Welding and OxyAcet gas... where and how to get it, Lexington KY.

[Dadnatron]

I'm looking to get welding gas, however, I am having a significant amount of trouble doing so.

I currently have a mig/Tig/stick Everlast machine, but I've only been using the stick or Flux core components.

I want to use Mig and try Tig. So... I contact AirGas thinking my local store can take care of me. Little did I know what I was getting into. I'm looking to purchase at least a 4'/125cf bottle, but I'd rather get a 200cf bottle, as I hate running out or frequent fill-ups. My goal was simply to purchase a couple 200cf bottles, take them to AirGas and get them filled. Well, that isn't happening, as AirGas only leases those and bigger bottles for $100/yr. They will exchange for filled bottle, but I can't simply buy a bottle outright.

And on Oxyacetaline, I just wanted to get a couple larger bottles to not have to worry about refills/runout. Again, ran into a wall. I can fill out a credit app, lease the bottles, and everything is good. But spending $300/yr on a lease doesn't make any sense to me. So... what are my options? What are you doing?

I won't be using much, in all honesty, so I could go with a couple small bottles and likely do fine. But I have a burr under my saddle now, and don't really want to go that route unless its my only choice.

 

[paulsharvey]

I'm looking to get welding gas, however, I am having a significant amount of trouble doing so.

I currently have a mig/Tig/stick Everlast machine, but I've only been using the stick or Flux core components.

I want to use Mig and try Tig. So... I contact AirGas thinking my local store can take care of me. Little did I know what I was getting into. I'm looking to purchase at least a 4'/125cf bottle, but I'd rather get a 200cf bottle, as I hate running out or frequent fill-ups. My goal was simply to purchase a couple 200cf bottles, take them to AirGas and get them filled. Well, that isn't happening, as AirGas only leases those and bigger bottles for $100/yr. They will exchange for filled bottle, but I can't simply buy a bottle outright.

And on Oxyacetaline, I just wanted to get a couple larger bottles to not have to worry about refills/runout. Again, ran into a wall. I can fill out a credit app, lease the bottles, and everything is good. But spending $300/yr on a lease doesn't make any sense to me. So... what are my options? What are you doing?

I won't be using much, in all honesty, so I could go with a couple small bottles and likely do fine. But I have a burr under my saddle now, and don't really want to go that route unless its my only choice.

For specifically Oxy-Ace, a 120cf bottle, or even a 80cf bottle of O2 lasts pretty well, but are you heating, cutting, or brazing? For cutting, the cheap plasma cutters seem to the the way to go. Unless you are doing a lot of production, I think the largest owner bottles would be the way to go. For small stuff, 80cf will do what you need,

As far as Argon, I've been avoiding it, cause there just isn't a Cheap way to get started. I might only want to tig a few times per year, and I don't want $300+ in bottles just to do that. At the same time, a 40cf bottle or even an 80cf isn't going to last long at 10-20 cfh.

 

[Rebeldad1]

Craigslist or Facebook Marketplace might be a good place. Make sure the bottles aren't lease bottles. Best to call around to local welding shops and see what is best for them.

 

[caver]

Have you tried Holston or AWG? I have a local welding store that I lease the oxy ace from. I pay maybe $180 but that's for probably 10 years. It seems like a bit of a racket to me.

 

[alexpops]

Check & see if you have any independent welding supply places near you that will swap out owner tanks. Airgas pulled the same thing on me, but I wound up finding an independent that sold me argon/co2 and oxy acetylene in big tanks. Pure argon is next on my list when I get time to learn TIG. You can buy empty bottles online shipped to your door for 250-400 depending on size, you'll just need a place to exchange them & make sure the DOT stamp isn't ready to expire. Finally, smaller bottles for some gasses can be bought/exchanged at Tractor supply but then you are stuck doing the exchanges with them (I believe) and their prices were higher than Empire Cylinder at the time I bought mine.

Some of the independents might even let you "upsize" your bottles by paying the difference, so you could buy an 80 & trade up to a 200 or 300 for some upcharge if the upcharge is less than the cost of the bigger bottle. I did that about 40 years ago with oxy acetylene going up 2 sizes when I had a lot of cutting to do & my small rig was running out way too quick.

 

[paulsharvey]

I tried with Mustang or Ponygas, whatever it is at TSC/Ace. I read all their stuff, and according to their own training manual, they will take any owner tanks, as exchange, not just their own, however, the actually guys at those places won't take them. They are really high on the price if tanks, and the price of refills(swaps), but they are convenient. The problem is they don't know their own rules...

 

[alexpops]

Another option on the acetylene (for cutting/heating) is to replace it with propane which you can get anywhere & big bottles can be had online/or TSC. then you only need to worry about the O2 bottle.

 

[Eagle1]

Tractor supply sells and I think refills bottles. Worth a shot

 

[paulsharvey]

Another option on the acetylene (for cutting/heating) is to replace it with propane which you can get anywhere & big bottles can be had online/or TSC. then you only need to worry about the O2 bottle.

