welding bottle date

[Mainiac Mat]

Can anyone tell me whether or not this welding gas bottle is within it's inspection/test date?
A guy nearby is selling it at a fair price, but it's empty and I don't want to buy it if it's expired

 

[Spareparts]

What is the No.before the 09 top left corner, that looks like a newer stamp,
how much does the test cost, them bottles are $200+ around here.

 

[The Cobbler]

in many cases you swop bottles & the date is irrelivant... the gas supplier deals with that

 

[PCustoms]

Can anyone tell me whether or not this welding gas bottle is within it's inspection/test date?
A guy nearby is selling it at a fair price, but it's empty and I don't want to buy it if it's expired

He have proof he owns it?

 

[Jack Ryan]

I don't know what the situation is there, but here, unless you have paperwork for the cylinder, and you take it to the proper/correct depot, it won't be accepted.

Jack

 

[liliysdad]

You buy that bottle, take it AirGas, swap it for a full one and you’ll never see it again. It’s a non issue.

I still lease a bottle, but no one I know has ever been asked for “paperwork” or had the cert date questioned when getting a bottle swapped.

I could probably take my leased bottle down the street and tell them it’s mine and never be questioned. Good thing I’m not a piece of ****.

 

[jar944]

I don't know what the situation is there, but here, unless you have paperwork for the cylinder, and you take it to the proper/correct depot, it won't be accepted.

Jack

I own all my bottles and I'd be hard pressed to find the receipts from when I bought them over the last 27 years.

 

[Jack Ryan]

I own all my bottles and I'd be hard pressed to find the receipts from when I bought them over the last 27 years.

Never-the-less, suppliers here won't deal with other people's cylinders.

Jack

 

[PCustoms]

I own all my bottles and I'd be hard pressed to find the receipts from when I bought them over the last 27 years.

Where do you swap?

How do the tell?

I have an air gas lese, it's gone up, a lot. Local shop closed, now I'd have to drive n hour for a swap, and of course only open to 4:30 M-F.

I have a tank that was in a barn for 20+ years (and in my possession for 10 since I bought the barn), a little rusty and obviously needs a recert, but as far as I'm concerned it's mine

 

[jar944]

Where do you swap?

How do the tell?

I have an air gas lese, it's gone up, a lot. Local shop closed, now I'd have to drive n hour for a swap, and of course only open to 4:30 M-F.

I have a tank that was in a barn for 20+ years (and in my possession for 10 since I bought the barn), a little rusty and obviously needs a recert, but as far as I'm concerned it's mine

The local independent welding supplier.

 

[liliysdad]

Never-the-less, suppliers here won't deal with other people's cylinders.

Jack

How do they ask you “prove” whose tank it is? When I swap my lease bottle at AirGas, they never look at it. I could have five different bottles, and as long as my lease is paid, they could give a damn what bottle I bring back.

 

[PCustoms]

How do they ask you “prove” whose tank it is? When I swap my lease bottle at AirGas, they never look at it. I could have five different bottles, and as long as my lease is paid, they could give a damn what bottle I bring back.

Any idea what happens when you close a lease?

 

[liliysdad]

Very… but that has nothing to do with the question at hand.

What proof does your gas supplier require to prove the bottle you bring back is the bottle you left with?

 

[strength_and_power]

Certain sizes are lease only. 300cf I believe is the standard rental bottle. The neck ring will have the company’s name on it and most weld shops won’t touch it if doesn’t have their name on it. “Owner” bottles in my experience usually top out around 200cf.
If they are standard sizes, most places will do a straight swap. If the bottle is expired, they might charge you a recertify fee, $20-30 is what I think I just paid. When I got the bottle back, I was given a printout showing the tank manufacturer, manufacturer date and the pressure it was tested to.
On those bottles, they had started out life as CO2 tanks which have a different valve. I had the testing shop install the correct valve for welding gas. At my LWS, since the bottles were odd size for welding gas, ( CO2 bottles go by pound not cf) they tagged my bottles and I got them back.
Some Home Depots have a locker style bottle swap service. Great way to trade out a tank in need of re-certification.

 

[Jack Ryan]

How do they ask you “prove” whose tank it is? When I swap my lease bottle at AirGas, they never look at it. I could have five different bottles, and as long as my lease is paid, they could give a damn what bottle I bring back.

The cylinder has the company's name on it
The cylinder is bar coded
My account has a record of what has been issued

Perhaps a coincidence, but I have never had a cylinder containing "bad gas".

Jack

 

[PCustoms]

Any idea what happens when you close a lease?

