I'm about to buy my first mig welder, a little 110V unit. What size argon/CO2 bottle do you guys use/recommend?

I was talking to my local welding/gas place, and I think he said a 150cf would be best. Did I get that number right? He said it would really save money on refills vs the smaller tanks. Initially expensive to buy the larger tank, though ($150 here in expensive northern NJ)

Is that size bottle about 7"dia X 37"tall?

I think I buy the bottle from him (with a free initial fill of gas), then just come back and exchange it for a full one when its empty. Right?

Its just for hobby welding ...... re-doing my '84 and '86 F250 rust buckets.

Thanks.

 

I run strait co2 and use the small aluminum bottles, the mig runs 8 to 10 hours a day so we have 9 bottles. I would rather pay a little more than to move the heavy bottles.

 

I also use a 40# steel bottle of straight CO2 which I can get filled at my local beer distributor for $10. No hydrotest BS either like you will get from the gas suppliers. CO2 MIGing works good on "hobby" jobs - especially the junkers/beaters/etc... for cheap!

 

I'm not sure who you are using in NJ. $150 for that size sounds like a fair deal. For sheet metal the argon/co2 will be better than straight CO2. Less penetration and cleaner welds. 100% CO2 will give you a bit more penetration but not signigantly so.

I have a 60cf, 80cf and a 150cf bottles for my mig. I also have a large 282cf bottle for my tig. The larger bottles frequently cost about the same to swap as the smaller ones. I know my 282 of O2 costs about $3 more than my 100cf O2 bottle. Thats the only numbers I have right now.

The bigger bottles are a bit harder to move around. Mine is on the cart with the mig so I don't notice it. I used to have a 40cf bottle that I used with my small 1110v mig for portability, but I would run out of gas way too fast. Swaped it out for a 60cf and paid the upgrade charge. Most regs are set at a minimum of 20 cfh so a 40 would last 2 hrs or less, the 80 less than 4 hrs and the 150 around 7 hours of welding.

Keep in mind that many LWS's are not open on the weekend. If you run out of gas by noon on Sat. you are out of luck till monday. One of the reasons I have more than one tank for the mig.

Most places that swap bottles deal with the hydros so thats not a great concern for you. You should just be able to walk in drop off your empty and take home a full one, no problem.

Good luck

 

CO2 holds more heat in the weld, so it's not that great for sheet metal unless you are using a copper backer and filling in. C25 (25% CO2, 75% Argon) is great for MIG welding.
If you are just doing home hobby stuff, an 80cf bottle is fine. You can usually get those swapped out at Napa or Parts Plus stores (contact them before you buy).

 

I use a 60 cf bottle of C25 with my MIG but rather than keeping a second bottle on hand (to avoid weekend run outs) I removed the single stage gas regulator that came with the unit and replaced it with a dual stage regulator. This way I can see tank pressure as well as flow rate and know when the tank is getting low.