Problem - Using too much gas??

[Jonny Stannard]

Hi

Firstly I'd to say hello

I have a Ferm 150 welder that I bought new and have been using it for at least 10 years without any problems. In that time I have only had to replace the regulator and that was at least 4 years ago. I use the refillable 1Kg CO2 bottles and they normally last a long, long, long time. And I do a fair bit of welding. The last bottle lasted a year!

Anyway I have just replaced a complete sill assembly inner, middle and outer. I have gone through 2 x 1kg bottles and 2 of those little disposable bottles. I've done many sill replacements in the past and I have never used 1, 1kg bottle or maybe it has just run out but thats a lot of welding.
I weld outside so my gas is always up full. It just seems to be a strange problem. The other day I had a brand new bottle just exchanged it as work used my welder to weld some shelving and they ran out of gas. I hooked it up and I did no more than a an hours welding in total maybe a little bit more but you get the idea, it was hooked up for about half a day though as I was making the repair peices as I went.

So just in case and rule these things out I have leak tested it at the regulator, thats fine. I have tested any connections along the hose and they are fine.

Its puzzling me as I never gone through so much gas before, can anyone point out any other areas I should be looking at?

Thanks in advance

 

[gordon stephenson]

Do you have a flometer on you regulator?(the type with the floating ball) It would possibly tell you if there is a leak somewhere on the gas system.

 

[Jonny Stannard]

Hi

No flowmeter I'm afraid its the same regulator that Weldequip are selling:- http://www.weldequip.com/disposable-regulator.htm

 

[Justme]

How many L does a 1kg cylinder hold?

I think 1 hours worth of welding sounds about right for a small cylinder. I think its about 500L of gas & at 10 lpm that is less than a hours worth.

 

[Jonny Stannard]

Ive just done a google search to see if I could find out how many L it holds and so far I havent found a good enough picture to read it, but in this link http://www.tool-net.co.uk/p-362012/sealey-co2-1kg.html?gclid=CLz00u70grMCFeTHtAodQEMAZA
It says it has approx 3.3hrs of welding. Now even if thats slightly optimistic I still didnt get anywhere near that!

 

[Jonny Stannard]

I've found a better picture in this thread http://www.mig-welding.co.uk/forum/showthread.php?t=35065
Still doesn't show how many L just fill by weight

 

[shenion]

1kg liquid = 506L of gas. (weight of liquid in grams divided by 1.977)

So, at 10LPM would last about 50 minutes of use.

 

[Justme]

1kg of C02 gas is about 500L according to this site

 

[Jonny Stannard]

Ah so by the sounds of things it is about right then. 1 bottle = 1hr of welding time, bar any leaks which would reduce it further. Hmmmm it just still seems strange that I had bottles last ages, maybe I just never did the same ammount of continuous welding as I have done this time around.

Can anyone recomend any bigger but still easily portable bottles?

 

[the snooper]

pub bottles

 

[hussy]

i use pub bottles and get them for about £7 filled from the local guy..
i weld bodywork in a workshop and one pub bottle lasts ages. if i use one a month thats it, and im welding at least 3 days of the week on and off.

 

[Jonny Stannard]

Ah ok thanks thats good to know. It should last me quite sometime then. I've just got to find a bottle now, that doesn't require robbing a bank to pay for it. Refiling is so cheap is just the bottle cost.

 

[jonnyBMX]

BOC do a small portable cylinder

New, small 2-litre Argoshield Light cylinder has arrived
BOC's new 2-litre Argoshield Light is ideal for hobbyist welders restoring a car at home or a small vehicle repair business that doesn't use much welding gas. It holds 8x more gas than a 950cc disposable cylinder.