What's everyone paying for a bottle of MIG gas?

[z28snksknr]

No one seems to advertise prices online, and I know some people own bottles vs. lease them, so what's the ballpark cost here?

Coming from the other end, what can I get for $150 (size wise) if I don't have a bottle to fill?

I don't have many places clsoe to me, but my stepdad lives 2 min from an Airgas and is willing to pick me up a bottle, but I have no clue what size to tell him to get and I'm limited to $150 to spend on it.

 

[lametec]

Probably an 80cf bottle of C25 for that price. That's buying it outright. I believe I paid $140 for mine, about 3 years ago.

Why not just have him ask what size he can get for $150? Or call Airgas and ask yourself.

 

[dmeadow]

I just bought a #2 bottle from a Tractor Supply. Cost about $200. Refills are about $30. I think I saw a #1 at Northern Tool for $125, but that is a pretty small bottle.

 

[z28snksknr]

Probably an 80cf bottle of C25 for that price. That's buying it outright. I believe I paid $140 for mine, about 3 years ago.

Why not just have him ask what size he can get for $150? Or call Airgas and ask yourself.

I'm checking to make sure a sight-unseen $150 purchase will be sufficient for my needs. I also put more faith that the collective here has better information than what my stepfather will be able to gleen from the counter guy. I'd like to prep him before he goes and know what he's spending my money on. He is an EXTREMELY odd communicator.

 

[BLUBAYOU]

Can you just call and make the purchase, having him pick it up for you? If there isn't somewhere close by to get it filled, will it be a nuisance to have him bring it back to Airgas for refills each time, too? If so, you might want to save your pennies and get the biggest tank you can, so fills will be infrequent (unless you need portability).

As for cost/size, I bought an 80CF filled w/ C25 about a year ago for around that same price. I called on another welding shop yesterday looking for a spool gun and argon bottle and was given a price of $199 on the same 80CF filled with straight argon (for use with the spool gun on aluminum).

 

[Jack Olsen]

Definitely get on the phone first.

Where I live, Airgas is significantly more expensive than other suppliers. Get at least an 80cf tank. And ask how much they charge for refills.

Don't know who to call? CLICK HERE

 

[Falcon67]

My big bottle of mix is $50/year rent and I think it was $40 last swap. The supply place I use charges $250 for a certified bottle.

 

[toolman1967]

Just priced a 80cu ft bottle at Airgas, $220 to own it. $10 first fill, didnt ask about fill after that. that is for 75/25. Last fill of my CO2 was $28

 

[nate379]

Don't remember the cost, bought my tank many years ago, but I filled it up a few weeks ago and it was $60. 120cu/ft tank of C25

 

[z28snksknr]

Thanks for the info guys. I'll try to call when I get off work to get pricing. At least I got a good idea of what people are paying to know if I'm getting hosed or not.

 

[sdetweil]

I just paid $34 to refill my 80CF C25 tank last weekend.. Airgas distributor.

Sam

 

[Tom Hintz]

In my area, Concord, NC the only bottle lease deals have a big front end and are meant for factory settings rather than a home welder. I wound up buying a #3-sized bottle, full with argon/CO2 for around $330.00, refills are $30-something. After the first hit, its not bad at all and the exchange is quick, so far anyway. They always seem to have a bottle on hand for me, maybe just 'cause I'm cute.

 

[trackwelder]

$75.00 for a 300cuft 75/25 swap.

 

[brownbagg]

just remember if you buy a new bottle, they are going take it and give you a used bottle filled, so never buy a new bottle, they are not going fill it while you wait. just buy a use bottle. my bottle cost 150 dollars and then when I change them out, about forty

 

[ptschram]

I just this morning bought a "Q" sized bottle of tri-mix. It was $160 full.

My days of leasing bottles are long gone, although I do have a big inventory of them now.

 

[abrahamfh]

I use Airgas and I pay 48 dollars to fill my 40cfm 75% Argon 25% Cabon Dioxide tank. The tank itself was $150.00 and $24.00 for the initial fill up. Will be upgrading to the 80cfm very very soon. The 40cfm bottle maybe will last about a total of an hour worth of welding time if I am lucky, I think I might have a bad regulator. BLAW!

 

[BEAVO]

i just bought a 40cf tank with it full being $178 i think he said 30 something for refills at my local airgas dist

 

[abrahamfh]

i just bought a 40cf tank with it full being $178 i think he said 30 something for refills at my local airgas dist

Let me know how long it lasts you, I might end up shelling out the 120 bucks for a regulator at Airgas.

