Acetylene cylinder question?

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I got an anetelene cylinder from a friend and the tank is rusted alittle. Its smaller maybe around 2 1/2 to 3 ft tall. Could i just take this to my welding distributor and would they buy it back from me. I have to check the numbers but i think its in test date. I noticed the sticker on it that says acetelene but its from a different gas distributor then mine. Its olny on the stick not the tank though. What should i do?Thanks ShaneYa gotta spend money to make money!
Reply:I have taken old bottles into my local shop in various conditions and traded them in for other bottles, sometimes different sizes or types.   Not all shops would be as good to me as my primary local shop, becuase I do fair amount of business with them, but most shops will trade bottles around, sometimes with a fee.MM350P/Python/Q300MM175/Q300DialarcHFHTP MIG200PowCon300SMHypertherm380ThermalArc185Purox oaF350CrewCab4x4LoadNGo utilitybedBobcat250XMT304/Optima/SpoolmaticSuitcase12RC/Q300Suitcase8RC/Q400Passport/Q300Smith op
Reply:I'll have to get a pic. Im going to try to clean some of the rust off with a wire brush. Should i bother to throw some red paint(the old paint is red) on it or just leave it?(would anyone care if it was newly painted red) I still have to check if its in a current test date though.Ya gotta spend money to make money!
Reply:Okay guys heres some pics i took. What do you think, is it a waste of time to mess with. Heres what the numbers say on itA-11330627-1CoyneDot-85 71Last edited by welderShane; 12-13-2010 at 10:45 PM.Ya gotta spend money to make money!
Reply:I would take it the way it is. If they won't take it from you, your not out any labor or anything. I know for a fact, my LWS (ARCET) wouldn't take it if it wasn't theirs. Though Northern might take it?  Bruce The Welding ChefLincoln Weld-Pack 3200 NORWELD StickStanford Hill Farm
Reply:I would try to use it up if you cant get an exchange Provided that the the valve is clean.  The tank itself looks as though it may have spent its life in a Steel Plant by the looks of the rust blooms.   Can you own a cylinder in Pennsylvania? In  most of Canada we cannot.
Reply:In pa (well for me) its about 80cf or lower you can own. This is already empty. Im trying to turn it in, in hopes to get an argon cylinder. Im pretty sure this is a 40cf, so im hoping to get an 40cf argon cylinder.Ya gotta spend money to make money!
Reply:Leave it the way it is.Most companies are strict about ownership.
Reply:Originally Posted by pistolnoonLeave it the way it is.Most companies are strict about ownership.
Reply:Yes and $60.00/month demurge.
Reply:Shane,That first figure is the tank serial number and Coyne is the maker. It is a customer owned bottle; it never belonged to a company like Linde or Airco. It appears to have been made and first tested in 1971, but not been tested since then.I am not sure, but think the 27-1 is the empty weight (empty of gas but w/ full charge of acetone).Here in California, I can own any 'reasonable' size bottle. I think the city could object to a 'Dewar' truck of Nitrogen parked in the the driveway.  My LWS can exchange any customer-owned bottles, but can be fined heavily for having a bottle which belongs to a competitor, meaning a leased bottle from a company the LWS doesn't do business with/for.If that were my bottle, I would clean it up enough to make it look presentable, but not paint it. If the LWS won't take it, I would keep it and try another shop later.
Reply:Where's the threads to screw the lid on it? I haven't seen one you couldn't put the protective cap on.HH 187Miller Bluestar1EAHP AlphaTig 200X
Reply:That's a "B" sized 40CF cylinder.  It does not have a threaded on protective cap, because its too small.  It is commonly used by plumbers.Don't worry about rust, or the test date.  That's not a big deal on an acetylene tank, and the LWS will NOT want to see something painted over.I would not expect this to "trade in" for an Argon tank (of any size) though.
Reply:Turn it into a gong or garden bell?Bruce The Welding ChefLincoln Weld-Pack 3200 NORWELD StickStanford Hill Farm
Reply:can Acetylene tanks be tracked by the serial number?
Reply:Here near Dallas I could take that to my LWS and trade it in without any questions. If it was out of date you just pay $15 more for the exchange. I have exchanged bottles that looked a lot worse than that and nobody blinked an eye.I have a deal with the local scrap yard that all cylinders he gets are mine for $5 no matter what they are. It is a small place and he does not get many but that is how I got all my tanks. I have traded up in size if they did not have the same size as me, I just paid for the extra gas.As long as the company on the ring is no longer in business, these guys will exchange the tank.I have a 330cf C25 tank that is mine, not a rental.
Reply:Originally Posted by Bob WarnerHere near Dallas I could take that to my LWS and trade it in without any questions. If it was out of date you just pay $15 more for the exchange. I have exchanged bottles that looked a lot worse than that and nobody blinked an eye.As long as the company on the ring is no longer in business, these guys will exchange the tank.I have a 330cf C25 tank that is mine, not a rental.
Reply:I use the smaller #1 & #2 bottles for my torch setup.  I have one set from Airgas and another from Gas Pony, and they seem to never check the bottles.  You can swap your gas pony bottles at Northern Tool and Tractor Supply (their are other places also).  Gas Pony has no policy on their 1&2 bottles, and I have found they people who work at T.S. and N.T. have no clue about what to look for on the cylinders.  If you get rejected at your supplier, you probably could slip it by at a Northern Tool or Tractor Supply.
Reply:The suppliers in my area will not take in a bottle with that much rust on it, a little surface rust they don't mind but when the bottle gets bad enough and starts to pit they will not exchange it whether it is in test date or not.I am what I am, Deal with it!If necessity is the Mother of Invention, I must be the Father of Desperation!