https://weldingsuperstore.co.uk/consumables-safety/welding-gases/disposable-gas-cylinders.html Anyone ever used these types of disposable bottles specifically the argon for tig welding? Im looking at them as want to do mobile engineering work which will include some tig welding but 1) finding a regular bottle of a size that will fit up right in my pickup bed is proving to be a bit of a pain and 2) I have a big argon bottle at home for the jobs there, these also seem abit easier to quantify when it comes to material pricing as you just charge for the disposable bottle. The reason im wondering is unlike the silly rubbish halfords or machine mart disposable cylinders that only hold 60ltrs a peice these seem to hold a more realistic 220ltrs. Or do the likes of sgs or hobby weld do small 5 ltr bottles.
They don't hold 220 litres as according to the data sheet they hold 2.2 litres each which means you are only getting 13.2 litres of gas for £150 and that is expensive, for less you can get a 20 litre bottle of Hobbyweld or similar giving you more gas for less money and these 20 litre bottles can be handled with 1 hand and carried anywhere. Once you pay your deposit you only pay for the gas as you swap your empty cylinder for a full one and pay less than £40 per refill. These regulators are dedicated acccording to the drawing and this means small volume sales which means high prices, Hobbyweld use the standard 5/8th BSP fitting meaning you can use standard industrial regulators and also fit a flow meter to them to save gas. Argon/CO2 2.2ltr Disposable Gas Cylinder Package - 6pk
Cheers for that already have a 20ltr sgs bottle but its too big for my application might just have to bite the bullet and hire a smaller 9 ltr as well.
I think the hobbyweld 9 is going to be your smallest refill bottle. Then sgs 10l but they will work out more than a larger bottle.
Depends how much you value you out on portability, these are obviously more expensive than the bigger cylinders but better than disposables. https://www.ryvalgas.co.uk/products/view/mig-shield-5-mix-argo-light
Sorry just saw you were after argon, not mix..... https://www.ryvalgas.co.uk/products/view/pure-argon
Here’s one that (if still open ) do 5l bottles - again though they won’t be as cost effective as the bigger bottles but depends on whether you really need the portability. **wouldnt let me post the link, it’s gas*uk I’ve got 20l sgs bottles and I wouldn’t fancy dragging them around for site work - they’re certainly not 1 handed portable!
They do hold 220L of gas as the cylinder is 2.2l volume but the pressure is 100bar so they have approx 220 L of gas in them. Having said that even at 8lpm for Tig you only get 27 1/2 minutes of welding from a cylinder which works out at about £1 per minute. It may be worth it for very occasional use but not for me.
If the valve is protected, what's the difference? I mean, gravity Vs 200 bar - gravity is going to be pretty much irrelevant! Or is it because the wall is more prone to damage than the base?
I don't think there is any need to transport or even use Argon cylinders standing upright. I certainly don't transport upright and often use them lying down without issues. I think the upright thing is more for the likes of acetylene and if you do transport that lying down then before use you should stand it up and leave for a period of time, 1/2hr rings a bell but could well be longer. EDIT As seen in the link posted further down the period of time to leave acetylene standing upright before opening, if it has been prone, is at least 1 day.
I thought it was recommended to transport upright so if it did go mammaries skywards it propelled itself down not through anything in its way. Having said that I am guilty of laying them down but at least they won’t fall over.
