Bottle Fill Sticker Shock

[Wamsutta]

$116 today. They said $280 without a commercial account.

The last time filled was only $63. Bottle size 125 cu.ft.

They said the cost of argon has gone up. Don't they manufacture their own argon?

 

[Rccrawlerguy]

You are getting Effed without Vaseline. I am in Central PA ,I just paid $59 for a 300cuft of 75/25 and $79 for 300cuft of 100% argon. That was at Airgas. I do have a "commercial account" but all that took was them asking me if I have a commercial account, I said no. They asked if I wanted to setup one.. Sure.

 

[Wamsutta]

^
I went to the local Airgas just like you did. Maybe it's a regional thing.

 

[drtyler]

They probably remembered you and doubled the cost.

 

[Chris_Hamilton]

Standard Argon or one of the higher purity levels?

 

[Wamsutta]

^
I'm assuming standard argon. I didn't know about a higher purity level. The bottle was a 75/25 fill.

 

[Chris_Hamilton]

^
I'm assuming standard argon. I didn't know about a higher purity level. The bottle was a 75/25 fill.

Oh. That's Argon/CO2 mix. Assuming you are MIG welding. Yeah that's really overpriced. Last fill with same size bottle for me was $68. Standard purity argon just a touch higher on refill recently.

I thought you were buying straight argon. It comes in three varieties. Standard, and two higher purity levels above that. The high purity argon are more expensive than the standard.

 

[strength_and_power]

Airgas is by far the most expensive. A 125cf Boyle is an owner bottle so you can go to any welding supply for a swap.

 

[Sumboodie]

Paid $108 for a 150 cu ft last week at Central Welding which is usually a fair bit cheaper than Weld Air.

 

[3baygarage]

Hair gone? Or Argon?

One is more expensive.

Where's the wink imoge. The toolbar is down lol.

 

[Wamsutta]

Oh. That's Argon/CO2 mix. Assuming you are MIG welding. Yeah that's really overpriced. Last fill with same size bottle for me was $68. Standard purity argon just a touch higher on refill recently.

I thought you were buying straight argon. It comes in three varieties. Standard, and two higher purity levels above that. The high purity argon are more expensive than the standard.

They were originally going to charge me $280. They managed to bring the price down somehow. I suppose I should be grateful.

 

[OccupantRJ]

Last I bought here 2 years ago from Arc3 supply was $45 for 160 cu ft. I have not bought any since then.

 

[vwpieces]

One reason I bought a Cheap china pilot arc plasma.
Oxy set empty and outdated, and no reason to refill until absolutely necessary. Should sell it.
My argon mix tank IS getting low and I cringe at the refill bill. Rarely use a welder and the tank has lasted me 20yrs. 125c/ft
Straight argon is full and rarely use the Tig too.
Just bought a roll of flux core wire for the old Hobart 135 cause a buddy needs me to tack a few things on a pallet rack he will use as a wheel rack. Don't want to lug a gas cylinder 3 hr round trip inside a car or van, no pickup truck. Never used flux core and lousy reviews on Vulcan, Hobart and the TSC Jobsmart. Lowes had Lincoln at 2x the price, $25 for One pound roll. Setting up welder to give it a test at this very moment. But certainly no savings on flux core compared to gas refill.

 

[Wamsutta]

I guess next time I'll just drive around to all the gas suppliers and get prices.

I have to be sure to tell them I own the bottle and they must not lose it !

 

[OccupantRJ]

I guess next time I'll just drive around to all the gas suppliers and get prices.

I have to be sure to tell them I own the bottle and they must not lose it !

Put a piece of masking tape on the bottle with your name written on it with a sharpie? I own my bottle but just swap for a fresh one in minutes each time. Theirs look better than my original one, and the certs are always up to date that way.

 

[brandonsmash]

In the past 15 years I've never had a bottle filled, only swapped. Those prices for 75/25 are outrageous. What's happening in Amarillo that your costs are 1.5-2x higher than anywhere else?

 

[speed bump]

It has gone up for sure but $119 ain't cheap, looking at our airgas account we are $38 or that size. I wish it made more sense for me to use our work commercial account but for the 1-2 bottles a year I use it doesn't.

 

[GaryM909]

I just paid $85cad for mig mix about a month ago. $62usd

 

[Wrench97]

I guess next time I'll just drive around to all the gas suppliers and get prices.

I have to be sure to tell them I own the bottle and they must not lose it !

You could use a phone to call around first.....
Last bottle I got 3 months ago was $64

 

[Wamsutta]

You could use a phone to call around first.....
Last bottle I got 3 months ago was $64

Don't they quote you higher prices over the phone than if you were standing there in person?

 

[welder4956]

My last bottle of 75/25 was $53.89 for a 125 CF bottle in February of this year.

Edit: That was at Airgas in Pelham, AL.

 

[OccupantRJ]

Don't they quote you higher prices over the phone than if you were standing there in person?

Just like auto parts when pricing, they usually ask who you are or do you have an account.

 

[Wrench97]

Don't they quote you higher prices over the phone than if you were standing there in person?

Not if they are quoting off a price sheet, I've not seen a corp store quote different prices over the phone and in person, If you can bargain in person you stand a better chance on the phone since you are not "already there" and might as well spend $10 more then to go somewhere else.

 

[Wamsutta]

Just like auto parts when pricing, they usually ask who you are or do you have an account.

I just got off the phone with Linde. They quoted me $65 to fill a 125CF bottle that he said was an ' M ' size. Seems too good to be true.

 

[OccupantRJ]

I just got off the phone with Linde. They quoted me $65 to fill a 125CF bottle that he said was an ' M ' size. Seems too good to be true.

I was able to establish a credit card account with my local welding supply. You may be able to go in and do this and gain better pricing than as a walk-in. That will depend on the supplier.

 

[bdbecker]

I just got off the phone with Linde. They quoted me $65 to fill a 125CF bottle that he said was an ' M ' size. Seems too good to be true.

Linde's "M" size is listed as 124 cu ft. I don't know why they use letters instead of numbers, but it really doesn't matter here. That price seems legit enough.

Product Detail | Linde Gas & Equipment Inc.

www.lindedirect.com

After the Air Liquide buyout, Airgas has slowly been (if you can believe it) getting worse. They always treated me pretty well when I was managing weld supplies at work, but now that they are part of a big, international corporation, their hands are tied when it comes to taking care of their customers. While I'm not in that role anymore, I know we've significantly reduced our spend with them. We've shifted our gas business to a competitor, started buying directly from our wire manufacturer, and have been entertaining options from other suppliers for the rest of our consumables.

 

[cannuck]

Another Air Liquide customer here. They will no longer fill my bottles, so have to lease tanks from them. They just jerked the price up some more and cost close to $70 a bottle per year (that's $50 in real money). After 45 years thinking of moving on.