Stupid CO2 Question : Aquarium Gas?

[kristiaan_d]

OK i may get a lot of stick for this but you have to forgive my ignorance on these matters.

im looking for a long term but cheap solution to shielding gas for my welder, im a part time hobby welder and renting bottles or getting large bottles are out of the question really as i dont have room to store them and it would be difficult to keep one around.

i was wondering if anyone had considered using co2 cylinders that aquarium CO2 is provided in? not looked into it much at the mo incase there is a valid reason im missing not to use it.

like these cylinders.

http://www.onlineaquariumstore.com/acatalog/CO2_Gas_Bottles.html

any thoughts or suggestions on it would be welcome, again sorry if its a dumb question.

kris

 

[mike os]

only the £££

 

[Shedendman]

only the £££

Was gonna say the same,with the price of those,get friendly with your local pub landlord

 

[kristiaan_d]

only the £££

Was gonna say the same,with the price of those,get friendly with your local pub landlord

good point it was only after posting this i decided to have a look at there prices and it made me think twice

ahh well i still have a few options open for gas cylinders at the moment, im just trying to cover all options before i spend out to find there was a better way.

cheers for the replies guys.

 

[Ragnarok]

they seem even more expensive than the normal disposables?!?! and may not be pure enough? why not try to find somewhere local that does rent free bottles? they're not that big 10l is common and much cheaper than the disposables, also much better for welding than pure c02.

 

[kristiaan_d]

they seem even more expensive than the normal disposables?!?! and may not be pure enough? why not try to find somewhere local that does rent free bottles? they're not that big 10l is common and much cheaper than the disposables, also much better for welding than pure c02.

yeah thats one of the things i did not notice at the time, i was hoping someone might be able to answer the purity question as well as im still learning im not sure what qualifies as good and bad gas for mig welding.

there are a few places local to me that do offer cylinders but so far ive failed to find one that is willing to-do a rent free option and for the amount of welding i would be doing its not finacially good for me to rent one (they offer day rentals but want silly money for them), ive got a few options left so far there is a company that offer sealey refillable cylinders that might be good for the amount of welding im planning on, failing that ive been told of a Cash and Carry in my area that provide CO2 cylinders for nto much more than 40 quid with a 10 quid refil charge, (pub style cylinders) but that means me spending out on a new regulator to fit the bottle lol

so many ways for me to go i just want to cover the options, and eliminate the costly options, i only asked about the aquarium gas incase there was a cheap way to get it and someone was using it..

 

[mike os]

purity will be very high

 

[Ragnarok]

argon CO2 mix is best for welding steel usually 5% CO2, 95% argon or 5% CO2 ,2% O2, 93% argon for thin metal, and 20% CO2, 80% argon, or 20% CO2, 2% O2, 78% argon, for thick stuff, CO2 alone is quite spattery and doesn't work anything like as well, i used to use disposable CO2s when i first got a mig, hate the CO2 and hate the disposables! haha
good luck hand happy hunting, there must be a rent free place around somewhere it'll be ALOT cheaper.

 

[dai]

i get a bottle of co2 from the local pub for £13 no rent
get a bottle whenever i want 1 and no problems welding with it