Very… but that has nothing to do with the question at hand.

Very...what? Doesn't relate to the OP but took the opportunity to ask my own question...

What proof does your gas supplier require to prove the bottle you bring back is the bottle you left with?

Which basically boils down to this. Normal swaps none afaik. But what if I say I'm closing my lease?

 

[KwikFab]

You need to get better acquainted with your gas suppliers and ask them vs here.

My shop will take anything in exchange - your bottle becomes theirs, and the bottle they give you is yours (to keep).

If a bottle you provide is expired (that doesn't have their label, meaning they exchanged for you), you pay a $39.99 test fee on top of the bottle exchange price and that's it.

 

[OccupantRJ]

I have a lease size oxygen bottle, a lease size argon bottle, and two owner Mig gas bottles. I swap out the mig gas at the Arc3 supplier and swap out the lease bottles at an independent supplier who can swap out a bottle you bring to him, with zero concerns about the bottle status. His dad was formerly employed at the actual National Welders fill plant a few miles from me before Airgas bought them out, so he is setup with them. He was about 16 helping his dad when I first started using him, and now he runs a metal fab shop and sells welding supplies as a supplement. He is a few dollars higher, but no hassles, and has swapped bottles on weekends. The Equine Fencer also uses his fill services.

 

[liliysdad]

Very...what? Doesn't relate to the OP but took the opportunity to ask my own question...

Which basically boils down to this. Normal swaps none afaik. But what if I say I'm closing my lease?

Sorry, I didn’t catch that.

When you close or stop paying for a lease, they want a bottle back. If you don’t return a bottle, at least here, you get sued in small claims court or they send you to collections, depending on supplier. It used to be criminally chargeable as embezzlement, but the state stopped charging that several years ago.

 

[PCustoms]

When you close or stop paying for a lease, they want a bottle back. If you don’t return a bottle, at least here, you get sued in small claims court or they send you to collections, depending on supplier. It used to be criminally chargeable as embezzlement, but the state stopped charging that several years ago.

No kidding...

I'm saying if I show up with my old, obviously out of date cylinder I found in the barn and close my lease, will I get any greif?

Then I'd have my newer tank, that I still need to find a place to fill/exchange. Airgas WAS the only game in town, now even they closed...

 

[liliysdad]

No kidding...

I'm saying if I show up with my old, obviously out of date cylinder I found in the barn and close my lease, will I get any greif?

Then I'd have my newer tank, that I still need to find a place to fill/exchange. Airgas WAS the only game in town, now even they closed...

In my experience...no, they don't care nor do they have any way of proving that's not the bottle they sent out. I have seen some posters here say that the supplier records the serial or has a barcode label, my Airgas does not do either of these things. I have received bottles from Airgas stamped with the names of other local suppliers, and suppliers I have never heard of.

When it was still criminally chargeable, the leases and affidavits they would supply us never listed anything other than the number of bottles and occasionally the type of bottle. Never anything else.

 

[NUTTSGT]

Depends on your supplier.

My straight Argon and 75/25 bottles came from OE Meyer and I have no issues taking them in to swap out, I "bought" the bottle but it's nothing more than a bottle deposit.

The Acetylene and O2 bottle came from family shop. I believe I have swapped them both already at OE Meyer, with not much issue. I have an account at OE Meyer and the bottles were stamped with a smaller supplier, However, OE Meyer absorbed that company so they expected to gather up those bottles over time.

It's going to wholeheartedly depend on your supplier. There's another supplier close to me, it's nothing more than a bottle swap for them and their main customers are farmers. . . they need a full bottle and don't care where it comes from.

 

[Sweetcorn]

Certain sizes are lease only. 300cf I believe is the standard rental bottle. The neck ring will have the company’s name on it and most weld shops won’t touch it if doesn’t have their name on it. “Owner” bottles in my experience usually top out around 200cf.
If they are standard sizes, most places will do a straight swap. If the bottle is expired, they might charge you a recertify fee, $20-30 is what I think I just paid. When I got the bottle back, I was given a printout showing the tank manufacturer, manufacturer date and the pressure it was tested to.
On those bottles, they had started out life as CO2 tanks which have a different valve. I had the testing shop install the correct valve for welding gas. At my LWS, since the bottles were odd size for welding gas, ( CO2 bottles go by pound not cf) they tagged my bottles and I got them back.
Some Home Depots have a locker style bottle swap service. Great way to trade out a tank in need of re-certification.

It's a regional thing as to how this is handled.

I've got around 20 bottles all together and it works very different around here.

