Welding cylinder

admin

So I have a 40cf welding cylinder that I used to fill with argon/co2 on the rare occasions that I wasn't using flux core. Now I have a more powerful machine and can use gas all the time so I bought a 125cf cylinder and wanted to use my old 40 for 100% argon. When I went to get them filled the guy said they couldn't do it because the co2 in the bottle contaminated it. My question is can I just peel off the sticker that says it used to be co2/argon and have him fill it with argon only like he never knew or does it really make that much of a difference? I bought a 20cf cylinder in the mean time to use while I figure something else out. Or is there a way to clean out the bottle? I guess I also don't understand why they say it's contaminated. We breath out co2 so there's plenty of co2 in the air that's already in the bottle when they fill it, even if it's brand new.
Reply:Take it somewhere else most places would have just swapped out your tank and given you one filled with what you wanted. If the place you went to fills them there then they may have limitations on what they can do. Leave the sticker on, some places won't touch a cylinder that is missing the sticker.
Reply:Agreed/ I'd simply take it elsewhere. My guy has no problems swapping one gas for another as long as the cylinders are of similar size. If the cylinders are different sized, I have to pay the difference in the cylinder sizes.As far as contamination, sounds like they don't vac the cylinders where you took it. A good shop would pull a vacuum on the cylinder and purge it, then it could easily be filled with 100% argon. If they just fill by cascade, then any residual gas in the cylinder would contaminate your new gas since they do nothing to remove the old gas 1st..No government ever voluntarily reduces itself in size. Government programs, once launched, never disappear. Actually, a government bureau is the nearest thing to eternal life we'll ever see on this earth! Ronald Reagan