When you just need a little.

[ltlvt]

I paid full rental about 10 years on a large bottle of Argon and used it one time in that 10 years. Got really tired of paying outrageous prices to lease oxy-acet ag-25 and Argon. So I turned them all in. I had the Oxy-Acte for 45 years. So about a month ago I bought my own Oxy-acte bottles and also bought this little Argon bottle. I finally got around to mounting it onto my tool cart today. I actually built the cart 50 years ago from old angle iron from a bed frame at the city dump. Used the front porch of the rent house we were living in as flat concrete to tack it together. So I felt like I should take my time and mount it so it didn't look too crappy. The picture of the remote foot pedal is for my tig contact and gas control on the little Miller Econo Tig. It was full of Mud Dauber nest. Mud daubers really love me. I left my hat out in the shop last week and today it had 2 mud dauber nest in it.

 

[RaisedByWolves]

Can you explain how the lease on the bottles works for me.

I have heard of this buy it makes absolute no sense to me.


Here you walk in and "buy" a bottle full of gas. When you need more you exchange the empty bottle for a full one and pay for the gas.

 

[Harry Knutz]

Can you explain how the lease on the bottles works for me.

I have heard of this buy it makes absolute no sense to me.


Here you walk in and "buy" a bottle full of gas. When you need more you exchange the empty bottle for a full one and pay for the gas.

Hardly any of the welding/gas houses have rental bottles anymore, At least not around here.

They used to call it Demurrage on rented tanks. My guess is a lot of bottles never were returned when someone moved away etc.

 

[markba633csi]

You should make a sci-fi movie: Attack of the mud daubers! rated R, some violence and stinging and mild profanity

 

[ltlvt]

Here Airgas has put almost all the welding supply companies out of business and they do not sell the bottles anymore. You must either rent or lease the bottles and also pay for the contents every time you get one refilled. The lease on my Oxy-Acte had gotten up to $180 USD for one year and same with the Argon and AG-25. So I was paying $360 USD a year for their bottles to sit in my shop. And now when you get one refilled it is an added $8 USD Hazmat fee. I paid $125 USD for the Oxy bottle I now own and I just pay for the contents when I get it refilled. No rental or lease charge because I own it. I also bought the Acte and Argon bottles for $100 USD. Same deal I get them refilled and only pay for the contents. I did this as a way to set up my son after I am gone. Airgas can and does refuse to refill bottles other than their own lease/rent bottles unless the customer has proof they own their own bottles and they refuse to sell any bottles to customers therefore forcing people to lease/rent. Really pi$$es me off when anyone tries to force me to do anything. I am too old for that $hit. Airgas is the Walmart of welding supplies.

 

[Harry Knutz]

Well Airgas has been bending everyone over with no lube for a long time, They keep buying up the competition and now you have no choice. They have been sued for overcharging and lost. They don't care.

What gets me also is the recertifying the tanks, It's a scam.

They don't care about the little guy at all, That's why they have price tiers. The little guy gets hosed everytime. The Dentist's are the ones that sued them for overcharging for gases and the Dentists won the case.

And that's why I cut with propane torches and a plasma cutter now instead of oxy-acetylene.

 

[woodchucker]

And that's why I cut with propane torches and a plasma cutter now instead of oxy-acetylene.

you can cut with propane? without oxy?

 

[ltlvt]

Well Airgas has been bending everyone over with no lube for a long time, They keep buying up the competition and now you have no choice. They have been sued for overcharging and lost. They don't care.

What gets me also is the recertifying the tanks, It's a scam.

They don't care about the little guy at all, That's why they have price tiers. The little guy gets hosed everytime. The Dentist's are the ones that sued them for overcharging for gases and the Dentists won the case.

And that's why I cut with propane torches and a plasma cutter now instead of oxy-acetylene.

I have a couple of Propane tips that are new but I have not used them yet. We used to use propane when I was a kid. Its okay for rough work but I like the razor edge on my cutting torch. I also have a plasma that does most of the light duty work. Hell now at my age everything I do is "Light Duty" LOL You are right about Airgas. I used a local welding supply owned and operated by a relative of my x wife for over 40 years and was always treated fairly. They got bought out by Airgas and Joey now works for Airgas. Its no different than big Grocery chains or Big Pharma chains and Big Agriculture chains. It's on the verge of ______unism. There I said it without being ____itical.

 

[Harry Knutz]

you can cut with propane? without oxy?

No, I still use oxy, But no acetylene. The last time I filled my acetylene bottle and they told me the price, It was stupid high. I asked the clerk why it was so high, He said there is only one place in Utah that makes it and that's in Salt Lake and they probably own it.

I filled my steelmix a while before that and same thing, Ridiculous price, I asked him about that, He said there is a shortage of it in the atmosphere or something to that effect, Total BS.

 

[ltlvt]

No, I still use oxy, But no acetylene. The last time I filled my acetylene bottle and they told me the price, It was stupid high. I asked the clerk why it was so high, He said there is only one place in Utah that makes it and that's in Salt Lake and they probably own it.

I filled my steelmix a while before that and same thing, Ridiculous price, I asked him about that, He said there is a shortage of it in the atmosphere or something to that effect, Total BS.

News Flash! The economy didn't just get this way it was created!