Welder Questions

[Hortons Heroes]

I need some spoon feeding.
I just bought a mig/flux welder.
I used the flux a bit and it's as messy as they say. I was wondering if the mig gas tank can be bought or do you have to always rent?

[fj1200]

You can buy the bottles. You can use co2. co2/argon mix or argon by itself.
co2/argon is the best allround, co2 is the cheapest, and argon is the most expensive. Yet it is the one to get if you plan on doing any TIG welding in the future. Oh, don't weld in the wind. Another one I was told is "never pull your wire" , push it.

[Hortons Heroes]

excellent, do you recommend anywhere in particular to buy from? If someone is getting great service I will happily support that place.

I plan to run some heavier gauge wire  and a 20amp fuse at the pannel tomorrow night.

[Dennis]

I have an account with Praxair.  They took over Canadian Cylinder and Gas (I think that was what they were called).  Once they took over, Praxair started being open on Saturday, which is the only reason I previously dealt with Canadian Cylinder and Gas; I do most my hobby stuff on the weekends, and running out of welding gas on a Friday night can spoil a weekend of choppin'.

I had previously purchased my tank from CC&G and the new account at Praxair seems to honour that system.  I had to get a new bottle a couple of weeks ago.  They exchanged the empty with a full bottle, but charge for a re-fill.  Give Praxair a call for details on being a new customer.  Someone told me they prefer to do the rental, which for most hobbiest kinda sucks.  I did not shop around for prices.  For me, it was all about being able to buy gas on the weekend.

Peace & Gas, Dennis

[fj1200]

Air Liquide is just behind Praxair in Lyon street. I have good success with them as well. What I have done is buy 2 "B" size tanks. Then when run runs out I switch to the other then take the empty in to be refilled. Has worked out well for the past 30 years.

[Hortons Heroes]

Air Liquide
3 foot tall tank
$280 with first fill and tank ownership
$70 a fill after that (they just give you a new tank that is filled)

Praxair
2 1/2 foot tank
$230 for tank ownership
$65 for fill

Both of these were for c75 (75% argon and 25% Co2

[stikman]

$280 / 3 = $93.33

$93.33 x 2.5 = $233.33

That makes Praxair $3 cheaper at $230 per 2.5' tank for the initial cost.


$70 / 3 = $23.33

$23.33 x 2.5 = $58.33

$65 - $58.33 = $6.67

That makes Air Liquide cheaper by $6.67 per 2.5' tank at each refill, making Air Liquide the cheaper overall option (assuming the tank height is equally relative to bottle capacity).


/boringmaths

[Dennis]

Any cute girls work at Liquid Air? There are none at Praxair.  For this price difference I need more of an incentive to switch.  It would be fun to talk about long cylinders and nozzles with an attractive woman.  Imagine discussing best temperature settings and wire feed rates for maximum penetration. 

Peace & Grease, Dennis