specialized argon cylinder

admin

Hey guys,Ive been reading the posts for a while gathering as much info as I can and its been a great help. Ive been looking for an argon cylinder for a while on ebay, do I have to get a cylinder specialized for argon and argon mixes or does it not matter? Thanks in advance any info would be great.
Reply:You can take your 75/25 and get it refilled with pure argon and vice versa.But I think buying a tank off of ebay would be comparable to buying dirty underwear there.1.  You might get a lease tank and you supplier is obligated to take your bottle and leave you with nothing.2.  You might get a bottle out of date and need to get it tested.3.  You might get a bottle with a gas nipple and you think you're buying an oxygen etc.I purchased an owner bottle set in California in the early seventies.  I'm still changing out those puppies and the last twenty years I've been in Texas.I once had a customer ask me if I wanted about ten bottles left in lease building by a contractor.   I hauled them to my welding supply.  I ended up one of the large oxygen bottles was a customer owned.  The rest were lease tanks and went back to Linde or whomever.But three weeks ago in the middle of that clean up I'm involved with I found two one hundred cubic foot acetylene tanks.  They were customer owned and I'm having them tested and filled.  Even a blind hog will find an acorn on occasion. life is good
Reply:I'd go with harv on that e-bay issue. Exception might be if they were a known vendor of such things, but other than that you're gonna want a bill of sale that means something. Bill of sale with corresponding Cert and DOT numbers. Some suppliers can be a real pain on little things but on the other hand a lot of rental tanks get up and walk off. Even just ten years ago advice woulda been different. Things are changing.
Reply:In some things in life your relationships are more important than the nickels and dimes.  Customer owned bottles is one of those things.I had a good working relationship with one vendor for about ten years.  Then one day working out of town I needed to change out a bottle.  I found out that I had a lease bottle, in fact all of my bottles were lease bottles.  So I was out of luck.  I couldn't get them changed out until I got back to Dallas.  If something happened to that particular manager of that particular branch I might have a problem since they'd been giving me their lease bottles for years and I didn't know it.I have a new vendor.These are my property.  And they aren't cheap.  And I don't want to be put in a bind if they are in one.  Point being.   It isn't like it used to be.  Where when you went into your welding supply you could not only get supplies but advice that you could take to the bank.  But still your best buy when you look at the big picture is your welding supply.  Overall you're going to save money in the long run.  And you're going to be getting the stuff you need, not the stuff that Home Depot, Tractor Supply, or Lowes can sell a zillion dollars worth a week.Ebay?  That's where I buy my diecast NASCAR cars and Ertl 57 chevy flatbed trucks.life is good