confused argon buyer? (looking)

[MajorPayne]

Heya guys,

Just rang a local supplier (weldairsupplies.co.uk) the guy on the phone was very friendly, and I explained that I'm not as experienced in the field of buying gas as he was.

I asked for a bottle of Argon, but not like the huge ones they have at college. More something in the region of what they would use in a pub(however I know some pubs use the huge bottles) but he knew what I meant! (which was nice to know) I asked about the pricing, which I thought was sound.

Then he mentioned what I'm after is the 10L(guess in liquid form) bottle, now could someone please explain to me with 7LPH(gas form) how much compressed gas is in total in the bottle?

Are we talking 500Litres of gas from a 10L compressed liquid bottle?

-I'm so very confuddled right now and to be honest I'm a bit ashamed to ring up again to clarify without sounding even more stupid then I already have prolly made myself look like.

-I'm looking for somewhere in Northampton where I can just buy a good size bottle of argon and when it's out, return it to the same person, pick-up a refill and just carry on like that.

Another iron works welder down the road from me said I could get Argon from a company in "southbridge" but I can't seem to find the company on google, an the iron works welder could not think of the name of the company.

--Jesus, sounds like I'm either asking the wrong questions, or the wrong persons.. So I'll try you guys.

kind regards,
MP

 

[shenion]

I assume this is for TIG, as that is what argon is used most commonly. Did you mean argon/CO2 mix for MIG?

Argon and argon mixes are stored as gas. Only pure CO2 is stored as a liquid.

10L at 230 bar is 2300L of gas, at 10 LPM, that is 230 minutes of use.

 

[MajorPayne]

I assume this is for TIG, as that is what argon is used most commonly. Did you mean argon/CO2 mix for MIG?

Argon and argon mixes are stored as gas. Only pure CO2 is stored as a liquid.

10L at 230 bar is 2300L of gas, at 10 LPM, that is 230 minutes of use.

A'righty, so thats how it's all worked out!
I'm looking for pure Argon, for a TIG setup shenion

But also looking around for someone who can supply me within the next few weeks before xmas, without ripping my arms off..Twice! lol

Also I don't mind picking-up and dropping-off, I can see I'm going to be going back an forth quite a few times over the next year or so, jesus infact I can see me going back maybe once a week for a 10L bottle

Many thanks on the help Shenion

 

[irondarren]

if its a 10ltr bottle what sort of money is it. sounds about the same size as a small BOC

 

[malcolm]

I think 10L is equivalent to BOC Y size. They won't be filled to the same pressure. 140 bar from memory for Gasman bottles, but still a heck of a lot cheaper than BOC Argon.

Goodness knows what you will be welding if you get through a bottle in a week. Mine last all year.

Edit> I'm confused now. is the gas price spreadsheet right?

 

[Paul.]

-I'm looking for somewhere in Northampton where I can just buy a good size bottle of argon and when it's out, return it to the same person, pick-up a refill and just carry on like that.

Another iron works welder down the road from me said I could get Argon from a company in "southbridge" but I can't seem to find the company on google, an the iron works welder could not think of the name of the company.



kind regards,
MP

That would be Matthews the blacksmiths, at one time they used to be well known for exchanging cylinders "off the record". But i think that nowadays they stick to the rules. you would still need an empty BOC cylinder anyway, to be honest in Northampton you are pretty much stuck with BOC.
The only other alternative is
K G smith and sonhttp://www.multimap.com/clients/bro...at=52.147750&scale=10000&width=590&height=320
11 Forest Road
Hartwell
Northampton
NN7 2HF
they are Air Products agents

 

[weldequip]

I think 10L is equivalent to BOC Y size.

'X' size

 

[malcolm]

That explains it Thanks. That makes the Gasman bottles 130 bar fill if the gas price spreadsheet is to be believed. And it's on the internet so it must be true.

The size Y bottles are twice the size of size X.

 

[MajorPayne]

I've got a friend who works for BOC, I was in the army with. He pull's out in the morning from the corby depo.. Maybe I could sort something out there if I can't find anywhere else.

Does anyone know the weight of an X and Y size bottle when their full?

Thanks for all the help everyone

 

[Paul.]

Does anyone know the weight of an X and Y size bottle when their full?

Yes, look here

 

[MajorPayne]

Yes, look here

Man you lot a right on the button!

I guess this kind of information is only found when you know what your looking for an something I'm bookmarking like mad, today!

Awesome TIG Paul, thanks for the link and to all the help, advice and bits
I can't wait to get builing my own welding table as thats going to be my first project

hehe

 

[Gasman]

Just found your thread! To clarify the original enquiry; The argon cylinders from Weldair are filled with gas at 137 bar. Your pay a low one off usage charge and just pay for refills as you go.
If you choose a different supplier, it will cost you dearly in transaction fees and rentals which is only worth considering if your consumption is high.

 

[GeorgeB]

Just found your thread! To clarify the original enquiry; The argon cylinders from Weldair are filled with gas at 137 bar. Your pay a low one off usage charge and just pay for refills as you go.
If you choose a different supplier, it will cost you dearly in transaction fees and rentals which is only worth considering if your consumption is high.

How much, exactly, please? I may be interested in some pure Argon to have a try at TIG welding. I can't justify a bottle of Argon mix as well, so I may try blending it with a puff of C02 before the gas reaches the end of the MIG torch. I'll have to make do without the trace of oxygen for MIG welding.

Anyway, how much is your pure Argon?

 

[Gasman]

There may be regional variations so it's best to contact your local agent for prices.

As regards blending; unless you have a blending plant its honestly a waste of time and money.

 

[Drains]

Major P - you might save a bit of money if you double check your gas usage - 10 lpm is a bit much for most Tigging you might expect to do. Too much can draw in air to the weld area. I seldom set the peashooter to more than 7 lpm. Less is more with tig.

 

[irondarren]

True enough Mr drains, we used to set the amount of gas by doing a weld, cutting through it and see if it contained bubbles. if it did turn the gas up, if not turn it down and try again. cup size seems to have a slight variation on the amount of gas required. we tend to use a no 5 size