Thread: At last, free rental for oxy/acetylene cylinders.

Will be glad when it come to SA, being on a pension and paying nearly $600 on rentals a year is a bit much, particularly if it's hobby use only. I've had the same bottle of Argoshield for 3 years now.
Kryn

Originally Posted by KBs PensNmore

Will be glad when it come to SA, being on a pension and paying nearly $600 on rentals a year is a bit much, particularly if it's hobby use only. I've had the same bottle of Argoshield for 3 years now.
Kryn

Their website only refers to oxy/acetylene. No mention of MIG or TIG gas unfortunately.

Originally Posted by Optimark

Last week I was walking around one of my Local Bunnings stores, upon exit I spied two lockable caged pallet crates one with Oxygen the other with Acetylene, both D sized. I backtracked inside, asked some questions

I saw that oxy/acetylene bottles were in the bunny's catalogue some time ago and I've been meaning to check it out. Previously I've deliberately avoided thinking about how useful an oxy set would be because I knew the cylinder rental would kill me.

Hmmm... oxy set.... can't do without one of those

Originally Posted by KBs PensNmore

Will be glad when it come to SA, being on a pension and paying nearly $600 on rentals a year is a bit much, particularly if it's hobby use only. I've had the same bottle of Argoshield for 3 years now.
Kryn

Coregas have a depot in Murray Bridge, which is a locally owned business. The major difference with a depot is that you have an account with Coregas but you arrange everything with the local depot. When dealing with Bunnings one doesn't have to have an account, but having an account is not a big deal.

River City Agencies, 12 Wryeema Street Murray Bridge. 0885 323 042

Why not give them a ring, you may just strike lucky.

One thing to remember is that only the D sized cylinders "Oxygen and Acetylene" are available at Bunnings, all others are available by direct dealing; is the way I read their information on their website. Seems like they know what Bunnings can handle easily, with all of the slightly harder stuff being of a much reduced supply requirement so it probably wouldn't be cost effective for Bunnings to hold multiple caged pallet stocks of everything.

So if you require Argon, bigger sized cylinders or whatever, you would need to deal with Coregas direct anyway.

I see plumbers running round with a set of D sized oxy/acetylene cylinders on the backs of their utes almost every day around here. I think it's a huge market and will ultimately lead Coregas/Bunnings/Wesfarmers to dramatically increase their share of the market, as well as increase the market with all of the hobbyist types finally seeing a realistically affordable case for having their own oxy/acetylene kit in the shed.

In the space of first putting this thread up, I have personally told three friends who have switched over to the Bunnings/Coregas scheme, with another possible probably next week. These are only the ones I know about, I wonder how many others are discovering this deal during a visit to Bunnings like myself?

Mick.

Among other things I think one of the major issues limiting bunnings to d size bottles is "safe lifting practice".

D size bottles weigh around 15Kg full and have a handle on the top..that makes then a single handed lift for a healthy man under the accepted lifting guidlines....very similar to a 9 Kg LPG bottle in handling terms.

E size bottles come in at arround 30kg ( in aluminium) but are recognised as an aquard lift.....thus they represent a materials handling hazard.

There are a strinbg of other reason they will be limiting to D size bottles...but lifting will be the deal breaker on other sizes.

cheers

Originally Posted by soundman

Among other things I think one of the major issues limiting bunnings to d size bottles is "safe lifting practice".

D size bottles weigh around 15Kg full and have a handle on the top..that makes then a single handed lift for a healthy man under the accepted lifting guidlines....very similar to a 9 Kg LPG bottle in handling terms.

E size bottles come in at arround 30kg ( in aluminium) but are recognised as an aquard lift.....thus they represent a materials handling hazard.

There are a strinbg of other reason they will be limiting to D size bottles...but lifting will be the deal breaker on other sizes.

cheers

That is a good point, plus Coregas cylinders, at least in D size, are larger than the Supagas and CIG D sizes I have used/rented. From what I found out when I brought the Coregas cylinders home, their cylinders are marginally different in size, and their Acetylene certainly seems it is bigger all round.

I have a home built bottle trolley with a chain that hooks up to keep the bottles from falling out, the chain had two spare links using the Supagas and I cannot remember about the CIG ones as that was well over 20 years ago. With the Coregas cylinders I can just get the chain around with no spare links left; it is certainly a tight fit.

I found this reference to D sized bottle size and I believe it may be referring to CIG, Supagas and others, but certainly not Coregas bottles.

https://www.adelaide.edu.au/finance/...nder_sizes.pdf

This is the Coregas page with sizes and weights, note the Oxygen bottle weighs approximately 17.3 kg.

http://www.tradegas.com.au/products.htm

The Supagas D size oxygen has 1.5 cubic metres of gas, the Coregas D size oxygen has 2.1 cubic metres of gas.

The Supagas D size acetylene has 1 cubic metre of gas, the Coregas D size acetylene has 1 cubic metre of gas.

Over time, I've found that I generally emptied my oxygen cylinder earlier than the acetylene cylinder, it would seem that with the increased D size capacity of the Coregas cylinder compared to the Supagas D sized cylinder that may be a thing of the past, time will tell.

Comments from other oxy/acetylene users about this facet of gas usage, could be interesting.

Mick.

This gas situation is good some of our members .in other areas the same ripoff for diy people goes on.

Core gas has a branch here but it offers only oxy acetylene,

Even if it comes to Bunnings in my area D size cylinders are useful as tits on a bull to me, as I would use my O/A it every other day.