 

[BEAVO]

i have lower quarters,outer wheel wells and mini tubs to weld in my car so we will see if it last that long plus im going to make a welding cart my supplier is about 5 mins down road so if i run out i can be there and back with new tank in 15 min

 

[Cryptic1911]

I bought an 80cf tank for $146 filled. I forget what the refills will cost, but over 80cf you have to rent in this area

 

[ToolLover]

I am going to pass along a little known replacement for the 25/72 mix.
We were running seven mig welders and the gas cost was eating us alive. Seemed that gas truck was there constantly.
After giving the use of the gas some thought, I ordered a tank of CO2 and a box of flux core wire, I think .035.
I thought that bottle of CO2 would never empty as it lasted several times longer than the 25/27 mix.
The CO2 kept the tips cool and the flux core did the rest.
You guys might try it as it is cheaper and lasts longer.
The flo meter fits it well.

 

[nate379]

Sounds like something isn't right. My 120cu ft tank lasts me close to a 10lb spool of wire.

I use Airgas and I pay 48 dollars to fill my 40cfm 75% Argon 25% Cabon Dioxide tank. The tank itself was $150.00 and $24.00 for the initial fill up. Will be upgrading to the 80cfm very very soon. The 40cfm bottle maybe will last about a total of an hour worth of welding time if I am lucky, I think I might have a bad regulator. BLAW!

 

[lametec]

Shielding gas flow is typically set around 15-20cfh, so a 40cf bottle should last 2+ hours of trigger time.

 

[abrahamfh]

Shielding gas flow is typically set around 15-20cfh, so a 40cf bottle should last 2+ hours of trigger time.

Exactly what I thought, I have it set at 17cfh. Guess I am replacing the regulator.

 

[89GLH]

I pay around $50 for a 125cf bottle @ C&O Distributors. $60 a year to rent the bottle. Way cheaper than Airgas or Valley for a larger cylinder.

 

[Jack Olsen]

I am going to pass along a little known replacement for the 25/72 mix.
We were running seven mig welders and the gas cost was eating us alive. Seemed that gas truck was there constantly.
After giving the use of the gas some thought, I ordered a tank of CO2 and a box of flux core wire, I think .035.
I thought that bottle of CO2 would never empty as it lasted several times longer than the 25/27 mix.
The CO2 kept the tips cool and the flux core did the rest.
You guys might try it as it is cheaper and lasts longer.
The flo meter fits it well.

I'm all for inside tips. But there are a couple of things I'm not sure I'm understanding, here.

Flux core doesn't need any shielding gas. That's what the flux is there for (there are some dual-shield wires that are the exception to this). I don't understand the benefit from shielding flux core with any inert gas at all.

The flow meter doesn't care if it's C25 or CO2 or anything else -- CFM is CFM. Unless you reduce the flow, your CO2 is going to last just as long as your C25.

You can save some money by running CO2 instead of C25. It's cheaper, but you'll have to put up with messier welds.

You can save some money by running closer to 12 cfh than 20 cfh when you're working indoors and the air is fairly still.

But it could be I'm just misunderstanding your post. I'm just a hobbyist with a single MIG.

 

[rickairmedic]

Co2 generaly comes as a liquid and as you use it it turns to a gas so a 20CF tank of straight CO2 will infact last longer than a 20CF of C25. The reason for using the CO2 with the flux core is to keep the tips from overheating ( in a production environment ) . The main issue with Fluxcore and CO2 is splatter and extra heat which you dont want when doing sheetmetalwork. You can use and I have used Fluxcore to do sheetmetalwork ( buuut it is a major pain in the rear and I much prefer C25 and .023 wire when doing sheetmetalwork ) .


Rick

 

[Jack Olsen]

Okay. Looks like I'm missing the key measurement, which is how many CF of the gas are going to be available from the bottle. Otherwise it's not apples to apples. And it looks like tank size is not going to mean the same thing for both CO2 and C25.

I stand corrected.

 

[ptschram]

Wouldn't you know. That new bottle of gs I bought this morning was empty when I hooked it up to the welder!

Good thing I have an established relationship with the supplier and another tank of gas.

In 30 years, this is the third or fourth time this has happened.

 

[dladcock]

That's a good point. At work it's a pain to "Find" the tank is MT to start with, then take it outside, bring it in, hook up to find it's MT.

