Adams Gas?

[crj007]

Hi
I have a clarke 151en mig.
I havent done lots of welding just bits here and there mainly with no gas wire.
I want to start using gas and was thinking of using Adams Gas as a supplier as there in no rental.
I have two questions:
1. what mix would be a good allrounder for car body work and steel up to say 4mm with the very odd 6mm. I think they supply 20%CO2/Argon and 5%CO2/Argon.
2. How long can the cylinder be stored for should I not use the welder for a while?

Thanks

 

[T0rnado69]

they say 5% is good for thin stuff until about 5mm or so..

but then a good prep on the edges works wonders....

cylinder will be fine , they are heavy wall to take the pressure they have in them.

 

[MoreWellie]

remember to turn the cylinder valve off when you finish welding for the session/day otherwise it will all leak out in a short time

as long as you do this you can keep the bottle for pretty much as long as you like. I just exchanged one that took me 2 years to use up

 

[Swift&Bold]

What sort of welding are you doing?
I was looking at the rent free option but then on the advise given on here took the Volkszone deal, I'm glad I did now!

 

[MoreWellie]

I found a local(ish) rent free place that is £60 deposit and £42.50 for a 10litre 200bar refill, as that lasted me two years I am better off with that rather than the volkszone offer

it all depends on how much gas you might use

and I forgot to say I use the 5% stuff for a similar range to you

 

[Swift&Bold]

My local rent free agent hasn't had stock for weeks, something to bear in mind as that won't happen with BOC gas.

I really didn't think I'd need a 20l bottle but with the practising and the work so far I've already used 80 bar (@ 10 lpm) of the full 230 in the cylinder. One refill and hand the cylinder back and I'm up on the rent free gas!
Even if I empty this cylinder and hand the bottle back I'm still up on the rent free as the rental is charged pro rata at around £5 a month plus half the price of a refill on adams gas for 20l charged to 230bar (I believe Adams and Hobbyweld are 12l charged to 200bar?).

 

[crj007]

Thanks everyone for your comments, much appreciated. I have a local supplier of hobby weld. Cost £60 deposit and £39.00 inc VAT for the gas.
Will probably go with this as they do the 93% Argon / 5% Carbon Dioxide / 2% Oxygen which would be ideal for my requirements I think.

Gas Pressure 137 bar / 2000 psi
Gas Capacity 1.34 cubic metres
Water Capacity 9 litres

 

[T0rnado69]

i think it depends on how much your going to use
and how much welding you do a week or month..

it wont hurt to try i guess.
as you get the deposit back when you return the bottle.

 

[armalites]

You do need to work out the numbers, I don't know the full details on the Zolkszone offer but there are extra charges on BOC stuff.

Adams gas bottle deposit is £55 and refill £35ish for 5% 9L so £90ish for your first bottle. On the normal BOC price list £90 wouldn't even cover a years rent on a BOC bottle of similar size. The BOC bottle is filled to a slightly higher pressure but they will charge a handling fee of around £17.72 plus an environmental charge on top of the refill so even the refills. X size refills are £42.92 so the reality is although you do get more gas the refill costs you over £60 even without the yearly rental so for that size bottle there will never be a point where you are better off on the BOC deal. Obviously the Zolkszone if different, those numbers are based on the current pricelist.

If you want it delivered then BOC charge £63 whereas I think Adams charge £10

I pretty sure the Hobbyweld will be pretty similar.

Also don't be under any illusion that you will always be able to get gas because it's BOC, I spent a couple of months unable to get Accetylene a few years back.

For a weekend/hobby user the rent free bottles are sometimes stocked at places that open even on Sundays which can make a difference.

The other benefit of a deposit system is you can pick up a spare bottle so you never run out and then once the one you are using is empty you take it back and get the deposit back. To do that on BOC would cost you a years rental thet you would then need to claim back pro rata

 

[Swift&Bold]

Volkszone deal:

20l Y bottle charged to 230 bar (compared to rent free 9l at 137 bar)

Yearly rental £47.34 inc VAT (less than £5 a month)
refill £32.44 inc VAT
enviro charge 95 pence inc VAT

I pick my cylinders up from a local post office who act as an agent, within 2 miles.

Return the cylinder before the year and claim back your remaining, pro rata rental.


You may have had problems getting Acetylene but it'll be a cold day in hell before there's a shortage of Argolite from BOC, as I said, my local (15 miles one way) Hobbyweld agent said he sold the last 5% bottle weeks ago but hasn't been supplied for months.