 

[metalmagpie]

I live in Washington State. I have owned tanks since the '80s. I am generally gobsmacked by what people have to put up with in other parts of the country. I am well known at the welding supply store where I swap my cylinders, and I have not been charged a hydrotest fee in at least 20 years if ever. The guys tell you those costs are built into the system. I'm not certain they wouldn't charge someone they don't know, but once you et to know them those fees are history. You can always open a cash account there.

I have never heard of lease only sizes. I own several 330 cf cylinders and have even seen them with a neck ring that says CUSTOMER OWNED. Right now I have one full of argon and one full of helium. BTW those are about the same height and diameter as a 100 lb CO2 cylinder. I use a gas mixer and those are the 3 gasses I mix in varying quantities. I made a little triangular rolling cart to carry those 3 large cylinders.



It's hard for me to imagine that if I put my owner tanks in the back of a truck and drove to Vermont or whereever that my tanks would somehow become illegal. I think it's probably just predatory policies by the companies selling welding gas.

metalmagpie

 

[gmcgeo]

I see 0876 on the tank, August 1976.

If you own it, they will swap the tank out and give you another. They may not even look at the date.

When i take mine in, ( i own mine) they just give me another. They never look at dates. And that's Airgas

 

[c39er]

I live in Washington State. I have owned tanks since the '80s. I am generally gobsmacked by what people have to put up with in other parts of the country. I am well known at the welding supply store where I swap my cylinders, and I have not been charged a hydrotest fee in at least 20 years if ever. The guys tell you those costs are built into the system. I'm not certain they wouldn't charge someone they don't know, but once you et to know them those fees are history. You can always open a cash account there.

I have never heard of lease only sizes. I own several 330 cf cylinders and have even seen them with a neck ring that says CUSTOMER OWNED. Right now I have one full of argon and one full of helium. BTW those are about the same height and diameter as a 100 lb CO2 cylinder. I use a gas mixer and those are the 3 gasses I mix in varying quantities. I made a little triangular rolling cart to carry those 3 large cylinders.



It's hard for me to imagine that if I put my owner tanks in the back of a truck and drove to Vermont or whereever that my tanks would somehow become illegal. I think it's probably just predatory policies by the companies selling welding gas.

metalmagpie

I'm in Washington too. Absolutely no issues in the 50+ years of changing out bottles.
In the early 70"s I bought my first set. Have exchanged many many bottles out everywhere for full bottles...never had to cert any or answer questions. Even exchanged bottles given to me by others.
I did have trouble trying to turn in a airco lease 300cf oxygen bottle given to me full that I finally used up.
I just wanted to get rid of it. Had to call several welder supply houses...
Airgas reluctantly took it.

 

[ATC]

How do they ask you “prove” whose tank it is? When I swap my lease bottle at AirGas, they never look at it. I could have five different bottles, and as long as my lease is paid, they could give a damn what bottle I bring back.

Jack Ryan's profile says he is in Australia...so yeah, I have no doubt they do things differently down there.

Here in my area of VA, Airgas or Arcet will swap owned tanks no problem...date doesn't matter. However, Airgas won't touch any tank larger than a 125cu-ft without you leasing it from them. Their policy is that a person flat-out cannot own a tank larger than 125. I have a 300/330 I bought outright, with a receipt, and they told me to pound sand unless I wanted to lease one from them.
I have not tried Arcet with a large tank yet.

My O/A setup, and mixed gas for welding, are 80cu-ft bottles.

 

[liliysdad]

Jack Ryan's profile says he is in Australia...so yeah, I have no doubt they do things differently down there.

Yeah, that’s why I don’t read everything. It’s easier to make blanket statements with only half the information.

 

[Merch1]

Nothing to do with the op, when I was an apprentice in the 80s we often would be using bottles that had date stamps from before WW2. Quite often I saw bottles with swasticas stamped into them. No idea why.

 

[c39er]

I have seen the swasticas too.

 

[vrstcv]

the story I have ben told is that the bottles with the ******** came from the defeat of Germany in ww2.

 

[PCustoms]

Every time bottles comes up out come the ******** stories....

I swear we just debunked that last month

 

[vrstcv]

Pcustoms what is the story then ?

 

[PCustoms]

Pcustoms what is the story then ?

Here you go, start reading here

Post in thread 'Nazi Eagle stamped V Block' https://www.garagejournal.com/forum/threads/nazi-eagle-stamped-v-block.549284/post-11295471

Basically there were similar logos, i.e. Praxair, that fell out of use for obvious reasons. Many of these stamps aren't even the correct orientation, but people see them and automatically make the link