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Shielding gas prices

Ar:
20cf 34.44
80cf 46.23
150 58.85
200 84.59
300 125.41

75/25
80cf 41.20
150 54.49
200 68.75
300 87.71

Expect prices to go up as well. There is a shortage of Argon supposedly due to the lower demand from the steel industry. Apparently Argon is a byproduct of one of the processes to make something else. Cant remember what though...
 
I buy my argon in 249 cu foot bottles, and up here those are going for about $65 each.

Argon is a byproduct of the air separation plants that pull pure oxygen out of the atmosphere. So its usually shipped from the nearest such plant- welding uses are something like 2% of all of the industrial gas consumption in the USA, so frankly, the guys who make it could care less if we gripe. They are making the real money on selling millions of cubic feet of oxygen to huge chemical plants, or steel mills, and the tiny bit of argon they sell to welders is barely a blip on their radar.

Here is link to an article that talks about it- it seems that basic oxygen furnace steelmaking is going way down in the USA, and if the steel mill doesnt buy your oxygen, no way are you gonna keep running a $40 million dollar plant to sell a few tanks of argon.

http://www.weldingmag.com/323/GlobalSearch/Article/False/43490/
 
Yep, that was the reason. I knew it had something to do with the steel industry slowing down but couldnt remember exactly what.
 
The 95cf I started the topic with is actually a 92cf and that was $24.00 for a refill.
One of the shops next to me was paying $19+ for what was the same size bottle as the 141 I just upsized to.I guess my $27.00/141cf is in line
My supplier asked what the pressure was when he started. Since the pressure is lower my neighbor is paying a little more per cf because the actual cf/$ is higher.
 
HELLO TO ALL,
when i first got my tig machine, i was
paying $22.00 for a 125 cuft. tank of argon.
the last time i got a refill, it was
$39.00. i am sure it has gone up since
then. the reason i did not go with a larger
tank, is because this one is easier for me
to handle.
good luck to all.
wlbrown
 








 
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