anyone buy welding gas lately????

dodge trucker

Tractorologist
Member
not happy.... I mean, I'm glad I was able to get what I needed with all of this COVID crap going on, and all....
but the sticker shock.... yikes.
I went to the local AIRGAS place earlier today, a place I have been buying from for many years. though I know, I aint exactly in there every day, but enough for the guys behind the counter to know me by name, when I do go in.
being I got this week off of work, due to this COVID business, and the weather is more like I'd of expected for 2 months ago, I've been working in the garage with the heat on.... I got my old '85 D-150 into the garage a couple days ago, and on the lift. Today's project so far, to make some new exhaust for it, I ran out of Argon + CO2 mix for the MIG. about 1/2 way thru. partly thanks to my kid, who miles to come back home and use up my consumables..... nother story there.

but the price for the MIG gas bottle.... ... I don't remember this gas being THAT much, the last time.... which, as I remember, was about 1-1/2 years ago...…. maybe less, again thanks to the kid using it up.
First I seen the "OPEN" sign.... whew.... I usually have a tough time catching them open because at around noon (when I was there today) I am usually at work 35 miles away.... I get my empty cyl out of the bed of my truck.... side door I usually use, locked. Went up front, locked but there's a phone number on the door and I can see people inside.... getting aggravated.... Pat, the guy I usually see there, picks up phone and motions me to call... so I did...
I told him I had a bottle out back that I needed swapped out, he comes out and sees what it is, brings me a fresh bottle to the gate.... I ask for a couple of flapper wheels and some safety glasses, Pat took my debit card and comes back with it + the reciept + what I asked for.... he left, I looked at receipt,
$96 for the fresh bottle of gas.... YIKES.... BUT THAT ISNT ALL..... $23.and some chance "HAZARDOUS MATERIAL FEE" on top of that?? That's before tax. and about another 25%, of what the fresh bottle of gas cost me....I'm not quite 6' tall, this bottle is about chest tall on me..... 139 SCF... 72.725 lb., according to receipt... same size bottle I have had all along, since shortly after buying this MIG. I got a much smaller bottle the 1st time, then moved up on 1st fill, on 2nd fill I went to this size bottle, and have had this size ever since..... and 2 flapper wheels for my angle grinder... $10 a PIECE? W T F???

Talk about screwing/gouging.... is this pretty typical pricing, where you guys live?

I bought my MIG from them 20+ years ago brand new, my oxy acetylene torch kit, hoses, gauges and tanks came from them..... seems like acetylene is going up too, from last fill/ but still did not seem THIS crazy of price....
and I did look back in the forum here, when I got home from that gouging..... looked up that 10 disc trial deal that was posted here a while back and ordered my trial pack….
 
$75 CDN for this bottle, with a extra discount! I quit using acetylene, oxygen/ propane cheaper
I only fill maybe once a year.
 

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That's what I paid last week for exchange on a big bottle of 75/25. $43.28

I pay $6.71 for an exchange of oxygen and 43.25 for acetylene.

Not sure if he is giving me a discount or not. I went to high school with his kids and have been buying gas for work from him since 2003.
 
I bought gas about a year ago. Thinking it was 70 bucks for the smaller 60# cylinder.
And yea flap wheels are very expensive depending on where you buy. Local hardware stores are probably in that price range.
 
Oh yeah Aaron you are getting a big discount. Big. the haz mat fee that they're charging me alone, is almost what you paid for the whole fill.
75/25 is exactly what I get.
Even when I got the tri mix it never was anywhere near this much.
 
Oh yeah Aaron you are getting a big discount. Big. the haz mat fee that they're charging me alone, is almost what you paid for the whole fill.
75/25 is exactly what I get.
Even when I got the tri mix it never was anywhere near this much.

Is that hazmat fee an Illinois thing?

I'm going to have to check the invoices for the mine gas delivery and see if there is anything on there.
 
