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Acetylene tank

bally1020

Plastic
Joined
Dec 1, 2020
Hello people! Not sure i am in the right place here but basically im looking at buying my first acetylene tank and the guy is asking 150 for tank and torch. I assume the 11/82 stamp is the date of manufacture? Guy says hes had the tank for ages. Looking at the pictures , is there anything that stands out that says do not buy it! i see some light rust on it but doesnt look crazy bad. Any thoughts much appreciated. thank you
 

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The tank is worth nothing if you cannot get it filled. Take the tank to a gas supplier and ask him if he will accept the tank for either exchange or refilling. Certainly do not depend on any advice from this forum.
 
Best advice can be given right above^^^

That said I wouldn’t expect any issues, acetylene pressures are far from high and I don’t think they have to get the same once-a-decade hydrostatic certification as a high-pressure bottle.

On a high-pressure tank that number would indicate the last time the tank went in to be certified, which would also put it nearly 30 years outside of certification. I imagine you’ll find it cost-prohibitive to try and get a high-pressure tank recertified as an individual. Why would you anyway, the welding gas places practically give you the bottle with the fill…

As an aside, high-pressure tanks, when taken care of, seem to last a long time… I had a tank of nitrogen recently where the ring said: United States Army Air Corp. We haven’t even had one of those in quite some time. There wasn’t a stamp from every decade 1940-present and I asked about it when I returned the tank. The guy behind the counter muttered something about “as long as the tank has pressure…” That’s an issue I don’t imagine an end user could get around though.





Be safe




Jeremy
 
Without pics of the entire bottle (and torch) I would guess that is a plumbers torch and tank. In which case you should be able to exchange it at a plumbing supply house, as well as a welding store. Ask the guy and then be sure to double check what he said is still acurate, he could be basing his comments on OLD info.
 
Acetylene is stored in acetone, in a clay like solid powder...If the tank sits empty to long it will distroy the acetone and will be junk...Phil
 
In any case,price is exorbitant.....torch would be worth $30 in perfect condition,hose will be perished ,cylinder worthless.....In my case I 'd offer $25 for the lot.
 
Acetylene cylinders are different from all others. They are not high pressure cylinders and thus the date stamp does not have the same significance. So from that respect that cylinder is OK.

It is a very small cylinder, however. It's a B bottle, originally sized to fuel gas headlights on a bus. These cylinders are commonly used with acetylene/air torches by plumbers or HVAC technicians. They are a very poor choice for a general purpose cylinder. You should look for one that is at least 75 cubic feet. In my neck of the woods that is called a #3 cylinder. Or larger.

Then there is the issue of price. To me, a standard price for a B bottle with indeterminate amount of acetylene is $25. At the extreme high end, $50. It's clear your seller is descended from Barabbas. It's your money but I believe if you buy it for that price you will never sell it for anything like that price.

metalmagpie
 
Best advice can be given right above^^^

That said I wouldn’t expect any issues, acetylene pressures are far from high and I don’t think they have to get the same once-a-decade hydrostatic certification as a high-pressure bottle.

On a high-pressure tank that number would indicate the last time the tank went in to be certified, which would also put it nearly 30 years outside of certification. I imagine you’ll find it cost-prohibitive to try and get a high-pressure tank recertified as an individual. Why would you anyway, the welding gas places practically give you the bottle with the fill…

As an aside, high-pressure tanks, when taken care of, seem to last a long time… I had a tank of nitrogen recently where the ring said: United States Army Air Corp. We haven’t even had one of those in quite some time. There wasn’t a stamp from every decade 1940-present and I asked about it when I returned the tank. The guy behind the counter muttered something about “as long as the tank has pressure…” That’s an issue I don’t imagine an end user could get around though.





Be safe




Jeremy

I have a large CO2 tank that is over 100 years old and was stamped many times to update the hydrotest.
 
Holy moley

Wow. Thats all I can say. Decision made.
I looked elsewhere based on all your advice and its true. I found an acet tank plus o2 tank plus cart for $100.
So glad i asked yall first.
A ton of great info in there.
Cant thank you enough.
Im going to chase that $100 deal!
Have a good one! ;)
 
As mentioned multiple times, check first with your industrial gas supplier: it could be an expensive cart and some scrap, unless they will exchange/refill the bottles for you.

Paolo
 
Agree with checking with your gas supplier. My current one does not even look at your tank as it's a swap situation and I own my own bottles. Other places I have been they won't even touch the bottle unless you have the original bill of sale or receipt. I like the swap setup as I know everything is current with the Hydro-testing.
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Add to the above advise: beware of any bottles with welder supply company's names permanently marked on the neck or body of the bottle. Some will sell bottles like that, but when you take it to a different shop, they'll act like you stole a rental and won't touch it. Having a good relationship with your welding shop is important, but if you want to own your own bottles and refill or exchange them, you have to stay on top of it.
 
Some guys want to keep their tanks and that's that. I don't really much care as long as they don't try to give me a tank that looks like it is sketchy. I go through them fast enough that the rules that applied last time are still in effect for the most part.

You run into some trouble when you only refill them once every 10 years or so.
 
