Gas prices

[weldequip]

Fair comment Gasman, but as I said, safety never even crosses their minds. They seem totally ignorant to the high pressures involved, volatility of certain gases, and potential lethal consequences. It's no wonder Health & Safety has gone OTT!
weldequip

 

[shepsy]

hi all

yes its a full size bottle of argon for alloy and stainless, there have a team from air liqueed down at my town touting for business

a month ago they wanted £27 for a refill plus £28 delivery and £6.50 a month rental. collection was £10

told them to stick it, then two days ago they dropped to £17 refill and delivery of a tenner

thats with pro weld in plymouth, i have also spent a tad over three grand with them in the last month so that may have helped although i must say im pretty impressed with there prices and service

only have to pay vat on the bottle rental



sheps

 

[Ratty]

I take it all back then! Interesting that they are open to making deals.

 

[Kafer_meister]

I've managed to find a tame gas supplier that will supply a bottle of argon/co2 (basically argoshield light) for £25 bottle deposit and £25 per fill. Its about 2 and a half feet high and I'd say about 6-8 inches in diameter. No rental and the deposit is refundable. I

Think he does it to help out the DIY'ers as he also supplies air products on the rental scheme.

I was pleased

 

[dairwin]

Where abouts is this supplier?

 

[irondarren]

Kafer im guessing thats the equivelant of a boc X size, if so thats a good deal as BOC want £25 + the collection charge all plus Vat and £46 a year rental

 

[Kafer_meister]

The supplier is in Worcester. I think they're called Severn Gas supplies.

I thought it was a great deal. As I only get through a couple of bottles a year it costs me £50 instead of £150ish.

 

[Welderpaul]

Nice of BOC to write to me this morning and give me their sob story about rising manufacture and distribution costs. Just a shame they feel they need to put their prices up again.

 

[malcolm]

I got that one too. Last time it was energy prices. This time they say that while energy prices have fallen since their last panic it now costs more to make the gas bottle tops. Why not just admit to higher than reported inflation.

I really feel for them. Wait - they're OK - they've increased their prices to compensate.

 

[weldequip]

News to me! I've not been notified yet. I can understand that the cylinder valves may have shot up in price as all things brass, copper, stainless, nickel etc. have rocketed in price & now carry surcharges at the time of order. Health & Safety requirements for large organisations are now also at such a ridiculous level that it puts constraining effects on business, ie. costs... but the real reason is to claw back the fat £15M bonus paid out to the CEO
weldequip

 

[rusty69bus]

i had mine the other day, same old same old weve asorbed most of the rising costs but weve had to pass some on blah blah blah

 

[weldequip]

"Due to the ever rising price of copper on global commodity markets, and the extensive use thereof in Portamig machines, we have no alternative but to increase our prices. We have absorbed many costs & tried to keep increases to an absoloute minimum, but must now advise that a price increase in the region of 30% will be applied immediatley"... cause weldequip needs a rise!!

The only companies within the welding supply industry that implement price increases year after year after year are the ones in a Cartel position, ie. gas companies; everybody else does absorb the increases!
weldequip

 

[shenion]

They are even playing games over here.

Bought some Tweco MPC connectors. $9.75 a pair. Next time, they charged $9.75 for each one in the box.

Then took forever for them to process order. They were fighting the software where it kept adding "transaction charges". They have to credit it each time as they at leas see it as a bogus charge. Heard them saying "Stupid corporate office charges".

Will be going back to the main "superstore". The local one only fills to 1800lbs while the main fills to 2300 for about the same price.

 

[burntmebonce]

sealey co2 bottle

just been looking at sealey tools they do a 1000mlg bottle of co2
buy the bottle at £35+ vat and refills are about 7.50 + vat is that a good deal???????????????/

 

[lyonacre]

Alternative to bottle rental

Hi,

I am just starting out and having decided to buy a Clarke 160TE (advice elsewhere on the forum) I became aware of the cost of cylinder rental which, for an occasional user such as me looks expensive. I am interested in altenatives that can be supplied to baldock in Hertfordshire

 

[malcolm]

Cood be worth sending a private message to gasman. Much cheaper than the BOC/ Air Products deals. Click the little blue box next to his name to see the whole post.

We are independent & supply mainly 10L (X size) Argon mix & pure Argon through stockists in Swindon, Andover, Portsmouth, Herefordshire & Manchester......

.......The upfront cylinder usage for a Three year contract 10L is £39.99+Vat which equates to £1.11 PER MONTH.....

