Welding Gas

[72BLAZERDUDE]

I am buying a Lincoln 135 welder and was wondering what size bottle of gas I should get and how long will it last. Also how much should I expect to pay for it.

[Tx Firefighter]

For home usage on your machine, a 40 cu/ft bottle of 75/25 is ideal. I use a 40 myself and also have a small Lincoln welder like yours. You'll get plenty of arc time out of the bottle before it needs refill. I weld a lot and working all day in the shop, I can empty one. That's all day doing fab work like building gates or fence panels. For truck welding like patch panels and filling holes, you may go through 2 or 3 bottles a year. Also, you won't believe the improvement in your welding once you go to gas versus flux core. It's worth every penny.

Cheapest place for you wll be Ft Worth Welding Supply on Sylvania or Riverside. I never can remember. Anyway, that's the cheapest place in town. Expect to pay right at 100 bucks to buy the bottle and it comes full. Each refill is 12 bucks. Even though you "own" your bottle after the first 100 cost, don't expect a shiny new bottle. You'll get an ugly beat up bottle for sure. It doesn't matter though, each time you take an empty in and give them the 12 bucks, you'll just be swapping your bottle for another bottle.

You own "a" bottle not "one particular" bottle.

[doc_rock]

Originally Posted by Tx Firefighter

For home usage on your machine, a 40 cu/ft bottle of 75/25 is ideal. I use a 40 myself and also have a small Lincoln welder like yours. You'll get plenty of arc time out of the bottle before it needs refill. I weld a lot and working all day in the shop, I can empty one. That's all day doing fab work like building gates or fence panels. For truck welding like patch panels and filling holes, you may go through 2 or 3 bottles a year. Also, you won't believe the improvement in your welding once you go to gas versus flux core. It's worth every penny.

Cheapest place for you wll be Ft Worth Welding Supply on Sylvania or Riverside. I never can remember. Anyway, that's the cheapest place in town. Expect to pay right at 100 bucks to buy the bottle and it comes full. Each refill is 12 bucks. Even though you "own" your bottle after the first 100 cost, don't expect a shiny new bottle. You'll get an ugly beat up bottle for sure. It doesn't matter though, each time you take an empty in and give them the 12 bucks, you'll just be swapping your bottle for another bottle.

You own "a" bottle not "one particular" bottle.

think of it like a stripper....

[chevyboy55]

I am doing the same thing as 72 Blazerdude, When you buy a bottle you still have to buy the regulator, correct? How much does that add?

[jamesi20]

it should come with your welder I know it came with my Hobart

[doc_rock]

Originally Posted by chevyboy55

I am doing the same thing as 72 Blazerdude, When you buy a bottle you still have to buy the regulator, correct? How much does that add?

You can get a flowmeter/regulator set up anywhere, you don't neccessaruly have to buy it from the place you rent your bottles from. I probably wouldn't, usually they are more expensive there. You can grab 'em off the internet, or anywhere else if you look. Airgas, Linde, Oxweld and Victor are a few brand names if you want to scope E-bay.

[chevyboy55]

I've seen them range from $35.00 to $80.00 on E Bay. Is that just a diff. in quality? I also noticed some have a little tube to tell how much gas is left in the bottle. Does anyone have a recomendation? Who to stay away from? Thanks, Mike

[jmanz69]

Victor, Airgas, and Linde are good ones. Get a used one, they last forever and are pretty pricey to buy new. The little tube is for showing the amount of flow, not the amount left in the bottle. You see that from the pressure guage, the needle will not move for a very long time, but when it does, it goes fast. You can expect to get about 3 hrs of "trigger" time from a 40 cf bottle. That is a very long time when you consider how short your trigger pulls are when welding on sheet metal. Mine lasted about 2.5 months before starting to go down. I haven't got it filled, but the last time I called AGA, they said about $25 to exchange it. I payed $85 for mine, and that was in August.

[Tx Firefighter]

To convert from flux core to gas you need more than the regulator.

You need the gas solenoid, hose, nozzle for the gun, etc..

