[AKweldshop]

what size propane bottle should I buy??
I found some 100 lb ers for $50 each
what should a guy pay to get them filled?
thanks,
John

[Otto Nobedder]

John, a 100# bottle should hold about 25 gallons if I have the math right, so figure that against your local price/gallon. That price may vary widely depending whether you have a propane dealer nearby, or have to go the the RV center or truck stop for a fill.

If you have your own 500# or 1000# for home heating, you *may*, depending on local regulations, be able to get a fill adapter installed and fill it yourself at your bulk price.

Steve S

[Otto Nobedder]

A pair of 30#ers (common RV size) may be more convenient. They're much lighter, and you don't have to worry about running out in the middle of a project when you have two.

I have these on my RV, and the last time I filled one (7.5 gallons), before winter set in and the price jumped, it was under $30. Prices always tend to be lower on the Gulf coast, though, and I have no idea what prices are in Alaska.

Steve S

[Superiorwelding]

John
I would go with the 100#ers. We use them for cutting and I use them for heating my garage. I like the fact they last longer than gas grill tanks. However the smaller tanks will be more portable. My wife hates it when I run out in the garage and come raid the gas grill. I pay $50 for a 100# tank fill but I also get business pricing so am not sure what the street price is.

[MinnesotaDave]

what size propane bottle should I buy??
I found some 100 lb ers for $50 each
what should a guy pay to get them filled?
thanks,
John

Depends what you want them for?

I use 5, 20, 43.5, 100 pound cylinders.

The 43.5 lb aluminum forklift tank is nice for the cutting torch, but the 20 lb tanks are more handy - have four of those.

$50 is a decent price on 100 lb tanks around here. Filling price depends on the time of year.

[AKweldshop]

Ok I'm not gonna be doing much portable stuff...
I'm probably gonna replace my 345 cu ft acetylene bottle with this 100 lb propane tank.
That 345 acetylene costs $190 to fill, so I should be saving money by paying $50 --$75 on a profane refill.
How fast does a man go through propane compared to acetylene????
John

[MinnesotaDave]

Ok I'm not gonna be doing much portable stuff...
I'm probably gonna replace my 345 cu ft acetylene bottle with this 100 lb propane tank.
That 345 acetylene costs $190 to fill, so I should be saving money by paying $50 --$75 on a profane refill.
How fast does a man go through propane compared to acetylene????
John

There are a lot of calculations you can do to figure this, but I'd bet it's not fast enough that you will care

Try this: http://apps.harrisproductsgroup.com/gascost/

They note that the cutting oxygen is roughly the same, only the preheating flame differs.

[MinnesotaDave]

I ran some numbers - taking into account the different mixture rates, btu's and such.

After you have used an equivalent amount of propane/oxygen to do an equivalent amount of work as your $190 345 cu.ft. acetylene tank would allow - I see a $100 savings if oxygen is at $20 per 100 cu.ft. and 100 lb propane is $75.

The link I posted roughly agrees with this number.

[noddybrian]

Our bottle sizes are metric - but the most useful for general use cutting etc is 19kg ( very close to your 43.5 lb ) - it's manageable to cart around & lasts pretty well - I use the 47kg for the large heating torch in the shop & on a small crucible furnace used when casting brass parts & a rivet oven - cutting with propane is OK once you get used to it - not as nice as acetylene - slow to pre-heat & not as clean a cut - you also use more oxygen - but still save over acetylene prices by a good margin - in the future though I want to build a bigger HHO generator & try it out running from an inverter power source as an alternative for heating - I made a few smaller ones a couple of years back when there was a craze for them here after a resurgence of Stan Meyer related stuff due to a sudden rise in fuel prices - not sure how it will work out - but there was a commercial unit sold years back that likely would be popular now if they'd priced it right.

[Oddjob83]

Well in Ontario its costing us about $90 per fill on our 100lbs'rs we use 2 for heating the fab shop on a 50k btu heater. depending where we go it is about $78 at one place(and we get a special rate for getting filled every week) and $90 at another.

And they are telling us there is a shortage and that's why it costs so much.

[Antorcha]

Well in Ontario its costing us about $90 per fill on our 100lbs'rs we use 2 for heating the fab shop on a 50k btu heater. depending where we go it is about $78 at one place(and we get a special rate for getting filled every week) and $90 at another.

And they are telling us there is a shortage and that's why it costs so much.

Yeah just like sitting in line because of "scarce oil" in 1975. I wonder if they masturbate when they see it published or just laugh hysterically ? Bought 100 lbs for the kitchen fri. $67

[Superiorwelding]

Our local distributor tells me that it is the cold and conditions. Guess they don't want to go out in cold and get us our fuels