rental or owned tanks

[grumpyvette]

when you go to buy or rent tanks for welding gases, don,t buy off craigs list or ebay, chances are good the tanks are out of certification or rental tanks, and be aware most refill company's only refill tanks with their company name on them or privately owned tanks that are certified
many tanks have (rental only) or (PRIVATELY OWNED) stamped or cast near the upper end, be sure you GET TANKS that are STAMPED OR CAST WITH PRIVATELY OWNED OR THEY WILL NOT BE REFILLED AND WILL BE CONFISCATED WHEN YOU GO TO GET THEM RE FILLED, as rentals and keep copies of purchase receipts
pay attention to the certification date stamped on the tanks, because if its individually owned YOU pay for the re certifications every few years and WITHOUT the certification dates stamped being into the tank being current you can,t get the tank refiled

http://garage.grumpysperformance.co...-kits-don-t-buy-from-pawn-shops.145/#post-179

If a tank is out of spec, the tank refill co. just sends it back to the fill plant.
The plant performs a hydro-test on the tank.
If it passes, it gets re-stamped, and you get credited with a tank of that size.
Or you can request that specific tank back.
this is standard procedure at every
welding supplier I have ever dealt with.
IF they won,t do that for you for a minimal fee,I think they were trying to pressure you into buying a new tank. which is seldom necessary

in my area ARGON tanks cost about $223 full if you want to own one and a $40 fill charge and $200 deposit to rent one plus $15 per month tank rental, so unless your renting short term it makes sense to buy even though you pay for re certifications
tanks usually come in APPROXIMATELY 40cf, 80cf,125 cf and 300cf, sizes, its far less expensive to use the larger size tanks

 

[grumpyvette]

buying welding tanks

most OWNER OWNED BOTTLES say PRIVATELY OWNED stamped right into the tank and if the tanks privately owned it REQUIRES the tanks to be RE-tested and certified every few years (5-10) at the owners expense, so look at the date of the last test stamped on the bottle, if the tank doesn,t say privately owned its most likely rented and will be confiscated if you try to have it refilled with out a rental contract
there are also tanks in service from company's long out of business, these MAY be privately owned, but check with the local welding supply as to your local rules, and get documentation if you can.
Be aware that welding tanks need to be re-certified every 3-4 years, and
MOST ARE RENTAL TANKS, THAT WILL BE CONFISCATED<
IF YOU DON,T HAVE PROOF OF ORIGINAL PURCHASE/OWNERSHIP
MOST OF THOSE TANKS ARE STAMPED PRIVATELY OWNED and many with the owners names or a cereal number that matches your purchase receipt
(DON,T LOOSE IT MAKE COPY'S, and have the copy with you when you go to refill the tanks)
but youll frequently be charged with a re-certification charge, with private tanks
Id also point out that if you buy new tanks the gas fill places will try to swap them out for older tanks rather than re-fill yours , and thus you'll have zero proof you oen the replaced tanks
so theres always "DEALS" on welding tanks that failed too be re-certified ,
that no welding gas supply will refill for you,

READ THE LINKED THREADS IT WILL SAVE YOU A GOOD DEAL OF AGGRAVATION
http://garage.grumpysperformance.co...-kits-don-t-buy-from-pawn-shops.145/#post-179

http://garage.grumpysperformance.com/index.php?threads/rental-or-owned-tanks.1999/#post-7970

http://reviews.ebay.com/BUYING-A-GAS-OR ... 0001275737

you should use caution when buying a cylinder on the Internet. All cylinders above 80cf are traditionally rented or leased. They will have a name embossed on the neck ring. This means they are owned by the company with name on neck ring. Cylinders under 80cf are usually called customer owned or exchange cylinders. Large cylinders require an affidavit or proof of ownership. Many welding suppliers, in an effort to stop internet sales now ask for this on the 80cf and smaller cylinders, but it is not required by law. We strongly suggest you check with your gas supplier before buying cylinders to see what they will or will not fill or exchange. Also many large suppliers really do not want small accounts, and may have several requirements in place to try and keep you away. All high pressure cylinders as for, helium, nitrogen, argon and argon mixes that we sell have 10 year hydro-test stamp, with + for 10% overfill. All will have recent hydro-test date and are new cylinders. All acetylene cylinders will have date made stamped into them, and will require inspection within 10 years. Carbon dioxide cylinders, steel or aluminum require hydro-test every 5 years, as do some other gases. If you exchange cylinders with your supplier, he usually accepts all re-test or re-qualification charges. If you have the cylinder you purchase filled and keep it each time, you will incur these expenses in time. Cylinders only require a label after being filled the first time, new cylinders that have never been filled do not require a label by D.O.T. , which writes and oversees all cylinder regulations and the filling of cylinders. There should be no charges for first time exchange except the gas. If there are, then I suggest shopping elsewhere for gas.
yes theres a reason tanks need to be tested every few years, a failure can be LETHAL

Oxygen cylinders should always have a CGA-540 valve, Inert gases, helium, nitrogen, argon and argon mixes should have a CGA-580 valve. Acetylene will have one of 4 valves, 75cf and up either CGA-300 or CGA-510, MC cylinder will be CGA-200, B cylinder CGA-520. While there are adaptors available to change your regulator to a different cylinder valve or gas service, we strongly suggest you have your gas supplier change the nut and nipple on regulator and verify the regulator is safe in application to be used.