Swap 'D' oxy & acetylene bottles for empties

[Scouse]

A bit of a sad story here but a good mate of mine has been incapacitated for a couple of months now & could be out of action for a fair bit longer yet (if he recovers at all :().

Anyway, his BOC account has just arrived & I'm set to return his D size oxy & acetylene bottles next week as there's no point in having them sit around (and for a few hundred dollars each year :mad:).

The bottles seem to have a fair bit of gas left so if anyome has a couple of empty or near empty bottles that I can return to BOC, then they can have these as a swap.

I don't have my guages at home so I can't check how much gas is left exactly but I would say around 1/2 in one & 3/4 in the other.


I'm returning them either way next week.

[maca]

The acetylene bottle is full of acetone, the acetylene is dissolved in the acetone. Hense without gauges you really cant tell how much gas is left.

The walls of the oxy bottles are also about 100 inches thick (may be a slight exaggeration), so judging the quantity of gas by the bottles weight may be misleading.

But a spare set of bottles lying around at home WILL always come in handy.

[Bearman]

The last lot of bottles I got from BOC were barcoded and scanned by the bloke at the loading dock. When I inquired as to why this is done he told me it is to stop people swapping bottles and bringing back someone else empty. And sure enough it was barcoded and checked when I returned it.

[Scouse]

I used to handle oxy & acetylene bottles every day quite a few years ago so I'm just going by experience as to what might be left inside.

I use a D argoshield myself but it's been a few years since I changed over bottles. There was no barcode scan done last time for mine & by the dust on these 2 bottles, there wouldn't have been a scan done on his either.

There's also a couple of very large, very old bottles that he appeared to have scored from somewhere.

[discowhite]

how long ago did he get the bottles scotty?
boc at morebank have only been scanning their bottles for the last 4 months. have a look around the neck of the bottle for a stamp thats been painted a pinky colour, it looks like a mickey mouse head. thats the id for scanned bottles.

if they dont have the stamps you might be in luck....

i'll have a look at what i have, 4 months ago i had 20 odd bottles un stamped at work.....

ill pm you with what i find.

cheers phil

[Bigbjorn]

Years ago they used to record the bottle numbers on file cards. A friend took an argon bottle back that had been provided to him over ten years before by a mate for work on a ski racer and in due course was told about the ten years rent owing. He had to open an account in his name to get an exchange bottle.

[Scouse]

how long ago did he get the bottles scotty?
boc at morebank have only been scanning their bottles for the last 4 months. have a look around the neck of the bottle for a stamp thats been painted a pinky colour, it looks like a mickey mouse head. thats the id for scanned bottles.

I don't know when he got these bottles but he hasn't used the oxy set for over a year now so I would be guessing at 3-4 years ago.
I'll check the bottles tonight & see what's on the neck.

[mcrover]

I was down at my BOC 3 weeks ago and no scanning there in Dandenong.

I dont see why they would bother as they know who took the bottle and they just charge rent on a bottle, doesnt matter which one.

In the past when I was working on site I used to use BOC's all over Vic, 1 in SA and a couple in NSW and never had any trouble swapping bottles over.

You will need to put a guage on the Gas but the Oxy you should be able to get an idea by rolling it back and forward to see how much is left.

[discowhite]

the idea is to stop people like me getting free gas!:D
if you rent a set, oxy and acet, then ''find'' the same size but empty or almost, you then take the empty ones back and you dont have anything listed on your account.

can you now see why they are bothering;)

cheers phil

[Bigbjorn]

I handed in my oxygen and acetylene bottles about five years ago. I got sick of paying rent on items I hardly used. I still have a bottle of Argoshield for the Mig welder which is now costing $161 per annum in rent. I plan to hand this back when I finish a couple of current projects and buy the small disposable bottles from Repco as required.

I do wonder why we can not buy disposable bottles of oxygen and acetylene here as are available in the USA. Bernz-o-matic have been selling them in hardware and auto stores for over thirty years to my knowledge. You could buy a bubble pack of a full oxy-acetylene cutting and welding kit, handpieces, hoses, regulators, bottles off the hook at the hardware store.

