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[RobJ]

Acetylen is a dull red bottle.

I think it varies by size...my B tanks are always silver.

 

[Pooh_Bear]

The tanks have Selox in cast raised letters around the very top where the
cap screws on. I tried looking up Selox but couldn't find a listing for it.

An equivalent size oxygen cylinder full from TSC is about $300.
Or a trade in for a full cylinder is about $25.
But they will only take trade ins that are within the test date.

Anyone know of a listing for the Selox company?

Pooh Bear

 

[Dusty]

I tried to Google the name and came up blank. They might have been bought out by another gas company. They were definately leased tanks when they have the name casted into them. Contact a local gas company by telephone and ask them.
Dusty

 

[Dusty]

I think it varies by size...my B tanks are always silver.

After you posted this, I remembered that my B tank is silver, but my MC tank is black. My 20 & 40 CF tanks are also black. According to this site, there is no standardization of cylinder colors. This is a Canadian site, but the information posted should be relatively close to the US standards and it has very good handling information. This California site has basically the same information..
Dusty

 

[patrick_g]

I have had the "small" HVAC portable set mounted to a pack frame for several years. This way I can wear the bottles and easily go through brush or whatever. If you are relatively conservative in your cutting you can do quite a lot before you run a bottle dry. I don't usually cut really thick material with mine, more often heavy wall pipe and up to 1/4 inch plate and the ocasional 3/4 or 1 inch bar stock. I don't usually heat large or heavy things with it for bending.

If you want to use a larger torch or do a lot of heating you need bigger bottles.

I was upset the first time I took my brand new bottles in for a refill and got back some escapees from the Smithsonian. I got used to it.

I have a carbon arc torch that uses two carbon electrodes on my stick welder for heating and it will substitute for a torch to heat metal for bending or preheating for certain welding operations. Unfortunately my 6KW generator won't drive my stick machine to full capacity so I can't use it afield.

Pat

 

[Dusty]

Have you ever wondered what happens to all the new bottles that are brought in for filling? I asked the same question of the people at the industrial gas supply company where I exchange my bottles. I was surprised to get a candid answer from one of the employees. He said that they go to the places that insist on having nice new clean bottles, such as schools and industries that are extremely particular in the looks of what they receive. I then told him that I am very fussy about it also. He went into a different area and came back with a bottle that looked like it had never been sent out before. I was very pleased and gave him a good tip. He no longer works there, so now, I only get the crummy looking bottles, but I have become accustomed to it. It is the gas that I am interested in, not the bottles. I just can't adjust to paying the increased costs of the gas. Each time I go, it seems to get more expensive. They say that the only way to get the cost down is to become a volume user.
Dusty

 

[Timber]

The AC is black and the OXy is orange for industrial and green for medical. Solex I think was bought out by BOC gas. The caps are the most important thing. Trust me be there when the driver gets there and throw him a 20 or something and it will just go back to the plant with a thousand other bottles It will either be retested and put back out or scraped. National company's could care less about the bottles. If the company is out of business you own them anyway. Remember volunteer nothing. Airgas cares about selling gas and there restrictions are far less than BOC was

 

[Olmike]

I'm local Kirk welding supply dealer in my area.Kirk will take just about any bottle & exchange it for on of theirs. Even if they need tested I think its $18. I never had them refuse to take any. I just have to have A form filled out That says they own the bottle.I lve in NE Kansas & there is 5 or 6 different suppliers in KC Topeka area & most of them will take any owner bottle that is brought in.

 

[RobJ]

I'll just toss back in that it seems down here they always refill my O2 tank from the 12 pack of larger bottles. I still get close to 2500psi if I recall. They roll it from one tank to another.

On the Acet, you can always ask for a better tank (Acet they can't refill on the spot, think it's all doen out of town somewhere where they make the stuff). Usually the B's are all outside, just say I want that one with the newer valve (not the old square key). After getting burned once I aways have the check it to make sure it's full.

I think the B's are the last with the funky valves, the bigger ones have a valve like the O2's I think.

 

[Dusty]

Olmike..... are you saying that if the bottle is a leased bottle from another company, you will exchange it for one of your leased bottles? thanks Dusty