Cost of gases for a cutting torch

old

Well-known Member
So I am out of acetylene and also out of O-2. So called to check on price. $87 for the acetylene and only $27 for the O-2
 
Several years ago my neighbor found this out and converted his torches to burn propane. Said it was much cheaper for his business.
 
You need to move north a few county's, O2 is about 15 too high and AC is about 30.
 
Propane is good for cutting but not hot enough for welding, if you gas weld. And if you are making lots of small cuts, it takes longer to heat the metal to cutting temperature.
 
Now days I buy my gas at O'Reilly's since it is cheaper then Mid state gas. Had the bottle now for 25 plus years.
 
Ya for what I do propane will not work well since I do a lot of forge type stuff with my torch heating and bending of metal etc.
 
I am paying 150 for AC and 75 for O2.
These are just fills for medium seized farmer owned bottles.
I cut with propane which is a looot cheaper
 
My area only does leases no matter which company you choose. My leases run about 135 each for five years. During that span it is $30 to exchange, I believe. Torch gas is one of the biggest scams going. You cannot get owned bottles filled unless you have the original sales receipt, even if they were bought 50 years ago.
 
Spirit, wonder if that is a state law or just local suppliers conspiring to gouge the customers?

Years ago I used to run into that problem, "No we can't fill that bottle, it's not ours!" But in that last 15-20 years they have quit asking, just exchange them no mater where it came from. Every now and then I get told the bottle is out of inspection, and I have to pay extra, but think that has only happened with my little MC portable torch set.
 
Last time I bought acetylene it was around $50.
I switched to propane years ago. It does take *slightly* longer to pre-heat but cuts fine. True that it does not really work for welding or brazing. If you are just heating things up then it will work fine. I used mine a couple days ago to unbend a forged steel yoke. Had the whole half of it red hot in less than two minutes.
 
(quoted from post at 22:49:21 09/10/15) Propane is good for cutting but not hot enough for welding, if you gas weld. And if you are making lots of small cuts, it takes longer to heat the metal to cutting temperature.
he fact that you cannot gas weld well with oxy/propane has noting to do with amount of heat, but everything to do with the shielding effect of different combustion gasses of propane and acetylene. Heat of flame is only about 10% different and at 5700 degrees, that matters little.
 
Old, I have a propane setup from the late 60s. belonged to my Dad. It is a Harris torch, (Craftsman made by Harris) with Propane cutting tip.,It works great for heating! The big cutting tip works almost as well as a rosebud for that. Try it, I think it will work for you.

I actually have two gas rigs, one small Victor that has an acetylene bottle that I use for welding, brazing and small cutting only.

The bigger propane setup is used exclusively for heating and cutting bigger stuff.
 
From what I've read propane will NOT work for welding, but I've done plenty of brazing with propane with no issues.

Brandon
 
You know, now that I've thought about it a little bit I may have brazed with propane too. I do have an acetylene bottle and hook it up for the rare time I need to flame weld or need fastest heat.

I know you're *supposed* to use a slightly carburizing flame for brazing but I'm going change my story and say that you can braze with LP and oxygen.
 
I use oxy/propane for cutting and heating with no problems. Tips are different but available. I use a 3/4" rosebud for larger heating jobs and it does just fine.
 
Old, I am in minnesota and am paying about what you are. I just exchanged an Oxygen and acetylene and paid around $120.00. that price also included a hazzard fee of $6.00
Acetylene $79.20 I think the tank is about 3 feet tall, maybe 7 inches in diameter. Oxygen $25.79 Tank is around 4 feet tall, maybe 6 inches in diameter. sales tax of $7.48. = $1.52 shy of $120.00.
 
I got lucky I dealt with the manager today and he gave me a discount since I give him green beans all the time so he gave it to me at his prices. So being nice to people some times help you in the end
 
That seems high. We own the tanks and exchange when empty. 125 CF oxygen for $12.56 and #4 acetylene for $45.76 plus $3.21 tax.
 
(quoted from post at 22:10:34 09/10/15) So I am out of acetylene and also out of O-2. So called to check on price. $87 for the acetylene and only $27 for the O-2

Would this be the time to get really bent and twisted enough to suggest a gasoline torch for cutting? Even diesel or kerosene.

http://www.petrogen.com/
 
Replace the acetylene with a BBQ propane bottle, lasts a long time and is very cheap. We added an extra "foot on our welding cart to carry the BBQ bottle. Cutting, soldering and brazing with propane works great. We only use acetylene on the rare occasion when we need to torch weld steel, so a small acetylene bottle lasts for years. The added "foot for the BBQ bottle also makes the cart more stable.
You need a propane tip to fit your existing cutting torch, but that only about $10, so payback with the cheaper gas is very quick.
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I just got a refilled oxygen bottle. I think they said it was an "M" size??? About 4 feet tall and about 6 inch diameter. They charged me $41 because it was out of test date. They said the testing was an extra $20.
Some years ago, you needed ownership papers to get an owned tank filled. Then they took your tank and refilled/tested as necessary. Took a few days turn around time. At some point, they apparently abandoned that procedure and just began exchanging tanks. It was my understanding that if you had owned tanks, you had a title that went along with them. Since a document such as a title would have some sort of identification mark or number on it, as would the tank, you would have to wait for your own tank to be refilled. Pretty inconvenient if you run out of gas in the middle of a job.
 

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