ive been going through gas like crazy.....starting to wonder if i have a small leak. how long would you say a large bottle will last (tig)...just welding not purging or anything.

 

If you weld for a living, you shouldn't go through a bottle a day....maybe 1.5-2 days a bottle.

If you think you have a leak, get dish soap and water, and spray it on all the connections...you may find one leaking. You'll know it if it does.

Also, turn off the bottle when you're not using it.

 

Also turn the **** all the way on when you are using it.

 

<TABLE WIDTH="90%" CELLSPACING=0 CELLPADDING=0 ALIGN=CENTER><TR><TD>Quote, originally posted by coupequattro &raquo;</TD></TR><TR><TD CLASS="quote">Also turn the **** all the way on when you are using it.</TD></TR></TABLE>

That used to be an issue long ago, but they have since changed the design of bottles such that you don't have to open it all the way for it to stay sealed. If you want to test this, just use the soap and water on and around the valve also. Should the bottle leak, mark it and notify the gas company when you swap it for another one.

This is also the case with oxygen and acetylene. With acetylene tanks, it is reccomended to only open it 1/4-1/2 turn....so that if there is any accident or danger you can cut it off quickly.

Another tip for bottles of gas. Any time you leave a bottle and it leaks all out to nothing, you should mark it "evacuate prior to fill". What this means is that if you let all the argon out, some oxygen and contaminants will be allowed back in. If the gas company just hooks up to it and refills it, they have left the contaminants in there and the next guy to get the bottle may have problems with poor gas quality. If any of you have ever gotten a bottle of bad gas, you know how frustrating it can be. Save the next guy some problems.

Oh, and NEVER write on the bottles. Put masking tape on it and write on it.....otherwise, the company may charge you for repainting the bottle.

 

hmmm....ok maybe its not as bad as i thought, ive just been welding a lot more lately. yea ive started turning off the bottle every time im even taking a break to let things cool down or whatever the case may be..and i always open the bottle all the way. im still going to check for leaks though....thanks guys

 

Yes, leaks can be very costly, as they will sometimes leak during the entire time the bottle is on. I'd reccomend that everybody check theirs occasionally for leaks.

 

A large bottle of argon is usually 330 cuft of gas in a perfect world if your running 20 cuft an hour then you should be able to get about 15 or so hours out of the bottle I wouldn't expect to get 16.5 as the math would work out. The best way to check for a leak is to open your bottle with it hooked to the machine and close it if the regulator gauge stays up for hours then you don't have a leak of any great size with the bottle turned off and also turned on do what engloid said and use soapy water and check the valve on the bottle I bought a new machine lst year and the hose that came in the regulator kit had a leak

as far as the bottle leaking down to zero it is best to leave some small amount of gas in the bottle many guys empty the bottles needlessly and leave the valves open that is stupid it will allow contamination however the bottles are always pulled down with a vacuum before they are filled to avoid anyone getting a contaminated bottle Most gas suppliers fill at least 6 bottles at a time on a bank and they are all drawn down at once and they start filling while they are still under vacuum it's a pretty simple process