Lincoln sells a kit you can buy at Home Depot for about 100 bucks. It has everything you need but the bottle.

[Rod]

Found this article on different gases.....might be a good read.
http://bc4x4.com/tech/2002/gases/

[arkracing]

$12 for a refill...that is stealing it. Wow i wish i could get it that cheap.

it is like $37 for a 40CubicFootRefill at the local welding shop near the garage.

anybody know if there is a "size limit to own" can you only buy outright upto a certain CubicFoot Cylinder and then after that you have to rent it?
only cause I would like a little larger bottle, I guess I could just buy a second bottle though

[JIMs70GMC]

I just "upgraded" my lincoln 100 HD for gas. I can't wait to start welding. The kit for the lincoln had everything but the bottle as said above it was real easy to convert. Everybody I talked to has said the same thing as above 75/25 mix CO2 and argon. The kit came with 2lbs of .025 wire.

[Tx Firefighter]

Originally Posted by JIMs70GMC

I just "upgraded" my lincoln 100 HD for gas. I can't wait to start welding. The kit for the lincoln had everything but the bottle as said above it was real easy to convert. Everybody I talked to has said the same thing as above 75/25 mix CO2 and argon. The kit came with 2lbs of .025 wire.

Jim, you're going to be very satisfied with the money spent converting to gas.

My little Lincoln 100 Mig welder has served me real well. I've built tons of gates, fences, car floorboards, patch panels, etc, with mine.

I can't imagine how many rolls of wire I've run through it. I have converted mine to use the big rolls instead of the little ones too.

[doc_rock]

Originally Posted by Tx Firefighter

Jim, you're going to be very satisfied with the money spent converting to gas.

My little Lincoln 100 Mig welder has served me real well. I've built tons of gates, fences, car floorboards, patch panels, etc, with mine.

I can't imagine how many rolls of wire I've run through it. I have converted mine to use the big rolls instead of the little ones too.

How do you like pulling big rolls? I've only bought the little spools for my machine, and I'm hesitant to buy the big rolls, I'm afraid it won't pull like I like it, then there's a big waste of money.

It should also be noted my machine pulls wire on it's side (stupidest idea I've ever hear of)

[72gord]

Doc, My Century 250 pulls the spool on its side too....no problems so far(had it 2-3 years) I use 10# or 2# spools, just change the tension on the spool and/or wire feed, works just fine. Wire is cheaper in the bigger spools, by the # that is. Good Luck, Gord

[jmanz69]

Gas is really the only way to go with sheetmetal. You only should use flux when you are welding outside. Gas doesn't do well outside since even a small breeze will blow it away and you then have no shielding. You get much cleaner welds that take little to no time to clean up. The CO2/Argon mix is a great general purpose mix. You only need pure Argon if you are welding aluminum. The bigger spools shouldn't be a problem for your small machine. Just don't tighten it down too much and it won't know the difference.

[chevyboy55]

Originally Posted by Tx Firefighter

To convert from flux core to gas you need more than the regulator.

You need the gas solenoid, hose, nozzle for the gun, etc..

Lincoln sells a kit you can buy at Home Depot for about 100 bucks. It has everything you need but the bottle.

My sons Harbor Freight welder says it is flux core or gas & all you do to switch to gas is hook the bottle up & change the polarity & go. Now I am wondering.

[jmanz69]

Some come ready to switch to gas. It depends on your welder. Read what the instructions say about changing to gas. It's not universal that you have to buy a separate kit. Some of the lower priced units require a kit to go to gas since they were sold as a Wire Feed welder, not a MIG. MIG is gas only. If yours says it can do both with just adding a bottle and switching polarity, then you should be good to go. Did yours come with a regulator? If not, you will have to buy one.

[chevyboy55]

No it did not. I am weighing the options of adding gas, If it is just a matter of having to clean up the welds, we can do a bunch of grinding for close to $200.00
P.S. it was sold as a dual wire feed mig welder.

