pure argon price difference

[seanc]

looking at getting some argon for tig. I already have a bottle of argoshield light for mig from BOC so ive taken a look at there prices.
A Y size bottle is 4.7 m3 of gas, So theres 1000 litres per m3 so roughly 4700 litres or 470 minutes of tig welding at 10 litres per minute ! I also took a look at r-techs gas as they offer a one off deposit rather than a yearly fee for the bottle but there cylinders only hold 1137litres according to there site for roughly the same price as the BOC, I know things tend to differ in price but these seems a huge difference especially considering BOC are usually seen as expensive !

Have i got my maths wrong somewhere ?

 

[langy]

I use the W bottles from BOC for MIG & TIG and to be honest i don't think BOC is that dear really. W is the most cost effective bottle

 

[seanc]

As a beginner i guess it would make sense to go for the biggest bottle possible as im going to burn through quite a bit of gas. I`l have to pop into my local BOC and get there current price list.

 

[hotrodder]

BOC/rental sources are considered expensive by those that drag the welder out once or twice a year as they're paying rental regardless of whether they use gas. Those that weld often enough to need more than a cylinder or 2 a decade find the rent free sources expensive as the gas itself ALWAYS costs more. [/tongue in cheek]

Chech out the gas price spreadsheet thread, pretty sure you'll find current prices on the last page.

Unless you're welding in a gale/using a giant gas lens with lots of tungsten stickout 6 or 7 litres/min is usually plenty for TIG

 

[Tiggy_dorset]

Bear in mind that on top of the gas refill and yearly charge, there is also a charge of : £55.92 (for delivery) or £15.66 (for collection).

 

[gordon stephenson]

As Langy says above,best value if you will be using a fair bit is the W size, only about £10 more rental and £20 a fill difference to a Y size and a lot more gas,

 

[dannyp]

BOC get competive when your useing lots of gas.

at work they find boc cheeper, for me at home air products are cheeper.

cheepest way of the lot is to aquire a bottel if you know sone who can swap it in for you ( account with a lot of bottels on it ) or get an air products or simalar cyl that dosent have a non return valve like the boc ones and fill from another bottel ( best use for the rent free cyls imo )

 

[Piero]

I to was only a mig guy with aron co2 mix from BOC on the cheap Volkzone offer.

after buying my Tig (with the help of Matt) I needed some argon.

I did much searching, and ended up useing Barnet welding for a one off charge on the bottle.
I went for the very large bottle, cant remember what BOC call them, but barnet welding refer to it a there 50 liter,

my reasons for going this route are as follows, the one of charge on the bottle is FULLY refundable, in afect, it does not factor in the price.

also BOC are looking to do a Volkzone offer on Argon at some time, if this ever happens and if it works out cheaper, I can simple return my Barnet welding cylinder and get my money back (once its empty)

There gas refile charges are not a lot more than BOC (but as per usal, there is always swings and round abouts) Barnet welding ONLY fill to 200 bar were as BOC fill to 230 bar.

how much in time welding differance that eqates to is beond me LOL

 

[langy]

The cheapest way if you don't use a lot of gas is to acquire a bottle then open a BOC account, then change the bottle for a full one and 2 days later shut the account, you will only get charged a small amount.

 

[Fazerruss]

Is there an Energas dealer near you? Thats who Im with and it works out alot cheaper than BOC whatever bottle size you go for.
A "midi" 20L bottle (same size as BOC Y) costs me about £6 a month rental and £52 refil for pure Argon.

 

[tab]

I've just had a qoute from gas direct for £18 for a 5ft bottle of argon, £5.95 a month rental, dont think this includes vat but still rather cheap i thought?

 

[MarkG]

The cheapest way if you don't use a lot of gas is to acquire a bottle then open a BOC account, then change the bottle for a full one and 2 days later shut the account, you will only get charged a small amount.

Best to do that ASAP as from what I've heard on the grapevine is BOC will soon be introducing their barcode system...

If you return a bottle not linked to your account, you can't change it !

 

[Premiershipman]

Just read about that on their website - they started the barcode system in mid march with scotland first then a staged process across the uk.