buy or lease??

oxy / acetylene tanks. Pro,s and cons of each way. Hobby use only. Probably more heating up than anything else. Already have a Victor outfit we bought back in '70,s. Am told all tanks need recertified every 5 yrs at owners cost. So if I buy tanks good for 5 yrs and in 6 mos. exchange them for full ones and they expire in 6 mos. and they last me 7 mos. and I take them in to exchange they are out of certification. Who pays? If I buy "new" (recertified) tanks with the date on them then exchange them for refills, how does that work? What "dates" do I get back?

I have always bought my tanks from a company here in Idaho called Norco. Not sure if they are a national Co. or not but they exchange my emptys for full one's each time and there are no expiration date on tanks as the company keeps them always up to date. I think most suppliers anywhere would have the same policy on whether a lease or purchase program.

Hi, here locally we have 2 welding supply stores - Air Gas & Goss . I've dealt with Air Gas ever since the late 60s & have bought most of my tanks thru them .But I have had good luck at picking up 2 sets to use as spares from individuals needing cash . But there can be problems with that because of theives having been stealing them for years .I will only buy tanks from an individual if he will either sign a Bill Of Sale that I've drawn up along with pictures , date of sale & price . About 4 months ago I was scanning thru local ads in Craigs List & saw an ad for a complete accetylene/oxygen outfit for $150.00 cash . It included a cheap-o 2 wheel dollie with a full medium size tank of accet , an empty medium size oxy tank , an old set of Airco regulators w/guages , new 25' hose & an old Airco cutting torch .I tested the guys honesty as to the outfit really being his & that he had soul ownership . He put my mind at ease by having a very nice Bill of Sale all ready for me with an itemized list of everything including pictures of everything , tank numbers ,including his full name / address / & phone number . Also whom he purchased everything from with selling price . I felt it was a pretty secure deal so I bought it . When I took the oxy tank out to Air Gas to exchange it for a full one , I took the Bill of Sale with me so they could file a copy .They exchanged the tank with no problems . Next I ordered a new tank cart from HF . So sir , my advice is to keep watching Craigs List in your area , plus why not place ads in CL on a regular basis ? Never hurts to keep at placing ads . Does your local grocery store have a bulletin board in their lobby where customers can post ads at no charge ? How about posting ads in the ads section right here at YT stating where you live & how far you will drive to deal .I also had bought my small tanks for my Smith jewelers torch outfit through watching ads . Well sir , that's my help for the day . Good luck & God bless , Ken

Buy your tanks from the dealer you intend to have fill them. In most places they will just exchange them anyway. It's unlikely you'll ever get hit with a recertification fee.

I bought my tanks, only allowed to buy the 3 ft tall tanks. Anything bigger you must lease.

They just exchange, so far no rectification fee.

Yesterday I suggested watching Craigs List daily & posting an add yourself . Well today i spent a hour or so reading through ads in a few of the cities closest to me here in Pennsylvania . Man , just in Lancaster Pa alone, I found 3 or 4 seperate ads of both Accetylene & Oxygen tanks for sale . One guy was even selling both of his tanks after having them refilled for I think he was only asking $250.00 . My supplier AirGas sells the empty tanks like mine for $100.00 + tax for each one . My last tank of accetylene was $97.00 + tax & oxygen was around $50.00 + tax . Let me know how you make out . God bless , Ken

i lease tanks from air gas. about 10 bottles total. just exchange em out when they are empty. they have trucks in the area here every monday. if you call on friday they deliver em right to your door. 10 dollar delivery fee. way cheaper than driving over to get em.

If you buy, make sure they are stamped "customer owned" or are blank on the ring where the valve screws in. Also, be sure when you exchange them, the full ones are also marked this way.

Josh

You are going to have to check with suppliers in your area, programs vary greatly. I lease mine through Weiler, they only do leases. If you buy, never loose the paper work or you will get stuck with empty tanks nobody will fill. Better to lease in my opinion, you never know when your dealer may close or change names, sticking you with tanks nobody will fill.

The supplier I deal with charges a nominal fee per exchange for recertification on customer owned tanks. I have a couple of oddball tanks that they cant exchange, those I just pay the fee when I get them filled out of date.

