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Hi, I retired a few ago from the Fire Dept. i put a lift in my garage and I just bought a lincoln weld pak 175hd. I got it at home depot for 540 after a military discount for the 4th. I want to do general welding with it. I'm building a hot rod. I need a tank for it I'll probably run 75/25 in it. Well anyway i'm looking for a 40 cu ft tank. do you think that's enough or should I buy a larger one.. I have a large co2 fire Extinguisher. Can I use that and install a argon type valve in it. Or is that not practical or dangerous. Would that bottle work. I use to replace valves in air tanks. That was just a thought, I probably should spring for a new one. Wheres a good place to get one and what does the gas cost. Do you guys rent your tanks or do you own them. I know we use to rent them. I have done tig mig and used a plasma cutter quite abit.  Is this welder any good. It was a good deal and I have a year to pay it off with no interest.Last edited by goriverman; 07-06-2006 at 06:50 PM.
Reply:Welcome goriverman.  Best to get the proper bottles.   Welding supply will be the place to go for the bottles and otehr supplies.  As far as rent or own,  its I think more dependant on your area and how you plan to use.   A lot of folks find buying is better, however, when you buy there is a huge upfront cost, plus the cost of retesting the bottle, which I believe is every 10 years.  Of course some distrubutors just swap, the bottle test is a very small fee applied to each swap.  This is in my opinion best way to go.  The rental is fine for big companies, who need a lot of bottles and swap em out often.  But for the occasional user its often better to buy.   THe size makes a big differnce too.   THe bigger the bottle, the cost will increase a small amount, but not much.  You get much more capacity for much less price on fill with a larger bottle.   Only catch is the upfront price.  That small little lincoln should do you a lot of good.  It will have limitation on the thicker, but you can do 1/4" without a lot of extra prep.  Some will give you differnt opinions on this, 1/4" is about the thickest I would say you w ould want to use.  You can do thicker with proper joint prep, however, from the sounds of it you will be fine for now.  As far as getting a bigger machine...WAIT.   You may find needing sometnhing bigger.  However, why bother until you find out what you need it for.   If you are doing stuff, like work on the hot rod, the 175 will be fine.  If you are planning to do farm repairs or stuff of that size, you will need bigger.  Stick it out, and  try to have some fun with it.   You may find you get a small stick welder to compliment it for the thicker stuff you cant get with the wire, and keep the wire.  You may want to go wtih a larger MIG with a spool gun or something.   Save your money, try it out see how it works and go from there.  Good luck !IF it Catches...Let it Burn
Reply:Hi thank you for the reply. I don't think i'll be welding anything thicker than 1/4 inch. I'm just curious what would happen if i ran straight argon. Would straight argon be that much more expensiveIve never tried that. I used argon when we welded alumnium. someone told me they did that once when they ran out of co2/ argon
Reply:argon / helium mix with a/c aluminum...(i use 38-62%with a little more heat  )...zap!I am not completely insane..Some parts are missing Professional Driver on a closed course....Do not attempt.Just because I'm a  dumbass don't mean that you can be too.So DON'T try any of this **** l do at home.
Reply:Zapster: are those figures for GTAW?GoRiverMan: CO2 cylinders, including those for fire extinguishers are relatively low pressure (around 500 PSI) tanks, as the bulk of the CO2 is stored as a liquid.  Argon is stored, like oxygen, as a high pressure gas, around 2200 PSI.For GMAW, straight argon is used for welding aluminum.  Steel requires some CO2 in the mix to get penetration.  Usually 25% CO2 (C-25 gas) is the best for short-circuit transfer, like your machine does primarily.  C-16 will work as well, if you're in one of those weird areas like mine where Airgas doesn't sell C-25.I prefer to own my own tanks, but everything has to be decided locally as to what is best for you.  But the bigger the tank, the less money you'll spend on gas (significantly.)