Shielding gas tanks near Winston

RatLabGuy

RatLabGuy

You look like a monkey and smell like one too
Joined
May 18, 2005
Location
Churchville, MD
I need to get a tank/fill of welding sheilding gas.
Don't have a tank now. Are there any places in the Winston area where they are especially cheap for buying a tank to get started? Tractor Supply wants >$100 for just a 20lb tank, no gas.

Also, is there a difference in the bottles used for pure co2 verses the 80/20 mix? E.g., bottles are sold in many places billed as for CO2... will the gas supply places take one of these for exchange/refill of a mixed gas, or are the tanks specifically labeled for one versus the other?
 
I was wondering that same thing today, about the CO2 tanks. I don't think they'll fill it with unamix, though. They're kinda picky about what they put in what. A lot of liability involved there. You could run straight CO2, but from what I understand, the resultant weld won't be much cleaner than a flux weld. Did you try the flux?
 
Nah, haven't done anything with it yet, I'm just finishing up wiring the dedicated circuit tonight. Son has been sick, its amazing how that slows things down.
I know you're a fan of flux, but I just don't like the mess/spatter/cleanup. Call me a weanie...
 
Weenie. ;) There's always going to be spatter. Don't try and kid yourself. Whereas it's worse with flux, a quick pass with a flap disk on your grinder will knock it right off. That or a wide-bladed chisel. Side benifit: you use less heat for the same penetration, therefore you can weld longer before running into duty cycle issues. Weenie.
 
Machine and Welding on Lowery Street in Winston, the ONLY place in my opinion to get anything you need for welders.

They would very likely swap out a CO2 bottle for a unimix, they don't fill the bottle you have and give it back to you, they just give you a new bottle.

I would expect to spend around $150 for a 160 size tank (filled), so probably less for a smaller one. I have to run by there sometime soon to swap out a bottle, I can check on it if you aren't in a rush?
 
Machine and Welding Supply on Lowery St along B-40 is who I bought my tanks from. Or National Welders on Liberty St. near the airport.

Sam(slim)
 
Unless you're welding AL or SS (didn't think so!) you'll need the std. 75/25 mix.

I bought my 90cf (?approx 36" tall) tank filled from Linde for $104 last year. Not sure what Linde is now with all the name brand swapping going on in the welding/gas supply market these days.

I suspect that a word to the right physical/engineering person at WFUBMC might net you a handsome discount, given they are likely to order up a buttload of various lab gases weekly... it made about a $30-$50 difference when I was quoting bottles/fills, plus when it needs filling I just haul it down to the office, leave it on the dock for Mon/Wed service, & call them (leaving a $30 check for fill) = no special trips. Since I own the tank, no problems getting it filled ANYWHERE should it empty on the weekend...
 
Ok, according to National welders, you can only use a CO2 tank for uniamix IF it's rated as a high-pressure tank; since co2 is a liquid in the tank, most are only low-pressure rated.

Oh and it's so much more confusing trying to compare the two when CO2 is measured in pounds, and mix is in cubic feet.
 
Co2 tanks are also too small for shielding gas, unless you like to refill them a lot.

I bought all of my tanks used and used to go to a welding/gas store to exchange them when I needed to. Then I realized that it was actually cheaper to use the "thoroughbred tank exchange" that northern/tsc/and a few others have, not to mention it's way more convenient and they're actually open when you need to refill (at 8pm in the middle of a project). If I were a shop I would just lease the bottles and have them come exchange them when needed.
 
Tacoma747 said:
I have a 160 size tank and paid $15 last time I had it filled. That is at Machine and Welding. (about a month ago)
Click to expand...

yeah, the $15 for refill is no big deal. That's just a pizza or a few beers.
The cost of the tank is a different story - it's, well, a whole party's worth of pizzas and beer!
 
I picked up my tank of unimix from Machine and welding supply. for $150. I recommend them over National Welders. One thing to remember, National Welders will not fill a Machine and Welding supply tank or Linde tank without a hefty "recertification" fee and vice versa. IOW, once you select the company from which you buy the tank, that is who will refill the tank from then on. (not sure how tractor supply handles this)
 
What I am trying to tell you is price difference. Dave said he pays $30 for a refill on the 90CF, mine is 160CF and I pay $15-$20 (never been over $24).

IIRC, I paid $150 for mine as well (filled). From my experience, Machine and Welding will take any type of bottle you've got, I have swapped out National bottles in there a few times. Given, I know the guys in there pretty well, so that may be why... I can get them filled cheap, but buying the bottle to begin with it seems my price is not any better than most.
 
National welders ownes Lindey gas now. They will fill both bottles.
 
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