thinking out loud

[burgo]

i need to get some CO2 to carry on welding and we all know how crap the disposable bottles are, the only place round here to get gas is BOC and the yearly rental takes the piss for a hobby welder. my thinking is i can get a full 2kg CO2 extinguisher for £20 out right, whats stopping me buying one of them and replacing the outlet spout thing with a regulator??

[MattBrown]

I dont think a fire extinguisher has anywhere near the capacity of a big bottle Burgo!

~Check the pressures first, I know you dont need a high pressure at all, but obviously a 2kg bottle, with 300bar, has alot more than one with 30bar

[mowgli]

burgo...... pubs are your friend..... when they change contract on their drinks, the engineers install new gear & leave the old gas bottles behind...... ask about

[burgo]

i still then need to get it refilled though mike

[mowgli]

with a bottle, it is cheap, there are pub gas suppliers everywhere. anyway, the bottles i'm on about usually still have gas in them, they have just changed contract, & the engineers simply can't be ar$ed with disposing of them, so they dump them near the barrels & leave.

[burgo]

ive searched before, the only pub gas supplier near me is boc in corby

[burgo]

I dont think a fire extinguisher has anywhere near the capacity of a big bottle Burgo!

~Check the pressures first, I know you dont need a high pressure at all, but obviously a 2kg bottle, with 300bar, has alot more than one with 30barthey dont rate CO2 bottles in pressure either, they go by weight

[bmw156]

i thought the rates were good burgo.

65 quid a year rent, taken monthly
and then 40 quid a fil for 8 hours welding. pretty good

[burgo]

thats a rip off martin, i used to get mine from a fire services place and it was a one off payment of £30 for the bottle and then £10 per refill!! when you pay that you suddenly realise how much boc are making off you

[Jeff16v]

Find a friendly hospital porter:thumb:

[Stuart]

I was looking at this a little while back.

LOTS of suppliers on the bay, although they make you think you have to jump through hoops to get a refill.

Something about the bottle gets stamped with something that means others wontreill it etc.

I've still not pulled my finger out to find the local pub gas suppliers yet. Might try bribing the homo that runs the local pub with some head lol

[stt]

Just try your local welding supplier, I pay 12 plus vat to have my bottle refilled,

[Pistol Pete]

What he said ^. I pay a tenner to get mine refilled.

[Lewis.]

refilled with what though? tenner for CO2? i'd rather pay £40 for argoshield. also pub gas has a high moisture content when compared to CO2 intended for welding. ****ty welds ahoy lol

[Angus Closier]

Our old plumber did what you where thinking burgo....he used to get given out of date co2 fire ext and use a regulator he modified to fit. Didnt work that well but it was all free.....Iv Got a bottle from a mate who renewed his contract and they didnt pick the old bottle up and we just get him to refil it when we need. So only pay £40 for the refil of argo shield. no bottle rentle as we dont have a contract!

[djbrowney]

the bloke next door to me used to use fire extingishers, i can see any reason why it wouldnt work. He did sugest it to me after seeing me using the small bottles !!!

[L14MNP]

Get friendly with a landlord. That's how I get my pub bottles supplied and refilled dude.

[smirty]

refilled with what though? tenner for CO2? i'd rather pay £40 for argoshield. also pub gas has a high moisture content when compared to CO2 intended for welding. ****ty welds ahoy lol

argosheild defintely better :thumb:

[burgo]

well im definitely going to go for my theory after finding out that the last co2 delivery for the garage my brother works at was actually a load of fire extinguishers. they have to hold the handle down with a cable tie lol

[GRUNT 16V]

HOW DO YOU THIBNK I FEEL! £70 A YEAR RENTAL AND £120 REFILL FOR PURE ARGON !!!!!!!!!!! (CAPS OFF) this is why ally welding is so fecking expensive!

[burgo]

why not buy a bottle then grunt so you dont have the rental costs

[mowgli]

refilled with what though? tenner for CO2? i'd rather pay £40 for argoshield. also pub gas has a high moisture content when compared to CO2 intended for welding. ****ty welds ahoy lol


did the welding gas rep tell you this?

[Mike]

You lot definetly must be doing something wrong then? I use disposable bottles & they last for bleeding ages!!! (With a disposable bottle me & Lee done around 6 hours near enough straight welding on a Saturday, then another 2 or 3 on the sunday & there were still some left in the bottle)

[MK999]

You lot definetly must be doing something wrong then? I use disposable bottles & they last for bleeding ages!!! (With a disposable bottle me & Lee done around 6 hours near enough straight welding on a Saturday, then another 2 or 3 on the sunday & there were still some left in the bottle)

I reckon you turned it on after hour 7 lol

[Mike]

I reckon you turned it on after hour 7 lol

lol lol

When I stop I always turn the gas off & unscrew the regulator.

[MK999]

lol lol

When I start I always turn the gas off & unscrew the regulator.

Ah so that's the secret! lol

[Mike]

Ah so that's the secret! lol

Could be lol saves any leaks draining the bottles out tho :thumb: (hobby MiG regulators tend to be utter turd).

[MK999]

Could be lol saves any leaks draining the bottles out tho :thumb: (hobby MiG regulators tend to be utter turd).

Note sneaky edit :p lol

[Mike]

Note sneaky edit :p lol

I did see that lol hence the "could be" reply lol lol lol

[burgo]

dunno how you manage that mike, i always unscrew them aswell but get bugger all out of them.

[MK999]

Mine dont even flow at the "recommended" 6lph (more like 1/4 of that) and I cooked 1 and a half doing the MOT repairs on mine.