Welding Tips and Tricks

So im new to welding ive got a big argon tank thats heavy as hell and figured it was full but when you open the valve nothing comes out. I took it in to be exchanged and the guy tells me its almost full?? Is there anyway the main valve can be junk or is this guy just lying to me?

Put a regulator on it and see what internal pressure it reads.

i don't know your tanks but it could have a valved tap where you need to fit a regulator etc onto it which pushes open the valve in the tap. if you fit the wrong type of reg/fitting it won't push open the valve.

well how did he check to see that it is "almost full"?

Yes, the tanks are heavy even when empty. Casual (human lifting) weighing is not an indicator of gas quantity.

1 scf of Argon weighs .1034 lb. A 300 cf bottle of Argon full weighs a hair over 31lb more when it’s full compared to dead empty.

You could always shake it to see if you can hear it sloshing.

IF he had a gas stretcher ,, he wouldn't have run out of gas so fast.

Poland308 wrote: ↑Tue Oct 19, 2021 7:10 pm 1 scf of Argon weighs .1034 lb. A 300 cf bottle of Argon full weighs a hair over 31lb more when it’s full compared to dead empty.

Wow over 30lbs difference huh? I plugged it into a gas volume to weight calculator and got the same result, I always just figured the things felt heavier on the trip back home than loading them into the truck because I was already dreading doing it a second time after having to do it once earlier that day . There's also 2 ways to get a cylinder to my shop from the truck, lifting it up/down the stairs, or parking down by the well and moving it by 2 wheeler cart along the side of a hill. I'm still not sure which is worst.

You should ask the guy that said it’s full to crack it open. That would prove to him the valve is defective. With argon it’s safe, unlike flammable gasses. You should always do this to blow out debris, anyway. I know the big tanks are a pain to move. It’s why I went with 80 cf.

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Wow over 30lbs difference huh? I plugged it into a gas volume to weight calculator and got the same result, I always just figured the things felt heavier on the trip back home than loading them into the truck because I was already dreading doing it a second time after having to do it once earlier that day . There's also 2 ways to get a cylinder to my shop from the truck, lifting it up/down the stairs, or parking down by the well and moving it by 2 wheeler cart along the side of a hill. I'm still not sure which is worst.
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The magic of compression.
I also need to negotiate stairs and with an E cylinder but do securely tie it to my trolley. Breaking a valve off a bottle isn't something to contemplate.

gnabgib wrote: ↑Thu Jan 06, 2022 6:27 pm

Wow over 30lbs difference huh? I plugged it into a gas volume to weight calculator and got the same result, I always just figured the things felt heavier on the trip back home than loading them into the truck because I was already dreading doing it a second time after having to do it once earlier that day . There's also 2 ways to get a cylinder to my shop from the truck, lifting it up/down the stairs, or parking down by the well and moving it by 2 wheeler cart along the side of a hill. I'm still not sure which is worst.
[/quote]

The magic of compression.
I also need to negotiate stairs and with an E cylinder but do securely tie it to my trolley. Breaking a valve off a bottle isn't something to contemplate.
[/quote]

I use 336CF T cylinders despite having to move the things, where I rent my tanks is a 50 mile one way trip, so at least if I'm doing a lot of welding it's not worth making the trip every couple weeks or renting 3 at once just to have the convenience of a 125CF cylinder you can just throw on your shoulder as it's a lot cheaper to wrestle with the T cylinder for a few minutes. When I use the cart you better believe I have at least 2 ratchet straps on the thing though.