[DeeJay]

The barcoding is a recent development & AFAIK its being rolled out (not only BOC)
Its also to clamp down on people who have multiple bottles but only have one on rental. Previously, as long as they only got one at a time they were never found out.
Also, its to clamp down on internal dishonesty.
But I reckon they will be recovering bottles for another 10 years.

[Bigbjorn]

When Liquid Air first opened their shop in Brisbane they charged 10 years rent in advance and did not care if they never saw the bottles again. Just the same as selling them to you. Nowadays they operate the same as BOC. Probably some obscure safety reasoning.

Long time ago I borrowed a mates oxy-acetylene set to do some extensive rust repairs on a couple of cars. I nearly ran them empty and 'phoned to tell him I would get them refilled or exchanged before returning them. He was horrified. "Don't take those bottles to CIG. Just bring them back here with a carton" he said. He worked at a fabrication shop. No depth of thought required to work out the provenance of the bottles.

[d@rk51d3]

I do wonder why we can not buy disposable bottles of oxygen and acetylene here as are available in the USA.


I do believe they are being rolled out, as we speak.

[Dinty]

G'day All, I know we can buy dis/bottles of mig gas as I have a couple here, as for the bar code tags they are very easy to remove cheers Dennis:angel:

[Scouse]

as for the bar code tags they are very easy to removeI wouldn't even consider removing the bar code. That would be dishonest & not like me at all.




Good idea :p.

[discowhite]

G'day All, I know we can buy dis/bottles of mig gas as I have a couple here, as for the bar code tags they are very easy to remove cheers Dennis:angel:

they might be but the stamped numbers in the bottle are really hard to hide;)


cheers phil

[rick130]

Don't know what BOC are charging for rental but Air Liquide have bumped theirs up in December.
I'm now paying $52.56/month rental on two 'D' oxy and acetylene, then there's the bloody nitrogen on top of that....

[scarry]

I cant understand how it took BOC so long to get a bar code systm in place.There are hundreds of bottles around that they are not geting rent for.We had more than we were paying for,they caught us out:(

Dont use them for nitrogen,get them from refrigeration wholesalers,more for convenience as we are often picking up other gear from them,prices are similar toBOC.

[John W]

[QUOTE=maca;886938]"The acetylene bottle is full of acetone, the acetylene is dissolved in the acetone. Hense without gauges you really cant tell how much gas is left."

I think that you don't know much even with gauges as you only get a rough idea until the acetylene starts to get empty because the pressure stays up (being dissolved) until you get near the end.

[Scouse]

There's no barcodes on these bottles at all. One has a 2004 sticker on it so they're getting on a bit.

BTW, I'm returning them today (if Moorebank is open).

[123rover50]

Quote:
Originally Posted by Brian Hjelm https://www.aulro.com/afvb/images/imported/2016/08/768.jpg (http://www.aulro.com/afvb/general-chat/70652-swap-d-oxy-acetylene-bottles-empties-post887221.html#post887221)
I do wonder why we can not buy disposable bottles of oxygen and acetylene here as are available in the USA.


I do believe they are being rolled out, as we speak.

Anyone heard anymore on this?
Just got my BOC bill. $455.40 total for 3 D size bottles.
One each of Oxy , Acet. and Argon.
There must be a cheaper way.
Didiman

[D110V8D]

BOC are a complete rip off!

Try another company. Super gas are cheap and great service. I used them for quite awhile but recently needed Hydrogen supplier and unfortunately they don't make Hydro but can supply at massive cost, so I switched to AirLiquide who gave me a better deal again.

Did I mention BOC are a complete rip off. :D

[d2dave]

BOC in Shepparton now has bar coded cyl. They also have brochures explaining the system which says it is in the name of safety and explains that they can trace back a tampered bottle.

BOC stands for Bloody Overpriced Cylinders.

Dave.

[superquag]

My understanding is that BOC are in the business of 'renting' bottles, selling the gas is only a bonus on top of the profit already made...

The fact that they are now identifying EACH bottle is sufficient proof of that.

