Air Liquide ALbee Rent Free Bottles ?!?!

[Omniata]

Just spotted this, don't know if anyone else has but Air Liquide are now doing "rent free bottles" under the brand name "ALbee":

http://www.albeegascylinders.com/index.html


5ltr and 11ltr bottles available in pure Argon and 15% CO2...


I spotted them on eBay but had a look to check and there's distributors nationwide...


Just FYI...

 

[Wozzaaah]

You're a bit behind the times Om, they've been doing them for a while.
Looky!

 

[Omniata]

Doh! First time I'd seen them, should have searched, delete the thread if you want Woz, my bad

 

[BillJ]

Worth mentioning, though. I hadn't seen it before.
It's OK doing a search on the forum for "Albee" but that doesn't help if you've never heard the name before

 

[Dave Sherwood]

Any idea what sort of prices to expect.

 

[grim_d]

Also naff all in Scotlandshire!

 

[Omniata]

Any idea what sort of prices to expect.

Think it's a case of phone your local supplier to find out


The ones on eBay seem about the same prices you'd expect for the original annual rental on standard X bottles...

Won't hurt to ask though

 

[Robotstar5]

I think it's somewhere between £140-160 for the bottle then you just pay to have it refilled.

 

[Glenn1968]

Oxygen and Acetylene now available

 

[penfold]

Oxygen and Acetylene now available

A pleasant surprise given the cartel activities of the other 2 suppliers.

 

[TheJoker]

In Oxon we get these prices:
http://www.oxfordweldingsuppliesltd.co.uk/welding-shop/albee-rental-free-gas/

Bottles:
ALbee 5 Litre Argon Gas £138.36
ALbee 11 Litre Argon Gas £174.00

Refill:
ALbee 5 Litre Argon Gas (REFIL) £50.10
ALbee 11 Litre Argon Gas (REFIL) £59.88

Quite tempted at the moment, if the Volkzone Argon offer doesn't come through.

 

[Agautosport]

In Oxon we get these prices:
http://www.oxfordweldingsuppliesltd.co.uk/welding-shop/albee-rental-free-gas/

Bottles:
ALbee 5 Litre Argon Gas £138.36
ALbee 11 Litre Argon Gas £174.00

Refill:
ALbee 5 Litre Argon Gas (REFIL) £50.10
ALbee 11 Litre Argon Gas (REFIL) £59.88

Quite tempted at the moment, if the Volkzone Argon offer doesn't come through.

Wow , those prices are expensive , plus no chance to get any deposit back when you have finished with the cylinder.

 

[hotrodder]

However everyone on the list of Albee stockists probably...
1. knows that they are an agent...my local Southwest gas supplier according your distributor list didn't know anything about it
2. actually stock the gases they offer
3. After i had convinved my local "agent" that they were Southwest gas dealers their refill price for a pure argon was around £80 oxygen about £50 i think (i'd lost interest at this point, when i need gas i want to go and buy some gas NOW, not go on a 2 day mission that involves finding the employee that knows what they sell and waiting around for them to come up with a price only to be told they don't have any)

 

[MarkG]

Wow , those prices are expensive , plus no chance to get any deposit back when you have finished with the cylinder.

With the Albee cylinders... you should get a partial refund back when you return the cylinder.. This is to the discretion of the agent though of what percentage they do give back.

Prices to vary from agent to agent as well... but you have to ask if they include the quick fit connector as welll in the price, as these are usually an extra £10 ish on top.

The Albee flame oxy & acet don't require the quick fit as they have 3/8"BSP outlets.

 

[Steve74]

After chasing around to get my old Messer bottle replaced, I ended up directed to the local AL dealers and have taken on the Albee bottle. Total price upfront was £186 and I got the quick release connector for "free"!

So far so good, I made up a couple of quick fit pneumatic fittings to hook the quick release to the 4mm hose on my SIP MIG, the quick fit connectors are available on the interweb cheaper than the £10 quoted here if you wanted to quick swap between, say, a TIG and MIG set

(Before anyone asks about or abuses me for using the crap 4mm hose I like the 4mm pneumatic fittings, makes it very easy & cheap to make up an extra line to purge out a job to welded pipework)

 

[Jim Davey]

the Albee scheme is good value for money, especially compared to cylinder buying schemes where the bottles are filled by a dealer with a bank of gas and a transfer pipe. You loose out with decanting gas as every cylinder he fills drops the total available gas by one small bottles worth. Until you end up getting a bottle with less than half what a full one should have (but I bet the purchase price stays the same) and few people are prepared to invest in the high pressure transfer pump needed to fill the cylinders to full pressure.
If in doubt ask what you're getting and be prepared to take a regulator along with a working pressure gauge so you can see for yourself exactly what you're paying for.
At least with Albee you know you are getting a full bottle every time.

 

[Agautosport]

the Albee scheme is good value for money, especially compared to cylinder buying schemes where the bottles are filled by a dealer with a bank of gas and a transfer pipe. You loose out with decanting gas as every cylinder he fills drops the total available gas by one small bottles worth. Until you end up getting a bottle with less than half what a full one should have (but I bet the purchase price stays the same) and few people are prepared to invest in the high pressure transfer pump needed to fill the cylinders to full pressure.
If in doubt ask what you're getting and be prepared to take a regulator along with a working pressure gauge so you can see for yourself exactly what you're paying for.
At least with Albee you know you are getting a full bottle every time.

Hi Jim, I don't think there are many companies decanting from banks anymore , I could be wrong, but we certainly fill from a Cryogenic tank of liquid Argon using a cryopump .

Alan
Southwest Gas Supplies Ltd.

 

[lshigham]

I get 200 bar every time from my supplier (Industrial Gases, Hereford) and it's only £25 inc vat for a 10l refill (I use 10L for mig work for portability).

 

[MarkG]

As of Mid January, there will be 13ltr 300bar Albee cylinders available. They are currently on their way from Spain, and will arrive in the UK around the 2nd. They should hit Albee outlets the following week.

The initial purchase is a fair bit more than the 11ltr versions, but not much more on a refill.

 

[toby916]

After chasing around to get my old Messer bottle replaced, I ended up directed to the local AL dealers and have taken on the Albee bottle. Total price upfront was £186 and I got the quick release connector for "free"!

So far so good, I made up a couple of quick fit pneumatic fittings to hook the quick release to the 4mm hose on my SIP MIG, the quick fit connectors are available on the interweb cheaper than the £10 quoted here if you wanted to quick swap between, say, a TIG and MIG set

(Before anyone asks about or abuses me for using the crap 4mm hose I like the 4mm pneumatic fittings, makes it very easy & cheap to make up an extra line to purge out a job to welded pipework)

am trying to find these quick release fittings online, any idea what they are called? need to be able to swap between mig and tig but forsight didnt warn me to buy to connectors "doh"