going to get an argon bottle for my new tig set up. Looking for some input on what the going rates are so I know if I am getting bent or not.
Looking to get a 125 or 180cf bottle
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going to get an argon bottle for my new tig set up. Looking for some input on what the going rates are so I know if I am getting bent or not.
Looking to get a 125 or 180cf bottle
I forget what I paid for the bottle.(I think it was $180 plus the fill) but every time I get it swapped out it only costs my around $28.
This is a 125 CF and I own it. It's the biggest one I could get without going to a leas or rent and is;s about perfect for home use.
Hello,
I will tell you this much. I made the mistake of buying two 40 cubic foot tanks. Its about $30 bucks to get refilled. For the 185 cubic foot (whatever the largest size is) that I bought is a little more than $40 to refill. So not difficult math to figure out. Thats almost 5 times more gas for 1/4 more in cost. With gas, as long as you close the main valve its not going anywhere. I went through those 40 cubic footers fast. So I ended up craigslisting the two 40 cubic foot tanks and got some of my money back. Your basicly paying for the energy it takes to bottle it up. Your gonna waist a lot of money with a smaller tank. One piece of good advice? Air/gas has sales every so often on tanks. I think payed $200 for the largest tank filled. I have welded for atleast 6 hours on it so far without it getting low. Though I know its getting close because of that pressure curve. Hope this helps
My 330cf argon cost me $300 filled to buy outright. Refills are $75 each for both of my 330cf bottles of straight Argon, and C25.
Pricing seems to vary by region. If there is a place that refills argon cheaply but they are halfway across the country, that doesn't do you any good, can't just ship a big gas bottle out to have it filled, needs to be local. So IMO the only relevant prices to determine if you are getting "jacked" are the other welding supplies that are available to you locally.
In greater seattle area, I get mine at Central Welding, and my 150cf bottle (customer owned) costs thirty something or forty something to exchange for a full one. They are cheaper than Airgas and Praxair, which comprise all the other local welding supplies for me (at least that I'm aware of.)
I gradually upsized my bottle from a 55 to an 80, to a 150. I recall the last bottle upgrade, I figured I'd pay back after 3 or so refills. The 150cf is the biggest size that fits in the back seat of my car. :)
Also ask for multi year lease optionI can lease a 330 for $45 for 1 year or I can lease it for $90 for three years. some lws don't tell you this up front. I live in maine and pay about 80 for a 330 refile its less in New Hampshire but at $4.00 pr. gal. of diesel. I would not be saving any $$.
330 refills here are $75-80. I recommend as large a tank as you can move around. The 150s are $34-38 to fill here. I have talk to guys that get 150 done in the twenties, but that does not happen here.
65.00 here on 330's. I wouldn't go with anything less.
But Rugar, I am surprised that they will let you pick it up in a car. They won't let us load in a car here. They don't even like to load it laying down in a truck.
I don't use a car, I haul them in my truck, and they are laying down. Maybe you meant Jake?Quote:
Originally Posted by performance
I recently priced out a local small shop vs airgas and wow what a difference. small shop quoted me for 150cf bottle and argon $225..... airgas $380 O.o
I try to give my business to the small guys most of the time anyway , gonna look on craigs list for something used with a decent cert date on it also I would like a larger bottle but cant afford it and all the shops around here want to rent by the day or sell you one.
Good luch on your search and hope this helped you
At my local welding shop I believe I pay around $150-160 for a five year lease on a 154 cf bottle and the fills are just shy of $50.
Armed with some rates, I found the prices were all over the board. 175$ for 5 years for a 150 and 66$ a fill to 54$ a year for a 330 and 40$ a fill. Looks like I am going with the 330 and on top of that they are right by the shop and are open on Saturdays.
Also found out the 330 was better gas...they said its vacuamed?
Cert dates don't mean squat because when you get a refill, they give you a different bottle; they don't fill your bottle while you wait.Quote:
Originally Posted by aaxiss
I always rotate my bottles by date to be sure that I don't have an expired cert date. Highway patrol writes tickets if they happen to look at your tanks during a traffic stop and notice an outdated cert. When I do find an expired tank, I work that one through the rotation and then trade it for a full one.
All tanks are supposed to be vacuumed, but many places that lease skip that step. In Az, we buy our tanks, so we can buy the tank from the cheapest source for tank sales, then refill from the cheapest source for refills. $232 for a new 180 (I think) CF tank with c25; refills will be $40Quote:
Originally Posted by dgarnier
I refilled my 330 tank on Friday and it was $80.58 at my local Scott Gross. I buy all my tanks so I can shop price. and I go for the large tanks because you can never save to much fuel in the truck at todays price. And the time saved is great also.
I pay $17 for my 40cf bottle filled with c25
picked up the 330 this weekend - wow it was heavy. Got it home and got it all strapped and chained into the cart. Found there prices for filler rod wasent too bad so I also picked up some mild steel filler rod. So now I pretty much just waiting on my 250ex to show up.
i think i paid 245 to lease and to fill up is 40 bucks
how many years does the 245 cover?Quote:
Originally Posted by yotarover
I just upgraded to a 162cu ft tank from a 80cu ft tank my LWS charges $39.64 to fill the 162 cu ft tank I was paying $28.05 to fill the 80cu ft tank so I get twice the gas for an additional $11.59 and less trips to the LWS. The 162 cu ft tank runs $266.33. They call it (user owned) they just exchange the tank when it empty for the $39.64. If you are going to Tig weld you will want the bigger tank. If you have to start with a smaller tank check to see if you can upgrade down the road.
