Welding revisited

[neksmerj]

I have a perfectly good CIG gas welding outfit, but no bottles, and since it's years since I have had a need to use it, I've lost touch with cylinder hire etc.

I'm hoping a kind member can advise me which direction to take since I'm having to retire early. In my retirement, I intend making a sturdy steel work bench, and other items made from RHS, ERW, angle, plate etc. Some cutting may be required.

Do I cop the cost of hiring the smallest size cylinders, and go with what I have, or do I sell my welding set and buy some sort of 240V electric welder?

If I go for an electric welder, should it be a multipurpose tig / stick inverter type?

I really have no idea, you are the experts!

It's years since I've burnt holes in my overalls, something to look forward to again, eh?

In closing, is 'D' the smallest size of cylinder available, and roughly how much is the rental these days?

Ken

[China]

neksmerj, I use a company called Supagas (Aussie owned) less expensive than the others very good service, I have oxy, acet + argon, I rent on a yearly basis oxy&acet are $114.00 each per year. They are the small size, How old are your gauges are they the two in one type if so BOC no longer consider them safe for today's high pressure cylinders. As for elcetric welding I recently purchased A CIGWELD weldskill 170 DC inverter, plus I bought the the TIG hand peice as well I am yet to use the TIG, as stick welder it handled 5/16 steel without a problem. Being DC the TIG won't weld aluminium.

[DJ’s Timber]

I have 4 bottles that I rent through Supagas and like China I find them good value for what they are.

If you're interested, I can loan you or do some of your welding if it helps you decide on what course of action you want to take, PM if you want to discuss this further.

[neksmerj]

China,

Two in one type? Not quite sure what you mean. My regulators are probably 15 years old, fairly compact 70mm dia, and consist of a metal body with two gauges on top. Is this the now unsafe version? My set is a Comet 3.

DJ,

You are a gentleman for your offer. Will let you know very soon.

SAFETY CHECK

Sounds like I should get my welding set checked out, will Supagas do this?

Thanks fellas,

Ken

[DJ’s Timber]

China,

Two in one type? Not quite sure what you mean. My regulators are probably 15 years old, fairly compact 70mm dia, and consist of a metal body with two gauges on top. Is this the now unsafe version? My set is a Comet 3.

DJ,

You are a gentleman for your offer. Will let you know very soon.

SAFETY CHECK

Sounds like I should get my welding set checked out, will Supagas do this?

Thanks fellas,

Ken

Comet 3 Gauges as far as I know are still fine. It's the one where they have the one gauge which shows both pressure and content that are no longer considered safe. They have a big thumbwheel type setup to tighten them up on the bottle. Cannot find an image at the moment.

Pretty sure my current gauges are the Comet 3 as well and I verified with BOC that they were still OK with the latest bottles.

I can visually check your equipment to see if it will need to be checked further.

[neksmerj]

Hi DJ,

Sounds like my gauges will be ok, however, what precautions should I take before connecting everything up?

Would hate to blow myself up before I finish restoring my old Hercus.

Ken

[DJ’s Timber]

Hi DJ,

Sounds like my gauges will be ok, however, what precautions should I take before connecting everything up?

Would hate to blow myself up before I finish restoring my old Hercus.

Ken

Best precautions to take is to fellow common sense and if in doubt, get it checked.

If you like, I'm doing a log recovery in Preston in about 12 hrs and could call in afterwards to check on your equipment.

[neksmerj]

Hi DJ.

PM sent re inspection.

Ken

[Fossil]

Comet 3 Gauges as far as I know are still fine. It's the one where they have the one gauge which shows both pressure and content that are no longer considered safe. They have a big thumbwheel type setup to tighten them up on the bottle.


Funny old world isn't it?? :rolleyes:

I was forced to replace my regulators years ago and purchase the two in one type, as the mickey mouse gauges were considered unsafe!!
The fear was that the gauges on the latter would break off if a bottle fell over.

I sincerely hope that you enjoy your retirement years Ken.

[China]

If you have two separate gauges you are ok the older type are cylindrical in shape with a large knob on the top, other thing to check is that your hoses are still good

[neksmerj]

Hi China,

Regulators and hoses all look ok externally, is there any risk involved shooting a bit of compressed air down each hose, to blow out any spider webs etc?

Ken

[bollie7]

Ken
I'm not being nasty here, but if you really know so little about oxy/acetylene and the safe use of, my suggestion is either don't touch it at all or go and do an basic oxy welding course. At the very least get a book on it and have a good read.
Oxy/acetylene is dangerous stuff, seriously. Used incorrectly, it can kill. You don't want to become a statistic at the start of your retirement. There are too many people who are far too complacent when using oxy/acetylene, usually , I think, because they don't realise just how dangerouas it is.

Acetylene is very unstable and becomes explosive with as little as 10% oxygen.

http://www.depweb.state.pa.us/deepminesafety/lib/deepminesafety/training/oxyacetylene.pdf

For what you said you want to do, I think you would better with an electric welder. A mig would be great but you have the ongoing cost of gas cylinder rental but you dont have slag intrusions or slag removal problems. A stick welder would probably be cheaper to buy, you don't have cylinder rental, but you can have slag problems as I said in the other sentence plus the flux coating on the rods can deteriate over time. Another advantage of stick is its relatively cheap to change to a different type of filler rod. ie stainless, hard facing etc.
I have both types and I use the mig predominantly for general purpose welding. There are times when I use the stick though. Once you have used a good quality mig you don't want to use a stick if you can avoid it. The downside is to get a good quality machine can be expensive. Another problem you can have with a gas type mig is if you are welding outside, any wind can blow the gas shield away from the arc, which does nothing for the weld quality.

I hope this helps.

enjoy your retirement

bollie7

[neksmerj]

Hi Bollie,

I'm inclined to agree with you, will start looking for a MIG welder.

Have just had the same advice from a welder friend, and I reckon, in the long run, it will be much safer and cheaper.

Ken