Pawn shop problem /rant

rodnocker

rodnocker

Well-Known Member
Joined
Jun 15, 2011
Location
Clayton NC
Ok... so I've been researching and looking and shopping for a MIG welder. Finally came across this one on Craigslist. It's a Century 160 220v and it came with the tank, all for $375.00. Seemed like a pretty good price so I called the number. Found out it was at a pawn shop in Durham. I drive all the way out there to look at the machine. Everything looks ok as far as I can tell. Missing the flow gauge and hose to hook up the tank, but other than that, seems like a good deal. I asked if he has seen it work. He told me that he plugged it in, but if I was worried about it, he would give me a 30 day warranty. Tried talking him down but best I could do was 375.00 out the door and he covers taxes. This was October 25th. Been busy since then and just got the 220 setup in the shop over the weekend. Since the tank is empty, I reverse the polarity and load it with some flux-core and fire it up. Welds great, much better than my little HF boat anchor of a MIG. I was planning on getting the tank exchanged at Northern tool. I would have to pay $20.00 extra to exchange it for one of their "Thoroughbred" blue tanks, but their fills are cheaper than National welder supply, and they are open on the weekends incase I run out. Well, they are out and won't have more until the 18th. So I call National welders to check the price of a fill. Only to find out that... all 125CF tanks are rentals. Pawn shop sold me a rental tank on the welder. So I call the pawn shop and explained what was going on. Guy asked me what I wanted and I told him I wanted part of my money back to cover the tank. He told me I could bring the whole thing back and he would give me my money back, or I could get some "store credit" for the tank, but he can't give me cash back on the tank because he can't do anything with it either.

I'm pretty pissed right now. Got all excited over having a decent welder (at least it is to me) and now this. I'm curious as to what y'all would do. At first I thought about just tanking the hit and buying another tank on Craigslist. Then I thought about seeing what credit he would give me but right now I'm at the point that I'm probably just going to take the whole thing back and get my money. Something about the fact that he doesn't really care that he is selling stolen merchandise. If I do take all of it back, as soon as I leave the pawn shop I'm calling the welding shop the tank is rented from and giving them the name, address and phone number for the pawn shop that has their stolen tank.

I'm curious what you would do or if I have another course of action that would be worth the trouble.
 
Isn't it illegal for him to have sold you a rental tank? You might want to point that out, it might change what he offers to get this swept under the rug...
 
Good luck going up against a pawn shop and coming home without a sore butthole. Not much different than the check cashing joint.
 
A, the guy at airgas/natl welders is a fucking idiot and/or was lying to you. B, I would take that huge fucker back for the refund and find a hobart 180 for around the same price and C, if nothing else do the thoroughbred exchange...if you do most of your welding at nights and on the weekend, it's worth the convenience. Otherwise take the tank in person to airgas and have them exchange for another for the price of a fill, they won't say a word.
 
Yea I'd just take it to airgas and say your bottle is empty and you need to swap it out. The only issue you may have is if the tank needs to be inspected. Look at your tank and there should be a 5 or 6 digit number the first number or two will be the month it was made and the second will be the year ie. 51997. usually before that number will be a + or a "star. + means it's good for 5 years from that date and "star" means 10 years from that date. I've seen tanks with a couple +'s or stars. Just add them together. +62010 would be good till the 6th month of 2015. Make sense?
 
call tractor supply, their tanks are much cheaper and their also open on weekends. the national welders here in raleigh are a bunch of assholes, i've had them tell me they won't exchange a tank because it wasn't theirs. they also try to charge you $75 if you don't have the top for your tank.
 
I swap those tanks out all the time, and 160 and 300 tanks with no problem.

If I was the pawn shop, I would have told you tough shit.
 
