Al tank OK as MIG/TIG welding bottle?

dalek

dalek

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Can you use an Aluminum tank with a welder? I ask because all the welding tanks I have ever seen are steel.

Second question would probably be how many different bottle threads are in use. i.e. would the threads in a 40ci welding tank be the same as those in a diving tank or fireman one?

Finally, can anyone recommend a place where you can take bottles to be hydroed and refilled (not necessarily int he same place) around the triangle?
 
Check with airgas. They have stores all over the place. Might can find a cheaper price else where but air gas should be able to get your tanks tested. The place I bought my oxy acetylene tanks from sold to some one else. Luckily our repair shop in Burlington uses the same place and the foreman said he could swap my tanks for his corporate price.
 
There’s some certification issues with using aluminum tanks, I think. Not sure if any of the gas providers will fill them.

Threads are pretty universal with any type of gas thread. I’ve used propane instead of acetylene many times for cleaner cutting....OLD TYPE grill tanks have the same threads as acetylene tanks. NOT the new safety knob type. There are adapters for the new ones, though.

I did have to buy an adapter once because the acetylene tank I swapped had a different RIGHT-hand, MALE thread. That was in Harrisonburg, VA, and it was from AirGas. They said all their tanks that size had the same setup. So, maybe regs are different from state to state?


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Yes, you can use an aluminum tank with a welding machine. Our mobile veterinary hospital used to have some aluminum 02 tanks.
 
I know for CO2 aluminum tanks are common up to 20 lb. I think there are different regulator types for different pressures of gas, I know that CO2 is a different interface on the tank then nitrogen for example.
 
Scsmith42 said:
Yes, you can use an aluminum tank with a welding machine. Our mobile veterinary hospital used to have some aluminum 02 tanks.
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Agreed, but isn’t there a capacity issue? Can you fill aluminum tanks to 2,000+ psi?
I know food service and medical uses lots of aluminum tanks, but I thought they were lower capacity.


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1911gobang said:
Agreed, but isn’t there a capacity issue? Can you fill aluminum tanks to 2,000+ psi?
I know food service and medical uses lots of aluminum tanks, but I thought they were lower capacity.


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Alan, we had the medical tanks, and they were filled to the same psi (about 2,100). They were 125CF and very uncommon.

Most of the aluminum tanks were smaller, but were always filled to the same psi as the steel tanks.
 
Scsmith42 said:
Alan, we had the medical tanks, and they were filled to the same psi (about 2,100). They were 125CF and very uncommon.

Most of the aluminum tanks were smaller, but were always filled to the same psi as the steel tanks.
Click to expand...

Good to know....
I’ve always had the steel tanks, I guess aluminum would save quite a bit of cylinder weight


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1911gobang said:
Good to know....
I’ve always had the steel tanks, I guess aluminum would save quite a bit of cylinder weight


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Click to expand...

Smaller aluminum medical o2 tanks are quite common, but I only saw the 125CF aluminum tanks one time about 5 years ago. They sure were nice to swap out on the mobile hospital instead of the steel ones!
 
The limitation on psi is the o2. Much over 2000lbs is not safe due to the gas. Spontaneous combustion and such.
Argon is an inert gas so you can run higher pressures.
My steel scuba tanks were filled to 4000lbs at 30% o2.
Aluminum to about 3500.
 
BASIL said:
The limitation on psi is the o2. Much over 2000lbs is not safe due to the gas. Spontaneous combustion and such.
Argon is an inert gas so you can run higher pressures.
My steel scuba tanks were filled to 4000lbs at 30% o2.
Aluminum to about 3500.
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That is actually what started this thread: my scuba tanks. 3000-3500psi was what I used to fill (never did mixes though). Well, they are in storage in another state but I have a small (around 20CF) Al one that used ot be used by fireman. I want to get it hydroed but do not know where. After that get the right valve to connect the tank to a regulator and so on.
 
dalek said:
That is actually what started this thread: my scuba tanks. 3000-3500psi was what I used to fill (never did mixes though). Well, they are in storage in another state but I have a small (around 20CF) Al one that used ot be used by fireman. I want to get it hydroed but do not know where. After that get the right valve to connect the tank to a regulator and so on.
Click to expand...
I don't know your location, but I used NADCO in Greensboro, they would take my tanks to get hydro tested.
Any good dive shop should be able to take care of it.
 
Before I moved to NC I knew a fire extinguisher shop which not only would hydro tanks but would also fill them with CO2. Used them a lot for the kegorator at work.
 
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