If you have a an OA setup do you own or lease your tanks?

if you don't use very much the best deal is to buy small tanks.

If OA is a daily thing then renting will be cheaper in the long run.

If you use OA mostly for cutting then mapp, blazer etc is better for most use.

If you need to gas fusion weld then Oxygen acetylene is required. Yes other gases can weld but only Acetylene does it easily under a varieiy of conditions

Again, if just occasionaly then buy rent if you refill several times a year.
I worked for one of the majors in the industry for 20 something years

Edited April 24, 200917 yr by Charlotte
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I purchased my first OA bottles from my welding suppier, they are the small bottle--they are about 4ft and 2ft tall, can't remember the size. I have also bought cutting rigs at garage sales and my supplier will fill them no prob. I also got a set of large industrial size OA bottles at an estate sale and can get them filled no prob. I did have to show proof of purchases on all of them. If I was just starting out I would rent for sure. The bottles I bought from the welding supplier cost $336.00 and that was around '02-'03, I'm sure they are much higher now. I have 3 OX, 3 A, 1 Argon, 1 75/25mix and all are mine.

Own. I have 3 sets...Bob

i own and just exchange them with airgas.

2 lg oxygen
2 med oxygen
1 xl acetylene
1 med acetylene
3 lg argon
2 large stainmix (mig)
1 lg hi pressure nitrogen

over the years of use its a huge savings to own them...airgas exchanges them so i always have different bottles and they are never out of date. :)

Here in WNC a lease for three yrs costs more than owning I own all 10 of mine. swap them out so no retest fee.

I own all of my gas bottles and just do an exchange for a refill. It costs more money to lease them at the rate I need to exchange them.

I have a fifteen year lease on mine. Retest fee is waive regardless of date. They said that I most likely won't have to renew it and that they probably will just write them off as sold. Not sure what that means. Too many "mights", "maybes" and "probablys" Sounded good at the time though but I guess I'll find out in another 4 years or so...

i own mine and Praxair just swap them over,plus they are the best place in town to deal with.

I own all my tanks and exchange the empties for full ones and just pay for the contents.
Between the OA torches ,Mig and Tig , I've ended up with 14 tanks.

I've found that having a full spare on hand is more cost effective than shutting down in the middle of a job and running to town to get a refill.

I own my also. Purchase wasn't much moer than the 10 year lease.

At last count around the shop, I had eighteen 80 cu ft. cylinders. They were all purchased at auctions and estate sales and the two I started with were purchased new. It has been very nice to have on hand extra gases for different jobs. The 80 cu ft. bottles are really nice to take on site and easier to move around generally.

I lease mine because one day I shall leave China. Then I get back the whole of the deposit that I paid on them. Refills are delivered to my shop for- well if I told you how little I would make you all too jealous! I keep them just outside the shop, but under the edge of the roof. They are held to the wall by a strap. The hoses wrap round an old wheel on the shop wall. They are sufficiently long to enable me to work anywhere in the shop and even out at the front of the shop. Most of my work is cutting.

Yup, I own mine as well, 6 tanks in all. When I need gas I just swap them out with Airgas.
Used to be, anytime you went to refill them you had to show prof of ownership but I guess there are sooo many tanks now days they just swap them no questions asked...I've even turned in expired tanks and been given current ones on exchange... no fee

I do oxy-propane. I own and exchange the O2 tank when empty. Propane I just go to a refill place.

Air liquide just gives me the bottles and charges me for the gas. I use a lot of gas though.
2 large argon, 2 small argon, 2 large oxy, 2 med acyet, 1 large mig mix