MarsFab said:
Look at your tank and there should be a 5 or 6 digit number the first number or two will be the month it was made and the second will be the year ie. 51997. usually before that number will be a + or a "star. + means it's good for 5 years from that date and "star" means 10 years from that date. I've seen tanks with a couple +'s or stars. Just add them together. +62010 would be good till the 6th month of 2015. Make sense?
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4A98+*, so I'm guessing it runs out next year?

transman731 said:
call tractor supply, their tanks are much cheaper and their also open on weekends. the national welders here in raleigh are a bunch of assholes
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I've had nothing but problems with tractor supply in Knightdale. When I tried to take the tank to them Saturday, they said it was out of date so I couldn't get it filled. A few months ago I tried to take an acetylene tank to them and they refused to exchange it because it didn't have a label on it. The guys at Northern have been great to work with in the past. When I was trying to get that same acetylene tank exchanged there, they were all over it. Only problem was they could not get the cap off of the tank so they could remove the rubber cap from the valve. The manager and 2 other employees spent about 45 minutes trying different ways to remove it but couldn't. I guess it was just rusted on or something.
 
Correct but my understanding is that it also means 5 years. I may be wrong though.


Sent from the MarsFab Off Road mobile response unit.
 
If it is a lease bottle size(the bigger one) they wont swao out unless you have an account with them. I have 2 big ones empty in the corner of my shop because of this....
 
snappy said:
If it is a lease bottle size(the bigger one) they wont swao out unless you have an account with them. I have 2 big ones empty in the corner of my shop because of this....
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It's a 125cf. National welder said it was a rental only. Since it had machine & welding's name on it, I called them and they confirmed the same.

If I can get it exchanged at Northern, I may just go that route. While I would like to just dump this back on the pawn shop, I have not been able to find another welder in the same range at the same price.

I had also thought about just buying a 160cf tank and turning the 125cf into an air tank or something. Don't know what I'm going to do yet. Will figure out something by the weekend tough.

Has anyone had any experience with actually taking a 125 to National in Raleigh and getting them to exchange without having an account?
 
While we are on this, anybody got a creative idea for old tanks? I got 4 of those 5 footers, 2 nitrous oxide, 1 aviator oxygen and a unam

Thinking of cutting the bottom off of one and making a boomer to go with my flame throwers.
 
You could build the biggest baddest set of wind chimes ever!!!!!! Bring them by the shop and I'll tune them so they actually sound nice.


Sent from the MarsFab Off Road mobile response unit.
 
MarsFab said:
You could build the biggest baddest set of wind chimes ever!!!!!! Bring them by the shop and I'll tune them so they actually sound nice.


Sent from the MarsFab Off Road mobile response unit.
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This. There is a guy at my work that does this also.
 
snappy said:
If it is a lease bottle size(the bigger one) they wont swao out unless you have an account with them. I have 2 big ones empty in the corner of my shop because of this....
Click to expand...

Start an account? Maybe it is just the airgas here in charlotte doesn't give a shit but I own almost a dozen different tanks of mixed sizes and never have a single problem swapping them out...they never even look at the fawkin things for markings, expiration, ownership or even require the cap to be on them.
 
braxton357 said:
Start an account? Maybe it is just the airgas here in charlotte doesn't give a shit but I own almost a dozen different tanks of mixed sizes and never have a single problem swapping them out...they never even look at the fawkin things for markings, expiration, ownership or even require the cap to be on them.
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Same way here in Morrisville. I just go exchange it and pay them, no account at all.
 
I do have a farm account, but what gets me even more is that there is almost always someone different at the counter and all I have to do is say "put those tanks and these gloves and that grinder on this account, no PO number" and they could give a shit less who I am or who I work for, they just charge it to that account.
 
the one in raleigh has a bunch of douche bags working there.
i have sent my wife to exchange tanks before and they won't even load it for her, they make her do it herself. i understand there is probably some kind of liability if they load it, but how about a little courtesy, and just give her a hand.
 
National welders can be a pain ok they are always a pain. The last time I took a large tank to machine and welding supply that was of unknown history they did swap it out for one of the smaller tanks. A lot of older people think they owned the tanks but from what I have been told it was a single payment lifetime lease. Non transferable. We pay a yearly lease at work and it is only a few dollers per tank.

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I have a few 300s and haven't had any issues swapping them. I've heard the same thing from National Welders a few years ago about the big tanks were now all rentals but I've owned them for years prior so they can't really do much about that I own them now, they just swap them out and go on. I'm surprised you had issues with a 125 tank...
 
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