Does anybody know what all those stamps on compressed gas cylinders mean? A guy at work found one in his mothers basement and was going to throw it in the scrap bin but I brought it home. He thinks his brother might have used it for a keg (CO2 ??). It has a regulator attached to it that goes up to 60 psi. Knowing how expensive these are I wonder if I could swap it for a full bottle down at Tractor Supply for some MIG gas +$25 to have it tested like when I got my oxygen bottle. ANYBODY??

 

The bottles are usually labeled what type of gas they have, but that could be long gone. The stamps are the hydro certifications, a record of when the bottle was hydro tested last and usually where as well.

 

Take it to welding gas supplier and they can tell you real quick if its ok for a core/swap

 

I'm looking at some other bottles I have and it looks like this bottle in question was last tested 06/74

 

Take a look here; Compressed Gas Cylinder Identification - Airgas.com

 

Pics of cylinder and (removed so we can see the nut and nipple) regulator would be nice.

 

Ok here.
https://www.ford-trucks.com/forums/p...ictureid=47436
https://www.ford-trucks.com/forums/p...ictureid=47435
https://www.ford-trucks.com/forums/p...ictureid=47434

The reg have a valve attached to it but when I tryed to turn it it broke off.

 

The cylinder valve shows it's a CO2 cylinder and regulator (and the portion of the nipple inside the regulator nut should look like this picture):

Western #806 Carbon Dioxide Adapter CGA 320 To CGA 580 Argon/Nitrogen

Western #806 Carbon Dioxide Adapter CGA 320 To CGA 580 Argon/Nitrogen

These fittings take a gasket to seal, so if you use it get a few, they are cheap. Your local welding supply will have them.

Hobart make a kit

Weld Talk Message Board and Online Forum - Hobart Welders

to use paintball CO2 tanks for portable use with their small MIGs, and you could do something similar (your cylinder holds more gas). The Western #806 adapter above will adapt it to a standard welding regulator.

I'd rather have a personally assembled setup (and I do) than the Hobart kit, since after getting the parts together I can use ANY size cylinder and a standard regulator as oppose to paintball cylinders.

If you get into it you can transfill as you would transfill a paintball cylinder, but that's a subject for another post.

The bad:
Tractor Supply will likely have NFI (No Faint Idea) what to do with your cylinder, so a (friendly) local welding supply would be where to swap it out, and they likely won't stock one since it's around lab bottle/lecture bottle size so you'd have to wait.

The regulator is junk and not a welding regulator. If you unscrew/saw off the nipple you can use the nut for a thread protector for the cylinder valve.

It doesn't hold enough gas for more than a short time welding. Purely for portability, but portability can make the difference between getting a job done and not being able to tackle it. It beats the paintball cylinders though.

I've been collecting a variety of cylinders off Craigslist and getting them swapped out. Helium cylinders (popular with stores that use them for filling balloons) can often be swapped for other cylinders that take a CGA 580 valve such as argon and mixed MIG gases.

That ain't old:

B-B-Baby, you ain't seen n-n-nothin' yet, You ain't been around - Unlike this O2 cyl. - WeldingWeb™ - Welding forum for pros and enthusiasts

I'd keep it and add it to the cylinder collection every welder should have.

 

I'll have to check the dates on the cylinders the local weld shop has- They have a bunch stuck in the ground as parking bumpers.

 

well I think that answers that question thanks.

 

That ain't really old either. We've got 1907 and 1909-dated oxygen cylinders still in COC exchange service. Both passed their last hydrotests and are still within their next test due date. Sooner or later--maybe even on the next test--they'll probably end up as bollards or yard art or scrap metal like a few others we've had of similar age.

High-pressure cylinders are required to be hydrotested every five years unless the last certification stamp has a star stamped after the date, in which case the test is good for ten years.

Joe

 

Cylinders are easily the oldest equipment in mass use. (Pics of some of those you mention would be cool for "oldest cylinder" threads in welding forums!)

Typical Fords, what few there were, when those cylinders were made (and gas welding was the standard for most vehicle repair):

A Picture review of the Model T Ford

1919 Welding Manual (many excellent and still applicable welding manuals can be found here):

Oxy-acetylene Welding Manual : Lorn Campbell : Free Download & Streaming : Internet Archive

 

I can't post photos yet, and the two I mentioned are out in service somewhere anyway. I'll have to wait until they come back. The oldest I saw in stock was a 1912 Linde E oxygen. Old high-pressure cylinders are pretty common, as you say. Really old fuel gas cylinders like acetylene are less common, as they're more easily damaged than high-pressure cylinders, and a small dent is enough to get one yanked from service. The oldest acetylene I saw on a quick glance through storage was a 1946 B bottle. Hardly older than I am.

Nice T site. Good number of acetylene generators and B bottles in the photos.

As for the subject CO2 bottle, it's probably not worth dealing with IMO. Too small for welding, and not a common size anymore (at least not around here). We've only got one, and it's out of service and likely to stay that way. The most common small CO2 sizes in circulation for welding and beverage service exchange are 15 and 20 lb.


Joe

 

Typically, unless the bottle is dented or pitted, you can use it as an exchange. I just picked up a CO2 bottle that got it's first stamp in 48, I called the local welding supply shop and they will gladly exchange it for an argon bottle for me.

 

Around here if you don't have paperwork showing that you "own" the bottle in question, none of the welding supply places will touch it. I had several given to me that were left at a friends rent house and I ended up scrapping them.