle - not a great deal really.

HOWEVER - you may be able to get the existing bottles refilled. BOC etc have tried to stop people from having unregistered ( and therefore un-rented) bottles but some suppliers may still refill (actually swap empty for full for the cost of thd gas), it depends on the supplier and 'helpful' suppliers are becoming increasingly scarce.

Finally, it is illegal to have these bottles unless the they are formally rented. They do not belong to anyone other then the company.

K

 

[fred55]

Thanks for replies - they have been helpful - and yes it is increasingly difficult to get refilled big bottles the direct way. The only way I found was to ask a friend into steel fabrication and he would exchange his full for my empty done as a favour but to return them back to him once empty. Sound a little underhand and I would not like to take advantage of a friend. The sound of the hobbyweld sound more suited to my use. It my be a case of the Green Eyes must have it new tool collection syndrome that I seem to suffer from.

 

[Keith 66]

As has been said before, the bottles are Boc property & are rented. They have tightened up to the point it really isnt worth trying to have them refilled. Unless you really need oxy acetylene it isnt worth the hassle. Most people today use Mig welders & the price of Tig gear has come down considerably. Shielding gas is expensive if you are commecial. There are several choices for the diy or small volume user, If going the BOC route try & get on the volkszone deal, this brings the cost down about 50%. Or you can go the air products route with their Albee bottles, no rental as you buy outright so more expensive in the long run.

 

[Hitch]

Not sure about BOC, but the other main suppliers use bar coded cylinders, to try and prevent the two bottle shuffle.
Not worth the grief to be honest, unless you plan to do brazing/silver soldering...
As above, your insurance may well not allow storage of industrial gas cylinders...especially acetylene.