Old gas?

[Mikes82GT]

Mig welding shielding gas. Is there such a thing as it going bad?
I've got a 80 cf bottle of 75/25 mix that my regulator sputters and pops/crackles when I pull the trigger. It goes away when I turn up the pressure to about 30 or 35 from 25psi.
I've had the bottle for 3 years now, bought from a welding supply place that went under a year later.
A buddy is using the bottle now and says it's doing the same thing to him...different welder and regulator...the only thing is the bottle is the same.
I've used the gas maybe 5 or 6 times through the 3 years since new.

 

[laser3kw]

you are saying the regulator is making these noises? In both your and your friends regulators?

 

[Sevenhills1952]

I bet it's like you said..."bought from a welding supply place that went under a year later"...probably why they went out.



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[harley jim]

I've never heard of gas going bad. Was probably not pure when they bottled it. Like sevenhills said maybe that's why they are not around anymore

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[dvblanch]

lay the bottle down & roll around on floor a bit

 

[Mikes82GT]

you are saying the regulator is making these noises? In both your and your friends regulators?

Yes.

 

[Mikes82GT]

I bet it's like you said..."bought from a welding supply place that went under a year later"...probably why they went out.



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Sorry, I meant the location closed...it was one of those large local suppliers.

 

[Mikes82GT]

lay the bottle down & roll around on floor a bit

We did that already. In my friend's truck he tried to whip around the front end like a 'Rockford Turn', and it should have shaken up the contents enough.

 

[Sevenhills1952]

If it was from a large supplier, why not call them? Acting up that way on two separate welders/regulators it must be bad has.
You should exchange it. Take bottle in and them then try it.

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[Sevenhills1952]

I love spellchecker [emoji13]...bad GAS not has.
(Although my wife says I let bad has sometimes).

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[Mikes82GT]

I love spellchecker [emoji13]...bad GAS not has.
(Although my wife says I let bad has sometimes).

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You should see my phone..what it comes up with...lol.
Good suggestion...knew it was right in front of me the whole time never occurred to me to give them a call. Will do that when they open this morning. Thanks.

 

[American Locomotive]

Gas doesn't go "bad". It's likely there is moisture/water in the tank.

 

[MoonRise]

Compressed gas (C25, argon, nitrogen, whatever) doesn't go bad.

It could have been contaminated when filled. Usually rare for that to happen (thankfully!), but it can happen (for various reasons). But that event usually gives symptoms in the weld bead and not a 'sputtering' flow regulator.

Rolling a cylinder of compressed gas around does NOT 'mix' it up. The gas does NOT 'settle out' or anything. Unless you are running that cylinder in a separation centrifuge or something.

And a flow regulator typically runs in units of cubic feet per hour (CFH) or liters per minute for metric type folks and NOT psi.

There -might- be a mechanical problem with the cylinder valve.

Did you check the high-pressure tank/cylinder pressure gauge to verify that you actually HAVE adequate pressure in the cylinder? A 'full' cylinder of C25 (or argon, or whatever) should typically be 2000 - 2400 psi (depending on the cylinder pressure limit specs). If you left the cylinder valve 'open' while hooked up to a welder/regulator, you might have leaked out a LOT of gas even when not actually using the gas.

 

[bdbecker]

Compressed gas (C25, argon, nitrogen, whatever) doesn't go bad...

...Rolling a cylinder of compressed gas around does NOT 'mix' it up. The gas does NOT 'settle out' or anything. Unless you are running that cylinder in a separation centrifuge or something...

This came up a few years ago when one of our largest customers audited our weld operation. One of the things the auditor noted during the audit review was that we did not FIFO our weld gas bottles. It was so hard to not be snarky when I was writing the justification as to why we did not view this as an issue in our resolution report. Supposedly this guy was a mechanical engineer, I'm guessing he didn't pay much attention during physics class.

 

[BukitCase]

"And a flow regulator typically runs in units of cubic feet per hour (CFH) or liters per minute for metric type folks and NOT psi."

While this is true, a majority of MIG welders come with a PRESSURE gauge instead of a true FLOW meter; (as in, "bb in a tapered tube) - the pressure gauge is chosen so it reads CLOSE to actual flow, by measuring the PRESSURE drop across a specifically chosen ORIFICE.

BTW, not an "internet expert", my comments are from working industrial instrumentation/design the last 35 years of my "indentured servitude"... Steve

 

[MoonRise]

"And a flow regulator typically runs in units of cubic feet per hour (CFH) or liters per minute for metric type folks and NOT psi."

While this is true, a majority of MIG welders come with a PRESSURE gauge instead of a true FLOW meter; (as in, "bb in a tapered tube) - the pressure gauge is chosen so it reads CLOSE to actual flow, by measuring the PRESSURE drop across a specifically chosen ORIFICE.

BTW, not an "internet expert", my comments are from working industrial instrumentation/design the last 35 years of my "indentured servitude"... Steve

Inexpensive "flow regulators" do indeed work on a pressure drop through a calibrated orifice, but the gauge still reads in 'flow rate' (CFH or l/m).

example:

https://www.harrisproductsgroup.com...low-Gauge-Regulators/Model-301-Flowgauge.aspx

 

[BukitCase]

Yup, no argument there; just a clarification that the gauge itself is only INDICATING flow by measuring a PRESSURE drop (cause it's actually a PRESSURE gauge that's being used for a slightly different purpose)

I know it's a bit "semantic", just an attempt to lessen the difference between "internet" fact and ACTUAL fact ... Steve