$75 CDN for this bottle, with a extra discount! I quit using acetylene, oxygen/ propane cheaper
I only fill maybe once a year.


I use Blue shield 8 which is a 75/25 mix here & I have a #50 bottle that I use (10.28 m3 370.99 scf) It's the larger industrial size that I exchange at a local spot(saves me a yearly contract on the tank). He calls Praxair at the time of purchase to get price on a refill & that's what he charges me, I'll have to look but I think last time it was over $200 Canadian with a discount, so factor in exchange 200/1.41=$142 US but this is the large bottle.

The bottle Jazz hazz (has) is a 16= 7.75 m3 99.26 scf

Edit: Aaron's receipt says a 200, looks to be the same size as my bottle...holy s&*t $100 US more here! I know I'm getting a good deal on mine but that still makes me sick lol.
 
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UN1956.. same stuff I got.....
my kid just got a MIG of his own, wants to use my new bottle to test out his new machine..... "before he spends the money on a bottle for himself" I gotta wonder... is that after he empties this one out for me????? I dunno about that
 
UN1956.. same stuff I got.....
my kid just got a MIG of his own, wants to use my new bottle to test out his new machine..... "before he spends the money on a bottle for himself" I gotta wonder... is that after he empties this one out for me????? I dunno about that
Can he run flux core thru it. ?? Otherwise I'd tell him to bring the machine over your place..
 
He bought the machine, now expects you to provide the gas for him. Otherwise he would have bought the gas with the unit. Just my thoughts.
he bought his machine used from one of his neighbors.... no way TO buy gas with the unit
not holding my breath if it came to this, but the neighbor "guaranteed" the kid his money back if it were to be a dud.... I don't know his neighbors but these days" I aint holding my breath.... I would hate to see him buy/lease a bottle, then find out this machine IS a dud.
 
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Can he run flux core thru it. ?? Otherwise I'd tell him to bring the machine over your place..
IDK if he can run flux core, his unit is bigger than mine, as well as a lot older....I bought mine new back around 1997.... the one he bought is much older going by the style of logo and such.... His is a Miller and so is mine, they are both MIG, otherwise they are different as night and day.
Him bringing his unit here would mean I would have to go out to his place plus find another guy to be able to get it in the back of the truck...
he wheeled it down the street from the neighbor's house to his....
whether I use it or he uses the contents of my bottle, that has nothing to do with the thought that the welding place screwed me....
The only good thing about this place is back when I bought the machine, they gave me the bottle with no papers, saying that "youre gonna have to come back when you run out anyway so were not worried about papers"..... if I go to the "other place in town" I hear they are cheaper on exchanges but are sticklers for requiring me to buy or lease the bottle, besides what the gas costs.....
 
Our local welding supply charges haz mat fee on everything. I can see somethings but haz mat for a roll of mig wire or a wire brush kind of frosts my cookie. About all I buy there now is gas.
 
What burns my butt is a haz-mat charge on oxygen.
My mig is flux core only as my regulator on the gas is bad.

I did buy a tank of acetylene this week. VERY small tank about knee high and 6 inch diameter. $54 with "no receipt" which is supposed to be cheaper. Should come with a complementary 55 gallon drum of KY Jelly.
 
but those mini torches don't come close to the job that an oxyfuel torch will....
I also have an acetylene tank I bought for $4 at an auction last year, its out of juice but it has a regulator hose and torch head, its supposed to work w/o also being hooked to an O2 tank.... I am not sure how....I haven't tried to fill this tank yet, its about knee high.
in the past Ive tried to do what I need to with a straight acetylene flame, other than the crazy amount of soot it puts off, it don't work the same without the O2 component.... I have friends that have small "mini" oxy acetylene sets, one guy I know has a set that uses a MAPP bottle with an O2 bottle...
 
You could always go propane and o2.

That would be cheaper.


We have those Lincoln or Victor sets at work. They work great but you have to be super conservative with your flame. A guy who can't cut will run out of gas super quick
 
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