Own or Rent? Local or Chain?

[boykjo]

Thanx...........

[boykjo]

Wait a minute............ If clinders are mesured in cubic ft and a cubic ft is 1'x1'x1' then my 120 cylinder would be as big as a car?..... or is the 120 a 1.20 cubic ft?.......

[whateg0]

The volume is for a given pressure, which I believe is atmospheric at sea level, so when compressed it takes less space.

Dave

[Garfield]

[boykjo]

OK. I got it.....

Thanks for the chart................... It will come in handy...

[whateg0]

Thanks for posting that chart! I have some of these written down, or something close, but I've never come across a chart that had it all in one place. That's great!

Dave

[Garfield]

You can also click here
for other good info.

[cpurvis]

The lack of standardization between brands is amazing. A "K" cylinder at Praxair is completely different than a "K" at Scott.

Acquiring cylinders seems to be the single most painful part of getting into an OA system.

Where I live, every supplier is parochial as all get-out and will only exhange their own or just a few others. Other places will only rent and nobody will exchange their cylinders.

I bought a pair of used cylinders today after looking for months on craig's list. Not a single person selling bottles on craig's list could tell me where they had the bottles refilled or produce any ownership papers. I have to wonder if most of that stuff isn't being fenced.

I bought the pair today from a little place that is a gas supplier with the express condition that I be able to exchange them later. I must have asked this four or five times to make DAM sure that won't be a problem later.

Another thing to look for is the markings on the cylinders. They tell a lot:
http://www.airgas.com/content/detail...=7000000000243
It tells me that the oxygen cylinder I bought is out of certification so I will probably have to pay for a re-cert when I exchange it.

[Knowledgeworker]

Hey Garfield,

Thanks for the chart. I always wondered about all the sizes that were being discussed. I didn't realize that the different suppliers each had their own system of tank identification.

Jim

[prowess]

Nice Chart! Thanks. Always handy.

BTW, as discussed in other posts, it's not a piece of cake for any company to fill an ACE tank. Takes a while, and has to be done right as you can imagine. It's NOT like filling a propane tank for your backyard grill. It's a long process. You don't just hook-up and pump in the acetylene at high pressure in a few minutes. Remember, there's acetone/filler in those tanks for a reason (see below). That's ONE of the reasons you swap-em-out VS waiting around for a refill. You could be waiting a week or more, depending on the LWS/Company/Facility, etc. My LWS has to ship to their main location, 20 miles away. I guess the manager would fill a specific tank for me if I wanted to wait a week, but he's probably say "Why? I got refills here you can swap out right now."

I know some want a new shiny bottle. Me? As long as the bottle is safe and flows gas, I'm happy! I'm only concerned with safety, not asthetics.

Assume everyone knows this, however, here's a 10 second primer on ACE tanks and why there is acetone/firebrick(filler) in them:

Acetylene burns in air readily, and is most safely hand-
led/stored in cylinders filled with crushed firebrick wet with acetone.
Acetylene happens to dissolve readily into acetone, and the dissolved gas is
no longer in contact with gaseous O2 (which does not tend to dissolve in
acetone) and therefore is not as prone to decomposition by O2. The firebrick
also helps by minimizing the free volume of the cylinder, cooling and
controlling any thermal decomposition before it gets out of control (each
decomposition of acetylene gives off heat).

[crawler]

Originally Posted by cpurvis

I bought a pair of used cylinders today after looking for months on craig's list. Not a single person selling bottles on craig's list could tell me where they had the bottles refilled or produce any ownership papers. I have to wonder if most of that stuff isn't being fenced.

I would not expect anyone to be able to produce ownership papers unless they purchased the cylinders recently. Most of the used cylinders I have seen are out of test and will require a re-certification which costs $22 per cylinder in the Dallas area.

[cpurvis]

The place I bought the cylinders from made good on their word. I swapped out my empty "Jay-Ox" cylinder for a full Praxair cylinder that was certified in '06. $20 for a 251 cu ft cylinder swap; I didn't think that was bad.

I almost strained my milk hoisting that puppy in and out of the truck bed, though.

[Rocky D]

Originally Posted by cpurvis

...
I almost strained my milk hoisting that puppy in and out of the truck bed, though.

Strained milk??? Hhmmm, interesting phrase....point noted, however. Not much has been said about handling the big tanks, and should be since we all think of safety first. When raising a tank that big always use you thigh as a fulcrum, rock the tank back to raise it enough to have it set in your running gear on the machine...for putting one into a truck bed...use the same principle, lay it over onto the tailgate and then pick up the bottom. NEVER lift a tank up by the cap!!!!!!!! Too many guys have lost teeth doing just that!

[tailshaft56]

Good point Rocky! Been here on the boards about four years and I don't remember anyone mentioning that.

[whateg0]

Originally Posted by crawler

I would not expect anyone to be able to produce ownership papers unless they purchased the cylinders recently...

I considered buying a MM175 recently with a 150CF owner Airgas bottle. Ended up not getting it, because it was about $50 above a deal. But that bottle had just been bought about 6 months ago, and the guy didn't have any papers.

Dave