What is the cheapest way to hire industrial gas

[Scary Des]

What is the cheapest way to hire industrial gas Currently hiring argon from Air products and it’s costing me a fortune there has to be a better way, Des.

[Mark Halliday]

Hi Des

No cheap way that I have found .............................. yet.
I will watch this with interest.
What we need is some feedback from someone, say in S Wales, with an engineering shop for a garage.

BTW How much are you paying Air Products? I bet it is less than I pay BOC.

[Scary Des]

Originally Posted by Mark Halliday

Hi Des

No cheap way that I have found .............................. yet.
I will watch this with interest.
What we need is some feedback from someone, say in S Wales, with an engineering shop for a garage.

BTW How much are you paying Air Products? I bet it is less than I pay BOC.

Less the gas price, cylinder hire is 0.25p per day inc. the dreaded vat which doesn’t sound bad but it soon adds up and every time I walk by it I start Calculating what it is costing me for it to sit there I need oxyacetylene for occasional jobs but not enough to pay too much for it So any idea would be good Des.

[Mark Halliday]

S'about the same as BOC. I have used about 1/2 a cylinder of argon in 2 years. It would be cheaper to get someon else to do the welding, but wheres the fun in that?

Can you still hire "portapack" oxyacetylene on a charge per cylinder basis, like calor?
It's a long time since I had a gas axe, so things have probably changed. I used to have mediun sized cylinders, but my, aheeerm, "source" dried up.

[codprawn]

I am still trying to get hold of a cheap bottle of Argon for my TIG - still no joy- if I can get hold of an empty bottle from airmaster I can just pay for refills from a company in swansea with no rental - still looking though!!!

[Scary Des]

Originally Posted by Mark Halliday

.....-Can you still hire "portapack" oxyacetylene on a charge per cylinder basis, like calor? ......

No joy on this front only found silly little disposable bottles that last just long enough to burn the paint off

Originally Posted by codprawn

.....- if I can get hold of an empty bottle .....I can just pay for refills ....... with no rental - ......

Ahh so that’s the trick give me your address and I’ll send you a jiffy bag full just to tide you over
Des

[jwalker]

Originally Posted by codprawn

..I can just pay for refills from a company in swansea with no rental - still looking though!!!

Can you? You might find they'll realise the cylinder is not on your account and then it shortly will be.


The guys at BOC told me that the rental charge can be dodged if you take a new cylinder and return it before the charging date at the end of the month because the rebate is pro-rata monthly. You'll need to get the dates right though. I've not needed gas for a short enough period to try it out.

[Scary Des]

Originally Posted by jwalker

Can you? You might find they'll realise the cylinder is not on your account and then it shortly will be. ....

Doh sounded too good to be true but I was trying to give CP the benefit of the doubt

All in all this is quite a restrictive practice and I am surprised you can't buy the cylinder which might be cheaper in the long run Des

[Pete7]

Used to have my own Argon cylinder for diving (filling the drysuit not me) jsut took it along to one of the better dive shops and they would top it up. Think it used to be about 1ppl but that was a while back. A 3L clyinder @ 232 bar will be about £70 to buy but you will only get the decanting pressure from the Dive Shops cylinders.

Pete

[BOG RAT]

Originally Posted by codprawn

I am still trying to get hold of a cheap bottle of Argon for my TIG - still no joy- if I can get hold of an empty bottle from airmaster I can just pay for refills from a company in swansea with no rental - still looking though!!!

Hey perhaps I can help!!!! some chap has just moved in to the yard next door to us at work, he sells gas in all sorts of bottles, in all sorts shapes & sizes of bottles etc, just tell me what you your looking for for & I'll go get it, I'm sure he wont mind, as we found his sons wondering around our yard last week, "looking for their lost kitten" wots good for the goose etc..