Buying a used C25 bottle for my Lincoln 180MIG

[cathead]

I claim to be no expert at all on MIG welding. I did use my neighbor's Hobart MIG welder and he uses straight CO2.
He said that CO2 is a lot less expensive than an Argon CO2 mix. It worked very well for welding up the quarter inch
plate on the water jacket of my wood fired boiler.

 

[addertooth]

Locally, I only pay about $45 for a refill of my 75/25 Argon CO2 tank. This equates to about 12 hours of gas flow.

 

[MrWhoopee]

I contacted my LWS before buying an argon bottle from a private seller. I was told that as long as it didn't say "rental" on the neck ring they would just swap it for a full one. I've since swapped a bottle at another supplier with similar results. Seems like every welding supplier has a different policy.

 

[Alcap]

Its funny how things are different between suppliers . Years ago I got a used set from a body shop with a sales slip . The local place said the acetylene tank was so old they never saw one like it and wouldn’t touch it and the oxygen the date was stamped too high on the neck no good on that either . Tried another place they filled the oxygen , after recertification, they lost the acetylene so gave me one of theirs just charging the normal fees . Fast forward this past year I took a small CO2 bottle from a beer tap my stepfather had gotten at least 40 years ago . Wanted it fill with argon . Went to the first place they were going to have to charge me for a new recertification but it would have gave me a one used tank right then , but for a few dollars more could upgrade to the next size which I did . From what others the places around here don’t even ask for sales slips anymore . I didn’t for my dads tank anyway ,

 

[Weldingrod1]

Paintball tanks work well for a small welder and occasional use. That's what I use...

Sent from my SM-G892A using Tapatalk

 

[Tim9]

My local airgas wouldn't fill that tank if you brought it to them. They are pricks about it. Most tanks need a bill of sale showing ownership.
If you have a local shop they might be easier to deal with.

Joe

It’s like that here too…. But luckily we still have an excellent Mom and Pop gas distributor who just gives great service and could care less about whoever’s tank it is. As long as it’s not over the top sketchy, they fill the tanks. We are lucky.

 

[Just for fun]

Jack, Before you buy the tank, ask your supplier what they think.

I've delt with two different suppliers in three different locations. Never a problem getting tanks filled. I took some old tanks in from my paid job when I was still working, some of them were too old to get any kind of credit. They told me they were just junk. I even traded in a Norco tank one time for a Oxarc tank. I use pure Argon; I also have a small tank of CO2, but it is usually used to charge my Homebrew Beer.

Tim

 

[Aaron_W]

The small tank looks like an acetylene tank, the big one has the Company name around the neck and looks like a rental oxygen.

The red and green hoses in the background support that idea that it might go to an oxy-acetylene set. Running a MIG welder with acetylene would probably end badly...

 

[Jake18v]

Thanks for all the responses!!! I ended up passing on the tanks I posted.

I called a couple of gas suppliers around me.

• One place wants $260 for a full 60CF tank / $48 for a refill. They wont take anyone else's tank.
• The other place was fairly lenient. They would swap a used oxygen bottle for a C25 bottle of similar size. If the bottle's test date is expired, they would re-certify for $35. The guy was pretty friendly and told me I'm much better off buying a used tank and swapping it with him.

I'll look around for a used tank. I see a used medical oxygen tank 2ft tall x 4.5 wide for $20.

 

[Just for fun]

Those won't work. You need a real Argon tank.