Perhaps times have to get a little tougher for some some companies to take a little less profit and offer a bit more competition.

Grahame

Same here Graham... I use Coregas cylinders from the local independent welding supplier... I have G sized Corgon and Oxygen.... I get them filled maybe once a year... Rent is a killer and totally overpriced..

I may have said it before..but I'll say it again.

It occurs to me that the prices charged in the industrial gas industry...in particular to small volume users...have not a thing to do with the costs of production.

In the last few months I have spoken to a couple of people who run or have run businesses with fairly large gas consumption.....and the prices they have been paying for gas are just rediculous in comparision with what the small users pay.....and many of them get charged no rent on bottles.

When most of us pay arround $90 to $120 for an "E" size fill of whatever, these guys are paying less the $50.....some tell me a lot less...I cant varify it but one bloke told me he was getting G sized shielding gass fills for arround the $20.

A few years ago, I heard that BOC where charging or threatening to charge something like $600 for a lost bottle and actively auditing accounts to see how many bottles customers should be holding....and "getting up em for the rent"

Truth of the matter is....I recon the wholesale price of a "E" sized bottle....particularly for a multinational company should be arround the $100 to $150....NEW

AND they charge us arround $200 to rent that bottle each year, a bottle that could be over 20 years old.

Yeh all we can do is hope.

Remember its only 30 years ago we had a gas monopoly in this country..and until very recently we have had a gas duopoly

so. it may take some time.

cheers

Originally Posted by soundman

I may have said it before..but I'll say it again.

It occurs to me that the prices charged in the industrial gas industry...in particular to small volume users...have not a thing to do with the costs of production.

In the last few months I have spoken to a couple of people who run or have run businesses with fairly large gas consumption.....and the prices they have been paying for gas are just rediculous in comparision with what the small users pay.....and many of them get charged no rent on bottles.

When most of us pay arround $90 to $120 for an "E" size fill of whatever, these guys are paying less the $50.....some tell me a lot less...I cant varify it but one bloke told me he was getting G sized shielding gass fills for arround the $20.

A few years ago, I heard that BOC where charging or threatening to charge something like $600 for a lost bottle and actively auditing accounts to see how many bottles customers should be holding....and "getting up em for the rent"

Truth of the matter is....I recon the wholesale price of a "E" sized bottle....particularly for a multinational company should be arround the $100 to $150....NEW

AND they charge us arround $200 to rent that bottle each year, a bottle that could be over 20 years old.

Yeh all we can do is hope.

Remember its only 30 years ago we had a gas monopoly in this country..and until very recently we have had a gas duopoly

so. it may take some time.

cheers

My initial reaction was to seriously question $20 G size refills, but then I thought back to the large customer who fairly recently was buying WIA 16TC's for around $11 per 5Kg pack and the fact that I got a 70% discount on a box of rivets yesterday, so it is quite possible that the $20 G size refill does exist. Nice if you are getting them.

There realy are some obsceene margins in certain sectors.

When we end of chain business are expected to manage with a 30% mark up or less many times there are people up stream banging on very hefty margins.

A 70% discount is not unusual on fasteners....so there must have been 1000% between wholesale cost and recommended retail if someone is going to give you 70% and still make a reasonable margin.
OH and that is in box lots, before they get retail packed.


Gentlemen.....a secret you must know if you don't already.



Find a good specilist bolt shop and make friends down there....and stop buying bolts at the hardware chains.


My local bolt shop.....gives everybody the same price...one that gets a little better when you buy very large quantities.


I have figured out that small sales get a minimum charge..that represents the labour for the bloke to go to the shelves and get it.......mostly $2......but no matter what it is.....they usually have it.
On saturday morning my local bolt shop is a very bussy place.

A shamless plug If I may be permitted.

Johnny Hyde at The Bolt King in Capalaba has been looking after a lot of people and giving everybody a fair deal for a long time.

Unless it is a specificlly buildery item that the chain hardwares want to compete on........I can buy a box of 500 for the price of a pack or 50 in the retal hardwares.

Oh and stanless.....hell....I've seen the prices they want for stanless ..ANYthing in the marine shops..( saw one plece that had a bag of 10 x 1/8 stanless rivets and wanted $25..HELL..that would buy me half a box at johhies)..there are times when I get given stanless because it is cheaper than zinc plated steel.
The margin on stanless is just rediculous.

There are bolt shops all over the country that have good businesses bassed on not being greedy and looking after the small blokes...power to em

cheers

Originally Posted by soundman

Find a good specilist bolt shop and make friends down there....and stop buying bolts at the hardware chains.

In the interests of completely derailing this thread, I'll also add that if you're interested in outside sort of stuff like gal batten screws, coach bolts, etc. have a look at your local landscape supplier - got my last set at half the price that the big Bunny was charging. For stainless, etc. I never even look anywhere else except my local bolt shop.

Originally Posted by Gavin Newman

Their website only refers to oxy/acetylene. No mention of MIG or TIG gas unfortunately.

You will be pleased to hear that MIG and TIG gases are in the second stage of the industrial gas roll out to the big green shed. They are forming part of each locations Dangerous Goods Licence - expect sometime in the next 6 months.

Originally Posted by soundman

A few years ago, I heard that BOC where charging or threatening to charge something like $600 for a lost bottle and actively auditing accounts to see how many bottles customers should be holding....and "getting up em for the rent"

This month a G bottle (8.3m) is quoted at $990 replacement in the threatening letter. Very important to keep the original rental agreement, not the first time the spivs apparently lose track of anniversaries and try it on!