Hey guys. Dads bought a mig welder and we looking for a bottle. Man they pretty expensive brand new. Anyway we were wondering can you say buy an oxygen bottle and have it tested then get it filled with argon or co2! are all bottles the same but just filled with different gases! Or are they made to withstand different gases! We quite new to this so any info would be appreciated, cheers
franc123,
May 7, 4:14pm
No they are different, different fittings for the regulators mostly to avoid people mixing them up.The cheapest solution is to get an old fire extinguisher and get that adapted to suit, for most steel work you don't really need argon, it produces neater welds with a bit less spatter but thats all, C02 works fine
ct9a,
May 7, 4:20pm
Ring and talk to BOC ,just hire them
jason18,
May 7, 4:22pm
Can you change the fittings over. We dont want to hire rather have our own to just use as need be
kevymtnz,
May 7, 4:23pm
u can use a fire extinusher and have the correct tap put in
intrade,
May 7, 4:25pm
F5kc Boc they are the worst ripoff artists dont ever give them 1 cent unless you have to. You can buy and use a fire extinguisher that is converted to be used for welding Co2 the fireextinguisher and lpg bottle test placesconvert sell and fill these . fire places definetly lpg certer do this as extra sometimes. othersisesupagas.co.nz they also fill your DX owner bottles that Boc wants destroyed and have you rent there overpriced gear.
intrade,
May 7, 4:32pm
jason18 wrote: Can you change the fittings over. We dont want to hire rather have our own to just use as need be[/quote they have a hire system also http://supagas.co.nz/contact-us/supagas-nz.html
jason18,
May 7, 4:35pm
We were wanting argon/co2 mix for panel steel welding on a 32 and 34 ford. We would like less splater on the original steel. So we just buy a fire extingusher and convert the fittings. Thanks guys
ct9a,
May 7, 5:10pm
i get oxy and acetylene bottles threw BOC it seems pretty cheap to me argosheild bit pricey thats about it
mk3zephyr,
May 7, 6:30pm
which company sell them as co2 bottles for migs, ive rung around all over the place down these parts to no avail, how bout converting a 9kg lpg bottle!, The hole in the top of these are just 3/4 BSP or NPT so fittings arnt hard to get
cuda.340,
May 7, 7:02pm
my mig has a dinky little regulator that came with it that i hook up to a Soda stream bottle. it's only CO2 but i get about 25 mins of trigger on time per bottle, they don't cost much from the supermarket. if you're a home hobbist it might you by.
falcon15,
May 7, 7:31pm
I got my 5kg co2 welding bottle brand new from national gas in palmerston north for $295 and it came full . It only costs $35 to refill it aswell
mrfxit,
May 7, 8:00pm
Argon works a lot better with s/h steel Co2 is only really any good with brand new clean steel
h.e,
May 7, 8:10pm
while you can mig weld with argon its uneconomical,argon is used almost solely for tig welding.for mig you want to use co2 or ARGOSHIELD.you used to be able to get argoshield light which was for panel steel not sure if its still available
jason18,
May 7, 8:55pm
Yeah we going to go with argosheild.
intrade,
May 7, 8:59pm
you cant convert a lpg bottle to co2. the fire extinguisher converted are already co2 all the do is fitt a differnt tap on top instead of the squirter trigger. you asked them! http://www.finda.co.nz/business/listing/4jcg4z/chubb-fire-services/ firewhatch guy in whangarei sells the co2 conversions they are not cheap however 250$ i think he used to ask for em a few years ago be likely more now. 25 bux to fill i was told back then. I just got me a argon owner bottleoff tradme once .that supagas will fill for me once its empty.
roys351,
May 7, 9:13pm
my boc bottle hire $16.50 per month
intrade,
May 7, 9:17pm
thats 198$ just for 1 bottle and i guessthats just rent fill be on top. be 500$ per year to rent oxy acetilen . so screw that lol
franc123,
May 7, 10:17pm
rubbish, been using C02 on used steel for years, if its not welding properly the machine settings are wrong or else you haven't prepped the areas you are welding properly, MIG needs total cleanliness regarless of what gas shielding you are using.I will say again Argon/Argoshield is better but not essential.
franc123,
May 7, 10:19pm
exactly, within a couple of years you have paid for the bottles, why people support fatcat BOC is anyones guess.
electro2000,
May 7, 10:23pm
Agree with frank i use Co2doesn't matter what steel welds alright ,
converted fire extinguishers are good for co2 only as that's what the bottle was designed for ,argon shield has twice the pressure $150 a year to rent bottle through supergas
sr2,
May 8, 6:18am
good advice, I use co2 with great results.
whqqsh,
May 8, 1:11pm
Ive got co2 & notice very little difference & even better if you can get a bottle thats aluminium, wayyy lighter. I got mine that was previously a soft drinks machine co2 supply.
ladaspeed,
May 8, 5:02pm
You can buy converted extinguisher bottles from a place called P-test here in chch, C02 only. ps if you can weld properly then c02 is fine for mig welding steel, just more reactive/more spatter. Argoshield is much nicer to use tho.
gasaxe,
May 8, 6:52pm
I had supagas convert a co2 bottle to argoshield but my agent tells me that they will no longer do conversions to other gases because of problems they have had with contamination and possible explosive mixes. Why that should matter with inert and low reactive gases, I don't know but dem's da rules!
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