Thanks guys, I will update once I make decision and get some. RB

I have my original receipt where I bought my tanks in 1976 from a company that was sold three times and then closed. Until they actually closed their doors I never had a problem "exchanging/refilling" tanks. I don't use a lot so there have been times when the tanks I took in were out of date. They simply got another tank out and loaded for me. I have asked for the longest date possible but they always told me not to worry about it, they would trade out anyway.

After that place finally closed the doors, I went down the street to another supplier and got the same treatment, no problem. I have offered to make them a copy of my receipt and was told it was OK, not to bother. I keep a copy of that receipt in a plastic bag in my welding trailer anyway.

Everyone is different as you can see here. The retest is 10 years and we just exchange them, but we charge a maintenance fee, one per bottle per year. If you go a year with out exchanging a bottle then there is no charge, exchange 20 bottles and there is one charge. A 125cg OX& a #4AC will run 450.00 from us(one time plus maintenance fees) Outfit down the street from us only charges 250.00 but they charge you 250.00 every 4 years. Just make sure you know what you are getting.( we hate customer fill tanks, just a real PIA to keep track of when we fill 300 to 400 a day.) Rent is 60.00 per tank per year, no maintenance fee.

I too own my tanks and have the paperwork from about 1979 or so. I don't think they pay as much attention anymore to that stuff as they used to but I still keep the paperwork. The place I got them from is no longer in business but the place I get gas from now just give me a full one with no questions asked.

I own my cylinders too.
Refills cost today twice as much as with rented tanks.
Medium size tanks, oxy is $80, acy is $145
They got ye by the nutz one way or the other.

Thanks 504. I can lease from local Airgas. This is the size oxy- "M" about 4' high x 6"dia and acetylene 150cf abt 36" high and 6-8" dia. I can get 5 yr lease for $320 or one yr lease for $160. That's a no-brainer. Fill is $75 / $25. So I can lease for $64 per yr (both tanks) if I go 5 yrs. Cost me $450 to buy. Break even point is 7 years. I need to check into the price to fill being higher with customer owned tanks. Someone has to pay for those "free" inspections/recertifications and extra paper work. Am leaning towards lease especially if I learn they are charging $100 / $50 to fill cust owned as apposed to $75 / $25 leased. That makes the break even point closer to 8 yrs. Will update.

Bought mine back in 1980, lost papers several years ago. Company sold out and went to company they sold to, never any problems and as high as 2 years between refills. Never look at a date.

I own my tanks. The 1st set I got in '76 and had a bit of trouble getting them filled at the first dealer. Went to another dealer and didn't have any problems. They asked where I got them but I didn't have to show any paperwork. The dealer was a locally owned outfit. I'd exchange my acetylene tank, and they'd fill the oxy tank onsite. I was responsible for the hydro test every 5 years and the cost was $20 back then.
That dealer was bought out by a bigger outfit. They stopped filling tanks locally. Tried to get my oxy tank filled and they said no, they'd have to ship it out to be filled. I needed it right away so they said they'd just swap tanks with me. They supposedly deleted the serial number of the old tank and added the serial from the tank they gave me. From then on I had to drop my oxy tank off and pick it up a week later.
A few years later I got a call from them. They said my (original) oxy tank had been sitting there for two years and if I didn't pick it up they were going to scrap it. I tried to explain that we had swapped tanks. They wouldn't listen. Their driver lives half a mile away he dropped it off on his way home. It was full. So they gave me a full tank for free.

There were lots of customer owned tanks in the area without titles. We were supposed to have titles here in IL and the local dealer was a stickler about it. There were a lot of problems with people not being able to get their tanks filled. Lots of guys found new dealers even if it meant driving 30 miles. The local dealer decided to give everyone that supposedly owned their tanks but didn't have titles a lifetime lease, which was transferable. You still had to have the lease on file with the supplier. I've heard but don't know if it's true that IL has dropped the title requirements supposedly making it much easier to get customer owned tanks filled.

A buddy of mine owns his tanks and used the dealer that wouldn't fill mine back in '76. That dealer always exchanged tanks so the tank owner never directly paid for the hydro. It was figured in with the refill cost.

I own 4 sets of tanks now but haven't had any filled for a long time. There is only one local dealer now and that outfit has changed ownership since I've gotten my tanks filled so I don't know if they'll fill, exchange or refuse my tanks.