Jaybird180
Final Approach
Why is everything that says aviation so expensive? Any other options?
Oxygen- where to buy
- Thread starter Jaybird180
- Start date
Let'sgoflying!
Touchdown! Greaser!
Lots of folks rent a tank from the local welder, transfill their a/c bottles. I need a tank at work so I just tap into that for my portable bottle, whenever I get a fresh one. Dirt cheap.
Get a tank and transfer whip. You can get most everything you need from the welding supply shop. O2 is cheap as chips, just follow the basic O2 handling safety rules and when you transfer the O2, do it as slowly as you have time for to minimize heating the fill tank so you keep as much pressure as possible after the temp equalizes. Just keep oil and grease off your fittings and fill slow and it's all good. I think Sporty's may even sell premade O2 whips.
TMetzinger
Final Approach
And most gas shops will sell you a large tank of ABO. Some will even lease you the transfer gear.
For my portable bottle I just take it into the gas place in Manassas and they fill it up, with ABO, cheaply.
For my portable bottle I just take it into the gas place in Manassas and they fill it up, with ABO, cheaply.
Jaybird180
Final Approach
So where are good places to buy portables? I've looked at prices on Sporty's.
TripleZ
Pre-takeoff checklist
Just remember when filling you want the correct Grade of O2 (although most bottles now are all filled with high grade), filled with the correct method. Industrial grade O2 cylinders may (or may not) be contaminated with other gases, primarily Acetylene. This is important in mixed gas diving, as well as medical, and Im betting aviation gas too.
Just specify the use when you get the bottle from the Welding shop, and they will give you the right one.
Just specify the use when you get the bottle from the Welding shop, and they will give you the right one.
wsuffa
Touchdown! Greaser!
Tim, can you drop me a PM with the name/location of the place in Manassas that you get your bottle filled?
TangoWhiskey
Touchdown! Greaser!
What's "cheaply"? The local gas guy at the airport charges me $60 for my D-sized (415 liter) bottle. I have yet to find a welding or gas supply store that fills onsite. All of them have told me they do exchange only, or send your bottle offsite (and have expressed reluctance to do so, since tracking the bottle and making sure you get it back is nigh on impossible).
TMetzinger
Final Approach
Used to be Lee Gas... now a different name... Matheson Valley
9113 Industry Dr,Manassas Park, VA 20111
703-369-4195. Just called them and they confirmed they do ABO.
I'm going to take my bottle out to Fireline in Leesburg as it needs a hydro test.
Last edited:
Let'sgoflying!
Touchdown! Greaser!
Just find a friendly neighbor who does some welding, about every 2nd house here has a crackerbox and bottles.
wsuffa
Touchdown! Greaser!
Thanks, Tim. Perfect.
Doggtyred
En-Route
For 60 bux you could have filled your D size many many times over by renting a BIG tank (M or H cylinder, or even two of em) and transfilling as needed on your own.
gismo
Touchdown! Greaser!
At every O2 source I've ever seen or used there are no "grades" of O2. Sometimes there are slightly different protocols such as evacuating before filling but all the O2 comes from the same tank.
And FWIW I suspect that O2 "contaminated" with acetylene under high pressure would probably self ignite.
Wingsofglass
Pre-takeoff checklist
- Joined
- May 21, 2011
- Messages
- 342
- Display Name
Display name:
Wingsofglass
I get my bottle filled at my local dive shop for $8.00. If you are going to buy a portable and are not going to get your own filling station, I would suggest getting the biggest bottle that you are comfortable putting in your plane since every place I have been to charges by the fill or PSI and not by the size. Also, it sucks to be on a long XC, run out of 02 and have no choice but to refill at a very expensive FBO.
Let'sgoflying!
Touchdown! Greaser!
Has this not been thoroughly proven to be an owt over the last 15 years??
Let'sgoflying!
Touchdown! Greaser!
here's one article from 1999
http://www.avweb.com/news/pelican/182079-1.html
http://www.avweb.com/news/pelican/182079-1.html
Go down to the dive shop (or online to OMS) and buy a 40cf LP steel bottle and a low cost O2 clean reg set (All Scuba Pro gear is O2 ready from the factory, get the cheapest Mk II first stage and whatever is cheap from them for a second. You may also find gear at your Pawn Shop. You then attach a mask from a CPR style "bagging" kit(most any medical supply will have them) You can be real nifty and mount a $15 mic in it.
Instant demand O2 kit. Way better than any free flow system. Price depends. You can probably pull everything off eBay for $200.
Nope. Most pros will have check valves to prevent this (required by OSHA) and first off, O2 runs about 3 times the pressure out of the regulator, so it's O2 that heads for the acetylene bottle, but either way it won't make it because of the regulator. Either the regulator or hose explodes when you clog the tip and it's not on right and you don't have check valves.
I got Tri Mix certified in '95, Nitrox in '92, every breath of O2 I ever took was welding supply. It all comes from the same tank of LOx.
Last edited:
Doggtyred
En-Route
Utter BS and OWT.
Industrial oxygen has to be pure to avoid contaminating the work.
Not to mention acetylene is a low pressure gas that vaporizes from a liquid. Oxygen is stored at high pressures. Acetylene would have to travel upstream through a check valve, against higher pressures through two regulators. Not to mention hydrocarbons pressurized by oxygen reacts violently.... I.e EXPLODES.
All the oxygen sold now comes from the same cryogenic stream. The only difference is med oxygen goes in tanks with tracking numbers, and the tanks are pulled to vacuum between fills.
Yep, the O2 goes to the Acetylene tank and if some one forgot to put in their check valves...
You'll hear a "pop squeeeeeeeeeBANG" as the regulator or hose explodes and then you have to walk up to it with a fire hose and turn it off...
TripleZ
Pre-takeoff checklist
Same tank construction, same oxygen, different filling method. Note in my OP that "most bottles now are all filled with high grade".
And they are pulled to a vacuum for a reason. To prevent even the slightest chance of contamination. I will agree that the chance is remote, but the rules are in place for a reason.
And when you run the bottle dry? I don't run check valves on my welding rig. (They flutter at low flow rates)
The chance of anything bad happening is really small, so I see why people fill with a non-vacuum procedure and welding tanks. I didn't want to get into an argument, just wanted to point out there IS a difference.
The way I avoid the contamination in my breathing bottles is by leaving 50 PSI in them and they just refill my tanks from the LOx tank and I'm good. It's not a great worry anyway to have your breathing O2 a bit contaminated. I know industrial process that are more finicky of impurities than humans are.
One shipyard job I was on they had bought all these cheap cutting rigs and we lost like 6 hose and regulators in a week...
They gave everybody check valves and said we had to use them.
Last edited:
TripleZ
Pre-takeoff checklist
The way I avoid the contamination in my breathing bottles is by leaving 50 PSI in them and they just refill my tanks from the LOx tank and I'm good. It's not a great worry anyway to have your breathing O2 a bit contaminated. I know industrial process that are more finicky of impurities than humans are.
One shipyard job I was on they had bought all these cheap cutting rigs and we lost like 6 hose and regulators in a week...
Yup, that bout sums it up.
Yup, that bout sums it up.
When you hear that squeeeeeeeeeeee after the pop, that's when you wish you didn't have 100'of hose....
dakota-cowboy
Pre-Flight
- Joined
- Jul 4, 2011
- Messages
- 93
- Display Name
Display name:
dakota-cowboy
Dave Taylor, thank you for the link to the 1999 O2 article. I read it and appreciate the link.