Ever have one of those weeks...? I've been welding since I was a little kid and never took much notice of the colors painted on gas bottles. Most shops get their gas delivered so it isn't something that comes up. The delivery guys know what bottles are what. Now I have my own shop in the middle of nowhere and get my gas from CarQuest. They don't deliver out here so I have to go exchange them myself. Those guys are not a welding supply, they just carry the stuff... though I would have thought they'd be trained in what they sell... especially something as important (and potentially dangerous) as welding gas. Well, last Thursday I went and exchanged an empty CO2 cylinder. I came home and hooked it up and went to welding. Right away I noticed pits in my welds. I had turned up my flow meter as the gas was getting low, but I'd reset it before I went to work. Within about 5 minutes it got worse. When I went to check the meter again it was solid ice... and little chips of ice were actually floating inside with the ball. This morning, I called Airgas and asked them what the hell was up. Turns out that all CO2 bottles are painted gray. They much I knew... but the top collar on this one, where the valve screws in, is red. The guy at Airgas informed me that the red indicates that there is a siphon tube in the bottle and it is NOT for welding. It would be used as a propellant for restaurant fire extinguishers and paintball guns. Who knew...? I just went and did a GOOGLE search and found this page which I thought I'd post for everyone here so they could keep things straight in their own shop. EDIT: I just posted this in a reply but figured I should add it to this post too... "It should be noted that the color code of cylinders shown in figure 4-32 is military only; the commercial industry does not necessarily comply with these color codes. Commercial U.S. and ISO color-code standards have yet to be established." http://www.sweethaven.com/sweethaven/BldgConst/Welding/lessonmain.asp?lesNum=4&modNum=4 Now, if you'll excuse me, I have to drive all the way to Hayward to exchange this and then get back here and start grinding some shit welds. Happy sparkin'... JOE
Doidn't know about that type of bottle! Never seen one with a red top? As for bitching about the drive to Hayward..............I would kill for that commute!
in welding school we found out the hard way that if the bottle has been painted a different color you shouldn't use it to tig weld. it was originally something other than argon and we had a guy cussing for days before anyone noticed the fresh paint over a different color there had been a little of whatever it was left in the bottle and it destroyed his gas.
Very interesting, as I have to get my tanks refilled now. Will check with the welding supply guys down the street. My oxygen tank is Orange, whereas the acetylene is black.
Along the way the requirement for color coding gas cyl was abondened as a regulation HOWEVER most cyl still carry the past color code but it is no longer a requirement but the labeling is -so read the labels before you leave the suppler's place just to make sure.
just lost an 80lb bottle due to the DATE stamped in the top. Bottles have a shelf life. My local supplier gave us another bottle but said next time, he would have to charge for it. Who knew?
That's common knowlege. The cylinders do not have a shelf life, they are good, essentially, forever. I have seen cylinders dated into the mid teens. High pressure cylinders do have to be "hydroed" every five years and there is a charge for that if it is in your possesion when it expires. If you don't use a lot of gas, make sure that when you exchange cylinders, they give you one that won't expire in a year otherwise you're left holding the bag for the hydrostatic test fee.
I have a old bottle ... a 1932 bottle ... for oxygen I have not had it tested lately but I had it re-filled about 6 years ago. It is empty now so I will have to have it tested.
Actually, the label was exactly the same as the new bottle I just went and got. I hooked it up and it welds great. The red ring is Airgas' coding system. I just read a little more of the page I posted earlier. It says that's a military color code chart... "It should be noted that the color code of cylinders shown in figure 4-32 is military only; the commercial industry does not necessarily comply with these color codes. Commercial U.S. and ISO color-code standards have yet to be established." Seriously... Why in hell wouldn't there be a uniform color code for these...? That's nuts...! So, I guess you need to find out the color code system from your own distributor as to which cylinders have a siphon tube and which ones don't... JOE
Yes, bottles have to be recertified every so often, but your supplier should NOT charge you for that -- when you bring in your old bottle they should give you a good full one no matter the date on your old one. ... If the do not they are a rinky dink supplier. My supplier certifies their bottles. Ask your supplier what their policy is.
Not necessarily. I have an old set that belonged to a friends dad. The oxygen cylinder has not been hydroed for over 15 years. My rinky dink supplier (Airco) told me I would have to pay for the test. Maybe the counter guy was full of it, I dunno.
If it got a siphonetube inside ,to solve the problem temporary turn the bottle upside down. CO2 gas under pressure is floating.
Co2 cylinders have 10years between hydrotesting in Europe. While Breathing gasses (ex.Diving air) may variate, in Sweden we have 5 years rest of Euroupe 7 years. This is a part of my profession. or what i do for a living. So half of the day i keep stairing in the bottle.
You guys own your own bottles still ? I owned my own decades ago but today the way in OZ or NZ is to lease the fuckers from the biggest rip off monopoly in the World. BOC. But everytime you exchange a bottle you know damned well the bottle will be safe and not confused with the wrong gas ( I would be sueing for lost profits ...) If i pick up from the gas works ( about 5 minutes from here) they use a IR scanner to read a bar code on the bottles so every single bottle is on line somewhere and no out of date bottles are floating around . It still galls me to think I pay several hundred a year just to rent the bastards though.
yea worked for a company out of OKC delivering bottles and you wouldnt believe the many styles of gas they got out there it can be very hard to distinguish them took me awhile to get them straight so dont feel bad about that i have done the same thing
Got a guy out here that just exchanges the cylinders, no questions asked. Just want to make sure that it isn't a syphon tube type.
My dad had an oxygen cylinder that I wanted to have cleaned, tested and converted to argon. Took it to my local welding supply house and they sent it to a certified testing facility. They promptly X'd out the serial number and sent it back because it had pits that measured .010 and .017 deep in a line. Called it line corrosion. They pulled the valve and now I have a hunk of iron that all it is good for is scrap. Moral of story...Don't have any cylinder changed to a different gas. The cylinder had been tested about three years prior to this and passed.
Cut the bottom off (about 1/3 to 1/2 way up) and make a bell out of it. You won't believe how freakin' loud they are. JOE
I saw one of those "bells" at a fancy houseware store and they wanted a fortune for it. I made one and it hangs in the livingroom. I sold one to a friend and he wants another. I cant get enough or I'd be at the swap meet. Ya know, the stupid crap folks will buy
Why would you do that?? I've taken cylinders in and asked for a different gas and they simply credited my for the old cylinder and applied it to the new one. I've exchanged Helium for Oxygen, CO2 for MIG mix. No problem
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