I originally bought an 80cu ft Argon tank filled for $143.27 (would cost $23.00 for refill). That small tank seemed to go fast, so when it was gone, I went back and they allowed the full original purchase price (minus the cost of the Argon $23.00) towards a 125cu ft, which they sell filled with Argon for $157.18. I don't know the refill price.
For my usage so far, the 125 size seems fine.
Thats price seems high. My 330 cost me $300 filled in SoCal.Quote:
Originally Posted by Salty
I picked up my first bottle of Argon at my Airgas Southwest supplier yesterday. Lease is $49 per year for the 250 cf bottle and they discounted the first fill to $13.70. Total price $70.27. I was quite pleased to say the least.
Thurmond
At the local welding shop in central Illinois, it cost me 150 dollars to lease an 80 cubic foot argon tank for 10 years. it only cost about 25 dollars to swap an 100% argon tank or a 75/25 tank.
Just got into a mess with Toll welding here in Minnesota. Their rate is for $50.77 for a 154cf tank and $5.45/mo for demurrage. On top of that, they audited my dad's account and decided to sap him for back-rent on an argon tank that he paid $89.00/year rent for 12 years, and started sending him invoices on the darn thing after not billing him (he retired 3 years ago, and I made the mistake of renting a tank using his account, which alerted theit accounting department). Needless to say, they now will be billing him $7.47/month for a tank that by my estimates, he has already paid over $1000.00 for. I will need to do something to rectify the situation.
I will have to see what other local folks are paying. It does seem high compaired to your price out there in So Cal.Quote:
Originally Posted by Rugar
I got my PP205 a little (May 2011) over a year ago and looked at argon bottles from the two suppliers on Oahu, Air Liquide and Air Gas. Over here you have to purchase your bottle and its swapped out when you need a refill at both places but Air Gas also rents bottles however the price goes up, that way. I decided to go with a 125cf bottle from Air Liquide as the tank was a little more but the refills were ~$20 cheaper. I think I paid around $500 for everything, the bottle ($390), fill ($80), and misc charges/tax ($30). I will see if I can find my receipt to verify the amounts.
Fast forward to today about a year later and I go to exchange (refill) my bottle and I had to pay $225 :O.....:mad::mad:. I swear that last year I was told that the refill would be around $80. I know that prices have gone up but almost 300%. I asked the lady why it’s so much and she said that large tankers are shipped to Hawaii as argon is not produced here. This ruined my day to say the least, but on the bright side at least I can tig this weekend.
WOW!!! I'll never complain about argon prices again.Quote:
Originally Posted by NRM
NRM were do you live that is way expensive
Ouch that is high... a 125 bottle here is about $200 maybe less if you get a deal. About $40-50 to fill depends on who you talk to.
I wonder if you can get a compressor and bottle your own Argon and fill bottles... You could make a lot of money.
New place I use, a argon fill for a 125cf is $15 exchange and 330cf is $20. Add $5 each for 75/25 MIG gas.
The place I used previously was $35 for the 125cf, and they gave you a nasty cylinder. Needless to say, I don't go there anymore. S/F....Ken M
I was born and raised in Hawaii so I am used to prices being higher but today was the first time I really didn't like living in Hawaii.
yes Hawaii is more pricy on some stuff . my ex wife Samoan is from Hawaii and lived there a long time its not bad if a local and know were to buy stuff
What place do you go to???? Sounds like a really good deal.Quote:
Originally Posted by EchoSixMike
Sorry for asking a not quite on topic question but how much does a full 80cf tank weigh? I don't have a truck and figuring out my options if I want to start to TIG. I'll also need to figure out if I'll get any hassles with putting a full tank in my compact SUV.
Weight of the tank will not be a problem, however putting a compressed gas cylinder in an enclosed space such as a suv is bad from a safety standpoint.
Kinda need to know the weight regardless because I may need to man handle the tank myself. If I go ahead and transport in my SUV, it would be in the "trunk" portion, tied down and I'd have the windows open.Quote:
Originally Posted by NRM
According to this, http://www.praxair.com/praxair.nsf/0/6dacb93224eb0bbb8525655b005e74cf/$FILE/cylinders.pdf the size Q (80cf) is 65 lbs.Quote:
Originally Posted by undercut
Thanks, redbeard. A lot to learn. So size Q is 80cf. Tare weight is 65 lbs. I'll do some searches against size Q for approx full weight. Thanks!Quote:
Originally Posted by redbeard
You are a luck man. I have the $75 and natsy tank crew here. No matter Prax or WSI. I have never tried airgas, but assume they are the same. Walk in there one time, sales guys were jerks, never went back.Quote:
Originally Posted by EchoSixMike
I take it this is a family owned or private owned store?? For $15 I would keep 125 tanks around since easier to move around.