Its hardly worth the risk in buying used gas welding torches unless you know the history. Safety issues and obsolete parts with rebuilding old regulators. I tried that route years ago.
I switched over to oxy\ propane. Propane tanks are easy to get filled and less expensive. Then just lease your oxy tank.
I believe the reason acetylene is used is because the gas rises and dissipates if its leaking. Propane drop's and lingers along the floor. Consider this for indoor use. Educate yourself on this subject. Burning to death would be hell on earth.
Propane is a little bit of a pain to light until you get use to it.

You can buy a setup with propane tips at local welding supply.
What works for me may not be the best decision .

A neighbor walked up as I finished welding and I asked him to turn my tanks off. He cranked both regulators all the way in. :angry: I didn't know until a month later. Tanks were empty.
I had too replace diaphragm's in regulators and I replaced my hoses for piece of mind.
Trust only those you know with your welding setup.
 
Its hardly worth the risk in buying used gas welding torches unless you know the history. Safety issues and obsolete parts with rebuilding old regulators.

I could hardly disagree more. That's if you are willing to learn a little about what you're doing. If you insist in operating in blind ignorance then the above advice is sound. I learned to operate a torch in the 1960s and have bought and sold dozens of cylinders and many dozens of torches and regulators. I have a good friend who worked his entire career rebuilding torches and regulators and he taught me much about the practice. Stick with high quality torches and regulators and keep them in good condition and you have nothing to fear. Respect, certainly. Not fear.


I switched over to oxy/propane. Propane tanks are easy to get filled and less expensive.

If you don't do gas welding, this makes good sense. Propane works fine for torch cutting, heating and brazing. But acetylene is the only gas suitable for welding. All other fuel gasses have too much hydrogen so a weld made with them suffers from hydrogen embrittlement.

I believe the reason acetylene is used is because the gas rises and dissipates if its leaking. Propane drops and lingers along the floor. Consider this for indoor use. Educate yourself on this subject. Burning to death would be hell on earth.
Propane is a little bit of a pain to light until you get used to it.

That's an interesting idea, but wrong. Gasses mix together according to universal gas laws. Again, a little education goes a long ways. It's true acetylene is lighter than air and propane heavier. But either is only explosive when mixed with air in a fairly narrow range. For propane I think the mixture has to be 13-20% propane, for example.

I don't mean to go off on anyone. I'm sure the above poster means well. I just like to see actual factual information disseminated.

metalmagpie
 
If you don't do gas welding, this makes good sense. Propane works fine for torch cutting, heating and brazing. But acetylene is the only gas suitable for welding. All other fuel gasses have too much hydrogen so a weld made with them suffers from hydrogen embrittlement.

metalmagpie

And propane is much much cheaper to use
Peter
 
Propane is cheaper to buy, but it takes more of it to do the same work as acetylene since it has less BTU's. I use propane for heating bars and it is so much nicer than acetylene because of the BTU's, it does not burn the steel nearly as easy. Think of it as a soft flame.

Also the reason you need acetylene to gas weld with is those same BTU's. Propane or the other fuel gasses just dont get hot enough to melt the steel fast enough to make the weld.
 
I could hardly disagree more. That's if you are willing to learn a little about what you're doing. If you insist in operating in blind ignorance then the above advice is sound. I learned to operate a torch in the 1960s and have bought and sold dozens of cylinders and many dozens of torches and regulators. I have a good friend who worked his entire career rebuilding torches and regulators and he taught me much about the practice. Stick with high quality torches and regulators and keep them in good condition and you have nothing to fear. Respect, certainly. Not fear.




If you don't do gas welding, this makes good sense. Propane works fine for torch cutting, heating and brazing. But acetylene is the only gas suitable for welding. All other fuel gasses have too much hydrogen so a weld made with them suffers from hydrogen embrittlement.



That's an interesting idea, but wrong. Gasses mix together according to universal gas laws. Again, a little education goes a long ways. It's true acetylene is lighter than air and propane heavier. But either is only explosive when mixed with air in a fairly narrow range. For propane I think the mixture has to be 13-20% propane, for example.

I don't mean to go off on anyone. I'm sure the above poster means well. I just like to see actual factual information disseminated.

metalmagpie

I'm sure your more educated than I am with a gas welder.
The blind ignorance thing isn't my way of doing anything. My experience in brazing goes back 40 years. I don't do much gas welding other than brazing or cutting.
Back when I bought used regulators and torches the internet didn't exist and searching for parts wasn't as easy. I would not have considered paying for such a basic rebuild job.
The world of rebuilding regulator and torches is becoming obsolete. Im sure rebuilders can be found. I want the parts
There isn't any part of rebuilding a regulator or torch that's not simple mechanics. The quality of the old regulators and torches was a lot better than today.

Guide me too a catalog or source for parts.

Both gases will mix with air given time. Its my understanding that propane is more dangerous in a building. That may be wrong.
Thanks for the education on gasses. Some of what you said I didn't know.
I know where there is a bucket of old regulators.. I would enjoy rebuilding them if you have a parts source. Ill google search.

Rebuilding anything like that is getting harder in a throw away world.
I tried to buy a new diaphragm for a hand fuel pump on my diesel engine and all that's sold is a new crimped together replacement' .All I needed was a diaphram.
Over sea's people make the whole part cheaper than a rebuild kit use to cost

Its not the 1960's anymore
 








 
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