Going to the welding supply locally for home gas and finding out the tank is MT is ignorant on my part. I always crack the valve before it's put on the truck. Having a gauge on hand might be better, but if you weld a lot you know by the crack if it's full or not.

 

[6530]

In the last few weeks I bought several full bottles. I bought a 160cf argon for $100 and a 160cf 75/25 also for $100.

 

[toolman1967]

I use Airgas and I pay 48 dollars to fill my 40cfm 75% Argon 25% Cabon Dioxide tank. The tank itself was $150.00 and $24.00 for the initial fill up. Will be upgrading to the 80cfm very very soon. The 40cfm bottle maybe will last about a total of an hour worth of welding time if I am lucky, I think I might have a bad regulator. BLAW!

Just had a regulator rebuilt at the local Airgas. $50 and it looks BRAND NEW. They said it would take about a month and I got it back in a week and a half. I had just bought it on CL for $10 as a back up.

 

[Group B]

Wouldn't you know. That new bottle of gs I bought this morning was empty when I hooked it up to the welder!

Good thing I have an established relationship with the supplier and another tank of gas.

In 30 years, this is the third or fourth time this has happened.

That happened to me at my supplier, they gave me an empty tank. Luckily they trusted me and swapped me out a full tank. The next time they gave me the wrong mix, It only took a few arcs to realize it was Argon not C25. Now I double check the gas sticker and have them check it with a gauge before I take it, which they have no problem with.

I think my 80Cf Cylinder was around $130 5 years ago. The local welding suppliers seem to be cheaper than Airgas or the other giant industrial suppliers.

 

[ptschram]

That's a good point. At work it's a pain to "Find" the tank is MT to start with, then take it outside, bring it in, hook up to find it's MT.

Going to the welding supply locally for home gas and finding out the tank is MT is ignorant on my part. I always crack the valve before it's put on the truck. Having a gauge on hand might be better, but if you weld a lot you know by the crack if it's full or not.

I sent my tech to get the tank and he is not a welder-LOL.

He's taking it back Monday morning, they're expecting him and have a full tank for me.

 

[sharkytm]

I hate to bump an old topic, but I just about had a heart attack when I swapped my 150CF C25 tank yesterday at Airgas. $109 with tax for a REFILL. Good god, that seems expensive to me.

::edit:: Yep, insanely expensive. I just called another supplier. $25 for the refill, $35 for the year lease.

 

[IndyGarage]

I refilled (actually exchanged) my 80cf Tig tank with argon last week for about $34 plus tax.

I don't really like that tank - it's too small. One time I went to exchange and they didn't have any 80s, so he gave me the next larger size and I liked it much better.

My big MIG tank - don't know what the size is cost about $80 for 75/25 last summer.

 

[sharkytm]

This is really weird. I know gas prices very by region, and obviously they charge less per unit of gas in a larger tank than a smaller tank (time and labor to hook up the tanks is the same, so they charge more for smaller tanks), but I'm seeing pricing all over the board. I called Airgas and verified that I didn't get overcharged (I was swapping a tank that I had no paperwork on, so I was wondering if they were charging me an additional fee). Nope, $94 for a 160CF tank is what it costs.

I did a bunch of research online, and I'm seeing costs from $25 to $90 for a 160CF (or equivalent). An 80CF refill runs $15-$45. This is double the volume, so $90 doesn't seem crazy. I'm gonna call my LWS back and make sure that's the correct price, no gimmicks. If that's the case, I'll be leasing a cylinder and keeping this as an emergency spare.

::edit:: Just got off the phone with the LWS. $35/yr on the lease for a 150CF or 300CF tank, and $40/$70 to fill with 75/25. Amazing, I'll be on my way tomorrow morning to get a 300CF tank.

 

[Ferrino]

I'm in San Diego and am looking to pick up my first bottle of C25. Best price I've found is at Praxair - $220 for a full 80cf bottle that I own and $60 for refills. I know it's possible to save money by buying a used cylinder and exchanging it for a filled one, but I've not seen anything in the size I want (55-80 cf) come up lately. The other option is this used 55cf cylinder which would come in at $150 filled ($100 purchase + $50 fill):

http://www.usaweld.com/Gas-Bottle-Refurbished-p/99900.htm

 

[OccupantRJ]

Bumping this old thread. I just swapped a 160 cu ft mig gas bottle yesterday at ARC3, my local dealer. It was $40 plus tax.

 

[MJD1]

Got a quote yesterday for a size T( 330 cubic ft) of stainless tri mix, 310$. Same size , Argon or c-25 approximately 35$.