I was going to point this one out, but everything I've heard/saw, says you use Way more O2 with Oxy-propane cutting. Like 2x the Oxy. It's a good option for heating and cutting, but can't weld, although I think you can still braze with it?

Homeowner, cutting, plasma has gotten good and cheap. Heating, I haven't used the induction heaters, but they are supposed to be good on bolts/nuts. If you have stick/mig/tig, I dont think you will want to oxy weld.

The $100/year lease for your inert gas, honestly isn't bad, as long as you don't need CO2, Argon, and a 75/25 mix. With MIG, a 200cf bottle will last a long time, unless we are talking production

 

[paulsharvey]

Tractor supply sells and I think refills bottles. Worth a shot

They are Expensive, $429 for a 80cf inert bottle, and around $54/swap.

 

[paulsharvey]

Oxygen bottle prices

 

[alexpops]

VS

New 300 cuft Steel Oxygen Cylinder | Gas Cylinder Source

New 300 cu ft steel oxygen cylinder. CGA540 valve, durable rust-stop painted finish and thick-walled heavy-duty construction.

gascylindersource.com

 

[WranglerX]

Only viable option for me was buy my cylinders.... Now have a 175CF C-25, a 80 CF Oxygen and a 60CU ft Acetylenes... No lease hassles/costs, just refill cost at exchange time...

I found LINDE (old Praxair) best to deal with..... Walked in to Airgas looking for a 125CF, C-25 cylinder and they wanted $200 for cylinder and $95 for a fill.... Went down the street a few blocks to what was then Praxair (Now LINDE) and got 125CF of C-25 for $100 for cylinder and fill for $65.... Went out on dock to get cylinder and they were all out of 125CF, dock jock said take this 175CF as free upgrade..... It pays to shop around and not take first deal you come to....

 

[paulsharvey]

I found LINDE (old Praxair) best to deal with..... Walked in to Airgas looking for a 125CF, C-25 cylinder and they wanted $200 for cylinder and $95 for a fill.... Went down the street a few blocks to what was then Praxair (Now LINDE) and got 125CF of C-25 for $100 for cylinder and fill for $65.... Went out on dock to get cylinder and they were all out of 125CF, dock jock said take this 175CF as free upgrade..... It pays to shop around and not take first deal you come to....

Is that a rental? Was there a lease with that?

 

[WranglerX]

Is that a rental? Was there a lease with that?

Nope..... Purchased Cylinders.....Usually only have to refill/exchange once every 2-3 years so it makes no sense to lease cylinders and just have them just sit there... Only caveat is these are old prices by several years, new times new prices but was still cheaper for long term than lease.... I have "owned" my OXY/ACET cylinders for probably 25 years and the 175 C-25 maybe 7-8 years.... All I pay for is "gas" when exchanging cylinders....

 

[paulsharvey]

Nope..... Purchased Cylinders.....Usually only have to refill/exchange once every 2-3 years so it makes no sense to lease cylinders and just have them just sit there... Only caveat is these are old prices by several years, new times new prices but was still cheaper for long term than lease.... I have "owned" my OXY/ACET cylinders for probably 25 years and the 175 C-25 maybe 7-8 years.... All I pay for is "gas" when exchanging cylinders....

Man, that's cheap, I might stop in at one of two local places and get a price on a Ar tank, just to play with my arc/mig/tig machine. I had priced a couple places years ago, and it was gonna be $400+

 

[ultrarunner]

I pay $28.00 per refill of the 250 cu ft Oxygen cylinders at work and no exchange fee and $20 flat rate delivery trip charge which covers all for 1 or dozens.

For years the fill was $20 but went up nearly 50% during Covid.

I buy Oxygen, Air, Nitrogen, CO2 and Nitrous Oxide weekly.

 

[dstig1]

Unless you are a daily welder the 120cf tanks will last a good while. I have those for Argon (TIG) 75/25 (MIG) and Oxygen (for my torch) and only the oxygen gets used up fast. The inert gasses can be years between fills, depending on how much I am doing.

And here I will put in a plug for Oxy Propane vs Acetylene. You need a torch set up for propane with the right hoses and tips, but that is not hard or expensive if you need to buy a torch either way - they are about the same price. The one downside is that Propane goes through a BUNCH of Oxy, so you will rip through a 120cf tank pretty quick if you are doing a fair bit of cutting. But again, for home hobby use I can't see the need for really big tanks unless you are doing this super heavily. If you plan to do a lot of cutting for a project, keep 2 oxy tanks on hand. Easy fix.

 

[LittleBill21]

buy the tanks online and exchange them

https://amzn.to/4h5BWat

 

[sandman2234]

For customer owned, there is a 251cu' bottle. I only have one, in argon. Came from Air Liquid but the code is correct for a customer owned bottle.
David from jax