BOC prices vs SGS gas

[rcx132]

My gas supplier is out of business so got prices from BOC and SGS seeing as they are the two biggest welding gas suppliers. BOC have a deal for amateur users and the prices are not bad, you still pay a small rental price but the cost of gas is low. Ran some simple figures, and for a 30l cylinder of MIG gas BOC works out better if you use more than one bottle per year and SGS work out better if you use less than one bottle per year.

A bottle lasts me 3 years so I'm going with SGS.

 

[Hood]

Is that the 300Bar 33L cylinder from BOC?
I recently signed up to them after many years with Air Products then a few rent free places and I can not believe the deal I am getting compared to, especially, Air Products. I never even had to haggle, I went in expecting to pay the online price but came away thinking I had misheard the agent.

I am a business though so that may make a difference but basically, even incl rent, I am £2 cheaper per cubic m of gas from BOC compared to SGS. That is if I only use 1 x 33L 300Bar cylinder a year, use two and it is £7.50 cheaper per cubic meter as the rental is already paid, I am on my 3rd so far in 4 months so that is working out at £10 cheaper per cubic meter and the savings will keep increasing as the amount of refills/year increase.

BTW the above prices are for pure Argon.

 

[Hood]

Obviously if I used a lot less like you SGS would be cheaper and that is the reason I also now have a Mix gas cylinder from SGS as I don't use much of that, in fact so far I have not even opened it Just got it so I can eventually test out some stainless flux core I got for the Mig, hopefully I will get a chance soon.

 

[CompoSimmonite]

After years of having a BOC contract the annual costs were simply getting too expensive for DIY use so I cancelled with them and went with SGS as worked out far cheaper.

 

[Ian James]

I had a boc contract for years then droped it in favour of air products then went down the hobby weld route for argon and argon mix I was on small 9 litre bottles but changed the argon to 30 litres when I bought the tig I believe the hobby weld 30 is filled to a higher pressure than the sgs

 

[Ian James]

Reply to follow when I get back in from second shift and find my paperwork

 

[Robotstar5]

I get my hobby bottles filled every couple of months so it looks like BOC is the best option

 

[rcx132]

That figure of £96 looks like the price for a Y BOC cylinder, which is 20l.

Also, you've only based it on cylinder price - not taking into account fill pressure and hence actual volume of gas.

If it is indeed based on Y, and the SGS 20l 'equivalent', then it has to be noted that the BOC cylinder contains 15% more gas.

The £96 is the cost of a years rental and one 30l bottle refill. Good point that not all 30l bottles are the same. I noticed BOC quote by how many m3 are in the bottle which makes more sense.

 

[Jlg]

I had a boc contract for years then droped it in favour of air products then went down the hobby weld route for argon and argon mix I was on small 9 litre bottles but changed the argon to 30 litres when I bought the tig I believe the hobby weld 30 is filled to a higher pressure than the sgs

The big hobby weld bottle are 20ltr 300bar

 

[Jlg]

So they contain about 6000 litres of gas, and cost almost 90 quid for a refill - 1.5p per litre.

A BOC Y (same size cylinder, lower 230bar fill pressure) contains about 4600 litres of gas, and refill costs about £40 - 0.8p per litre.


And as a new customer getting a hobbyweld bottle, you need to go in with £300 to hand over.

And the deposit is only part refundable...

The part refundable is only £10 you loose

 

[Ian James]

Some answers taken off my last invoice hobby weld 20 litre pure argon fill pressure 300 bar initial cost of bottle £205.00 cost of gas the bottle is what they call the ultra with the inbuilt regulator £88.93 this was a new agreement as I changed from a 9 litre bottle now a 9 litre of hobby weld 15 refill cost is £ 28.16 the deposit on the 9 litre bottle is £60.00 and on return I had £48.00 refunded I am quite fortunate to have two hobby weld agent within 17 miles one south and one north

 

[Ian James]

The big hobby weld bottle are 20ltr 300bar

Yep got zelouse by 10 litres

 

[rcx132]

So these are the prices I was given by phone:


--- SGS Gas ---
£75+vat 30 l
£120+vat cylinder deposit
Free delivery

--- BOC ---

Rental £45+vat per year
Argonshield MIG gas 30l £35+vat
Collection only

@pdg the BOC phone rep said the price is for a 30l equivalent bottle but appreciate that sales reps arent exactly trustworthy.

 

[Ian James]

I am aware that the ultra is cheaper than the 9 litre per litre that's why I changed boc have more than likely upper there game since I last delt with them approx 12 years ago
Pic 1invoce for argon ultra
Pic 2 9 litre hobby weld 15
Pic 3 9 litre pure argon

 

[Hood]

This is the cylinder I get, 33l @300 bar so 9.99cubic meters of gas
https://www.boconlineshop.com/shop/en/ireland/pureshield-argon-300bar-evos-ci-cylinder-11-e

Remember this is pure Argon so more expensive than mix.

1 year rental plus the cylinder is coming in at £160.40 incl VAT
SGS is coming in at £115 incl VAT (not incl initial deposit)
The BOC however has 10 cubic meters of gas SGS is only 6, so equiv gas from SGS works out at £190.

 

[rcx132]

For that price it'll be a Y, which is approx. 20l.

I suppose it could be equivalent to a 30l, if said 30l is filled to ~160 bar...

Bad salesman



Edit: if I had anything whatsoever to do with BOC I'd be right on that

Sales reps only have one aim. I get it at work all the time "the sales man told me the system will solve all my problems and then I bought it and it isn't doing it at all" or alternate ending "... its made things worse"

 

[rcx132]

This is the cylinder I get, 33l @300 bar so 9.99cubic meters of gas
https://www.boconlineshop.com/shop/en/ireland/pureshield-argon-300bar-evos-ci-cylinder-11-e

Remember this is pure Argon so more expensive than mix.

1 year rental plus the cylinder is coming in at £160.40 incl VAT
SGS is coming in at £115 incl VAT (not incl initial deposit)
The BOC however has 10 cubic meters of gas SGS is only 6, so equiv gas from SGS works out at £190.

So isn't it easiest to just ask how many cubic metres are in the cylinder? That would then make it a better comparison.

 

[Hood]

So isn't it easiest to just ask how many cubic metres are in the cylinder? That would then make it a better comparison.

As long as you know the volume and the fill pressure the m3 is easy to work out. 30l @200Bar is 6m3, 33l @ 300bar is 9.99m3.

 

[Jlg]

Well, I get different prices on web...

For instance, the 9l is coming up as £40.46 for a 137bar refill.

Per litre, that's double the ultra, and over triple BOC price.

My local told me yesterday that you loose £10 on return but since im just wanting the bigger one they will nock the £60 of the deposit and its £42 +vat for the 9ltr and £88+vat for the 20ltr so I guess it's just where you go for it
Edit them prices at for argon

 

[Jlg]

When I get mine on Thursday with my 9ltr taken back I'll be paying £280 for deposit and argon fill