[jmanz69]

Using gas is more than just having cleaner welds, you get BETTER welds, better penetration, and better control. If your welder didn't come with the stuff to make it connect to gas, then it's an optional kit from the welder mfr. It should be listed in the instructions as a kit and part number. You need to order that before you can use gas. It was sold as a dual feed welder, because you CAN add gass to it for MIG, but it's not included. My Lincoln 175 came ready for gas, but I bought it that way. It was the smallest and best 240VAC welder I could get. If you don't want to spend the money for the gas conversion, then don't. Obviously, you didn't think you were going to use it or you would have got a MIG in the first place. You can do fine with flux, but it will add more time to your project. It's not the end of the world.

[1971 Cheyenne]

I have a 55cu ft bottle. Haven't come close to emptying it yet. You just gotta weigh how far it is to get it filled/how much hassle, and how much you will need at one time. For a weekend warrior like me, who just does random smaller projects, a smaller bottle is fine. Also gotta think about one more thing, do you carry your welder with you to the project or do you bring the project to your welder? Carrying a huge bottle around with you may not be the most efficient.

[doc_rock]

Originally Posted by 72gord

Doc, My Century 250 pulls the spool on its side too....no problems so far(had it 2-3 years) I use 10# or 2# spools, just change the tension on the spool and/or wire feed, works just fine. Wire is cheaper in the bigger spools, by the # that is. Good Luck, Gord

yup. thats what I got, a Century 250. My first wire feed setup, (had many stick and TIG setups, but this was a in-a-pinch buy). I'm just terrified it's going to pull jerky and snappy, and it'll piss me off and I'll set it on fire.

[72gord]

Just make sure it is insured before you set it on fire ...that way you at least get some of your money back out of it!! Everyone be careful out there though...the welder I got came from my widow neighbor, about 3 years ago her boyfriend/husband got this welder from her as a gift...decided he wanted to make a yard roller out of a 55 gallon drum, not sure what had been in that drum but, first arc he struck on that drum...it exploded, the top blew off hitting him in the head, sadly he died before they got him to the hospital. So just know what your dealing with and safety first P.S. Looked like burnt oil that's all that was left in the barrel....would old oil cause an explosion? This still puzzles me...no build up of pressure from the heat, it was just a small arc is all we could find on that whole barrel and there was another person there and he said they just started when it exploded.

[Huck]

One of our board members (great guy) is trying to set up as a dealer for Campbell Hausfeld. Rob Pierce from Cinci---. Know on the board as "Pierce". Rob got me a great deal on a Mig/Flux 120 that is complete with Flux and gas capability. Everything but the bottle. Package deal had gloves, face shield hat, wire brushes, hammer, 3 tips, 3 size feeders for different wires, wheels, etc. Nice package. Infiniate wire speed, 4 heat ranges--. Gas regulator but no gauges---. 5-3-1 warranty.
I've been pricing the top 3 for a while on e-bay---Miller, Lincoln & Hobart but this was about $200. less and as a hobbiest, this should do me fine.
Shoot "Pierce" a PM or e-mail "pierce@fuse.net" if interested--tell him Huck sent you! hehehehe
Huck

[doc_rock]

Originally Posted by 72gord

Just make sure it is insured before you set it on fire ...that way you at least get some of your money back out of it!! Everyone be careful out there though...the welder I got came from my widow neighbor, about 3 years ago her boyfriend/husband got this welder from her as a gift...decided he wanted to make a yard roller out of a 55 gallon drum, not sure what had been in that drum but, first arc he struck on that drum...it exploded, the top blew off hitting him in the head, sadly he died before they got him to the hospital. So just know what your dealing with and safety first P.S. Looked like burnt oil that's all that was left in the barrel....would old oil cause an explosion? This still puzzles me...no build up of pressure from the heat, it was just a small arc is all we could find on that whole barrel and there was another person there and he said they just started when it exploded.

Yup. Oil, like gasoline is not flamable. (the liquid isn't). The vapors, or the atomized particles are. Oil is the same way, really, though not nearly as volatile. Ever heard of oily rags "spontaneously combusting"? Navy used to freak out over that, and all oily rags had to be in an airtight container.
If it's petroleum based, it'll prolly burn.