Those disposables are VERY expensive at about £10 per 6 minutes use.

Oops - misread Herefordshire as Hertfordshire. Another member adamsgas can do gas by post - could be worth giving them a bell.

 

[Wozzaaah]

Are they as expensive as that?

YES! If you shop around you can get them for around £7-£8 each but they're just not worth bothering with. Like Malcolm says, 6 or 7 mins and they're out. The regulators are pretty useless too. I'm in the awkward position to only occasionally use a fair amount of gas but still want to have a cylinder here all the time. Sometimes I don't use my mig for weeks on end so I would welcome any way of saving a few quid .

 

[Satsuma]

I placed an order for a Portamig from Weldequip a few days ago so I'm starting to look for local gas suppliers, there are a hand full locally with the nearest being 5 miles away.

I, like a few others aren't keen on paying 2Xp a day for a cylinder to stand in my garage for weeks on end before I use it for 5 mins.

So I plan to hire a medium/large sized bottle from Air Products or BOC, when its full decant some of the contents into a 15 litre diving cylinder and put it to one side. Use up the hired cylinder and return it. I will then have the dive cylinder to use for the odd job, and will hire again when I have lots to do.

Some will call me a tight ass for not paying the few pence a day. However I have a dozen diving cylinders which weren't cheep and now cost me £15 each every 2 1/2 years to be tested.

All I would need is

MALE BULLNOSE G5/8 DIN CONNECTOR (ebay 190174333540) £28
To decant to diving cylinder.

FEMALE UK BULLNOSE TO MALE DIN ADAPTOR (ebay 190176145075) £24
To connect regulator to diving cylinder.

I just have to make sure I don't go diving on Argon/CO2 :/

Cheers
Ben

P.S. Decanting gas is a very common thing to do and many divers do it to mix breathing gas, dive shops blend breathing gas by decanting from industrial cylinders.

 

[johnphilip]

years rental

I placed an order for a Portamig from Weldequip a few days ago so I'm starting to look for local gas suppliers, there are a hand full locally with the nearest being 5 miles away.

I, like a few others aren't keen on paying 2Xp a day for a cylinder to stand in my garage for weeks on end before I use it for 5 mins.

So I plan to hire a medium/large sized bottle from Air Products or BOC, when its full decant some of the contents into a 15 litre diving cylinder and put it to one side. Use up the hired cylinder and return it. I will then have the dive cylinder to use for the odd job, and will hire again when I have lots to do.

Some will call me a tight ass for not paying the few pence a day. However I have a dozen diving cylinders which weren't cheep and now cost me £15 each every 2 1/2 years to be tested.

All I would need is

MALE BULLNOSE G5/8 DIN CONNECTOR (ebay 190174333540) £28
To decant to diving cylinder.

FEMALE UK BULLNOSE TO MALE DIN ADAPTOR (ebay 190176145075) £24
To connect regulator to diving cylinder.

I just have to make sure I don't go diving on Argon/CO2 :/

Cheers
Ben

P.S. Decanting gas is a very common thing to do and many divers do it to mix breathing gas, dive shops blend breathing gas by decanting from industrial cylinders.

hello the price and postage of the 2 parts would be just about the same as a years rental, and what dangers if any when you take your diving bottle for a retest to the person testing your bottle.

 

[Satsuma]

I'm yet to call the local gas suppliers so I don't know what the costs will be and what I would save, besides its more about making use of what I have and making life easier for me.

There is no danger to the tester! Argon and CO2 are both inert. When a cylinder is tested they empty it of gas and remove the valve, they then visually inspect it by checking for corrosion inside and out. Then if its due they carry out a hydrostatic test where by they fill the cylinder with water and pump it up to the test pressure. normally around 350 Bar or 5150 PSI. They measure the diameter for excessive expansion.

Argon is used as a diving gas for insulating dry suits, I asked my local shop but they don't have enough demand to stock it.

Now anyone that claims what I'm suggesting is dangerous needs to look and the facts and stop scare mongering. This process is done by people in their homes all over the country on a daily basis, many decanting 100% oxygen, which is something you don't mess with. If I'm qualified to dive with it, why can I go to a dive shop and get my own cylinder filled with 100% O2? I don't have to hire a cylinder.

I'm not suggesting everyone goes filling their own cylinders, its not something you just do, you have to understand the risks and hazards, as with anything new. I'm not fussed about arguing who is right or wrong and what is or isn't dangerous. But I think people have a right to choose and be educated.

Cheers
Ben