The ideal for all and any business in our economic system is 'Monopoly', and once entrenched its almost impossible to remove.
A monopoy allows maximal charging/profit to the business...and minimal service to the customer, and invariably begins with removing the physical capacity for the client to take his business elsewhere.

In this case, by refusing to fill a bottle not owned by them....

Look at it this way, a bottle brings in around $26 per month, which is $312 per year...which is $3,200 over 10 years. Plus ga$...

What is the REAL cost price of a bottle ? - and where were they made 10 years ago...and where made today..??????.

[seano87]

Look at it this way, a bottle brings in around $26 per month, which is $312 per year...which is $3,200 over 10 years. Plus ga$...



What is the REAL cost price of a bottle ? - and where were they made 10 years ago...and where made today..??????.

Working in a hospital dept, we actually own the bottles used for argon due to costs and quantity we go through. Despite not using size D bottles, I recall seeing the price list recently, a brand new empty certified D bottle was around $350 + GST.

We use size K for work and just have them refilled, through BOC due to them being the hospital supplier, $4.50 per m3, + $0.40 per m3 delivery. Much cheaper than renting 2 bottles, however I don't know how easy it is for anyone other than a large company to have the option to get bottles refilled.

[superquag]

... If 'Hospital' business was bigger in WA, rest assured that BOC would be looking very closely at their 'co$t-benefit' balance in closing down your ownership of bottles, even if that means setting up a dedicated "Medical Division"...
Obviously they're doing ok with the volumes of gas sold at present.

- You gotta love the separate 'Delivery' charge, 40c per m3, a ready-made portal for increasing their prices....without increasing their price!

AT $400 or so, you can understand why BOC et al are so paranoid about folk owning bottles... Betcha I know the argument...Its "Safety"...:wasntme:

[andrew e]

You can de-canter between bottles...... if you have know how, + have access to hydraulic hoses, and accumulator filling equipment. ;)

No, im not saying how to do it.

[scarry]

What also ****es me of,as well as the high costs BOC charge,is the D oxy bottles are almost all steel now,very few alloy one's left .The difference is 7kg heavier.Doesn't sound like much but is a PITA when we carry them up a ladder onto a roof:mad:

Suppose it's the old story,the steel one's are cheaper,& BOC couldn't give a rats about the weight.

[ute253]

Hi guys, has anyone solved the dilema about the cost of renting oxy/acetylene bottles.
I've got a pair thato my belonged to my grandfather that I believe nobody ( BOC) knows that I've got.

How would i go getting them refilled now?

Ta . David

[bee utey]

Hi guys, has anyone solved the dilema about the cost of renting oxy/acetylene bottles.
I've got a pair thato my belonged to my grandfather that I believe nobody ( BOC) knows that I've got.

How would i go getting them refilled now?

Ta . David

All BOC bottles are now bar coded and individually tracked. The only way to fill your bottles is to make transfer pipes and drain bottles belonging to an account holder. Not very safe unless done with extreme care as especially oxygen pressure is very high and any fragment of oil etc in the transfer pipe will explode. (Also highly illegal)

[Scouse]

You can now buy bottles from Gasweld & exchange for a full one once you empty yours.

I'll be looking into this once I run down my Argoshielld from BOC.

[101RRS]

I have just bought a D size ArgoShield from Gasweld this afternoon - $340 filled, exchange $99 making the cost of the bottles $240.

Garry

[d2dave]

I just rang them in Dandenong and they told me that it is not yet allowed in Vic, but they do it in NSW. I rang the Albury store and they only sell Mig gas bottles, not Oxy/acetylene.

[steveG]

I just rang them in Dandenong and they told me that it is not yet allowed in Vic, but they do it in NSW. I rang the Albury store and they only sell Mig gas bottles, not Oxy/acetylene.

Thanks Dave - saved me a phone call.
Did they give any indication when it might start happening in VIC?

Steve

[101RRS]

Gasweld only have this company's bottles.

Speed Gas - Home (http://www.speedgas.com.au/home.html)

[d2dave]

Thanks Dave - saved me a phone call.
Did they give any indication when it might start happening in VIC?

Steve

No. I got the impression it was a legal thing and he did not know