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 ...... 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.