On Fri, Sep 23, 2011 at 2:28 PM, Scott Hall
<scott.hall.personal at gmail.com> wrote:
> So a local guy has some 200 c.f. oxygen bottles. I'm going to buy them so I
> don't have to rent them. He's also got an 80 c.f. acetylene bottle he
> offered me. I'm checking to see if the local place will exchange it, but
> provided it will, is it worth buying the 80 c.f. over renting a 200 c.f.
> tank?
>
> It's not the cost I'm thinking about so much as having to constantly re-fill
> the 80 c.f. tank. I'll have two 200 c.f. oxygen bottles, so I could go a
> good long time on those. I know I'll use more oxygen than acetylene, but I
> don't remember how much.
>
> Should I keep the 200 c.f. rental, or swap it out for the 80 c.f. I buy
> (provided they'll swap that one).
>
Two to one is what I've always been told. So the acetylene is only
slightly undersized. Actual consumption varies depending on use
(cutting uses lots O2 relative to fuel, welding much less, and heating
with small tips less than that).
Whether it's worth it or not depends on your usage, and what the local
gas people charge for renting. When I bought tanks, it made sense to
buy them if you used less than a couple tanks a year. That varies from
place to place, though.
--
David Scheidt
dmscheidt at gmail.com
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