ran out of gas already .......?

[W.olly]

Just been doing a little more practice welding and just ran out of gas FFS. I got a 10l pure argon and i dont think i have done much to empty a 10 cylinder yet. or have i ?

It was set at 6lpm at flow meter and pre 1.5 post 4.3

this is the amount of welding i have done plus about another 12 tube joints all in 19mm tube.

Does this look about right ?

 

[W.olly]

one thing i did but i forgot how much,

just looked on the cylinder and it says ` cylinder pressure 137 bar at 15 deg` if that helps.

 

[gordon stephenson]

Not very much welding at all, My 20ltr lasts ages, Leak maybe, or only a low pressure fill as stated previously

 

[Richard.]

^^^^
10 L means nothing it's the pressure it's filled to.
200 bar is a good fill but often some deals seem better than they are.

 

[Richard.]

137 bar is only half a bottle.
My 30Ltr is filled to to 230 bar.
That's the reason you've emptied it quick.

 

[W.olly]

just called the place i got the cylinder from and he says they are filled to 137bar, so as you say Richard only half filled. and for £50 refill.

10 litre bottle filled to 137 bar should give you about 3 1/2 hours of flow @ 6lpm...

If you don't think you spent that long on the torch, do you always remember to shut the bottle off?

I have definatley not done 3hrs welding and always shut of the cylinder when not in use, even when i stop for a quick break/brew. been there and done that when mig welding so learnt that one the hard way on a 50l cylinder lol.

 

[Chris Stevens]

Get the feeling that a fair number of people with the non rental bottles are likely to be paying more for gas than paying rental on a size W.

 

[W.olly]

Get the feeling that a fair number of people with the non rental bottles are likely to be paying more for gas than paying rental on a size W.

just thought that myself, it is a Hobby Weld so rent free, will look around else where now i thunk. glad i found the paper work to get the deposit back.

 

[Gizmo.Y]

takes me about 6 weeks to go through a 200 bar Size Y. I do alot of welding. about an hour an evening

 

[WorkshopChris]

I presume the lower pressure in many rent free cylinder is probably because they are decanting gas from a bulk tank and the filled cylinder always has to be at a lower pressure than there bulk storage pressure.

 

[Chris Stevens]

I would suggest you estimate how much welding you are likely to do, maybe add 25% extra and then compare hobby cylinder to rental W, for your usage.

 

[WorkshopChris]

It may pay to rent a bigger cylinder for the first few months while you are practicing(to keep cost down) then drop down to a rent free for your occasional welding use.

 

[gordon stephenson]

Could have been a duff bottle with not the full 137Bar fill, It does happen,

 

[Chris Stevens]

A Y on rental is usually cheaper than rent-free - a W can be hellish expensive for a retail customer though...

I think rental charges are the same for Y and W...................was paying around £30 for W fill last time I checked (but might have gone up now though).

 

[BrokenBiker]

Just to add my 2p...I have done about as much mig welding as you have done tig welding, but have had the flow set at 12lpm so double what you have...so far I haven't noticed the needle drop on my 20 litre 230 bar y sized bottle

 

[W.olly]

Thanks all, i will look around for a rental on a Y cylinder. But filled properly this time

 

[Chris Stevens]

Just checked my account, a W fill is over 90quid + vat (argoshield light or pureshield).

I'd have to dig deeper to find rental, it's elsewhere and I cba to look


Edit: it's still slightly cheaper per metre than a Y, but only a little bit and rental is unknown - I can easily carry a Y though, so path of least resistance and all that.

Just checked my account, a W fill is over 90quid + vat (argoshield light or pureshield).

I'd have to dig deeper to find rental, it's elsewhere and I cba to look


Edit: it's still slightly cheaper per metre than a Y, but only a little bit and rental is unknown - I can easily carry a Y though, so path of least resistance and all that.

Not a great idea to pay retail price................if you can get a manager on the phone, it may be possible to get a much better deal.

 

[W.olly]

Could have been a duff bottle with not the full 137Bar fill, It does happen,

I would say it was to around the 137bar, i remeber looking atthe gauge it it going to a third around the dial, which is where the 130~ mark is. Just a rip off to folk lie me who take it that it will be filled to 200 plus bar.

 

[Chris Stevens]

Thanks all, i will look around for a rental on a Y cylinder. But filled properly this time

Always check gas pressure when you put gauge on the bottle. Have had a couple of low pressure ones over the years.

 

[Richard.]

just called the place i got the cylinder from and he says they are filled to 137bar, so as you say Richard only half filled. and for £50 refill.



I have definatley not done 3hrs welding and always shut of the cylinder when not in use, even when i stop for a quick break/brew. been there and done that when mig welding so learnt that one the hard way on a 50l cylinder lol.

Yeah when you open the cylinder and it's sitting at 140 bar it's 90 bar less than a properly filled one. The size of the cylinder in this case makes no odds. It's like putting half a pint of lager in a pint glass. It's the first question that should be asked before taking the bottle away. What's it filled to?
Now you may also have a leak. When you turn the bottle off and approach it the next day is the content needle on the reg still sitting where you left it? Over a long time they all drop but over a 24hour period it should be sitting where you left it. If not your giving it away.