BOC and Volkszone - Gas Offer

[Maker]

How does the deal differ from what you get without the deal? Obviously it's much cheaper but what do BOC get from it? Are you limited to a certain amount of refills per year or something like that?

 

[mr migwire]

your only limited to argoshield light or pure argon Y sized bottles, anything else is full price.

no limit on the amount of fills.

 

[Bill Edwards]

No, it seems unlimited when it comes to how many refills you can have.
The biggest drawback is that you are stuck with a 20l cylinder and no other gasses - getting pure argon for TIG work was a big step, initially the deal was for people using MIG on thin metal, welding up rusty VW's, hence Argoshield Light.

But BOC have now awakened to the fact that there is a market for hobby welders and that their horrendous rental charges had not only opened the door to rent free suppliers, but rather ripped it off its hinges and put a flashing sign above with a siren!
If only they'd been more reasonable on their charges years ago...

 

[optima21]

In the course of opening my account with BOC I spoke to Stuart Anderson, he wants everyone to know about BOC and as long as you are a hobby welder then you can sign up to the Volksdeal. If anyone is interested his contact details are below.
I emailed him, he emailed me straight back with a ref number, someone from accounts called me then emailed me a form which I sent back, and then the account was opened, took two days and was painless.

Stu Anderson Business Development Advisor Direct Sales
BOC UK & Ireland Wardley Ind Estate, Worsley, Manchester M28 2UT Phone +44 (0)1619306029, , Fax +44 (0)8005875767
stuart.anderson@boc.com,

Sadly CO2 and Oxygen aren't available at discounted prices, and from what I've discussed with Stuart via email, I wouldn't hold out on there being any other discounted items apart from the Argoshield and Argon.

Other than that, current prices are;

Argoshield Light size Y is £26.50 gas price, surcharge 1.36p, rental £38.70 per year

Pureshield Argon size Y is £32.44 gas price, surcharge 1.36p, rental £55.90 per year

All prices exclude VAT

using this info I took the plunge and signed up with an account, I couldnt do it at the BOC shop as I dont have any photo ID. they emailed the rental agreement back, and you just need to sign and date it and return it to them. I had to phone them up as it looks like you need to complete all the details about cylinder rental etc (although I did put on that I was after Y cylinders of argon and argoshield light).

when I went to get some cylinders the guy at the bradford office was very helpful, giving me health and safety data sheets and even telling me to phone the accounts section to check that I have been charged the discounted rates and not full price cylinder charges.

I also ordered a couple of new regulators off ebay,and it looks like they sent the wrong ones, as the ones I received are for CO2 cylinders. I have been told that it is dangerous to use CO2 regulators on Argon or Argon mix cylinders due to the pressures. I'm thinking that this would depend on the regulator, as the new ones I received are rated to 300 bar, but the old one I have been using with CO2 only has a single gauge,so you wouldnt know the operating pressure.

if you want to use a old CO2 regulator (that is rated for the pressure in the BOC cylinders), you can get an adaptor from machine mart, part ref 010120115 for £7.19

Im not wanting to go down that route though, as I'd prefer the regulators that I ordered

 

[chimpteaser]

I have just called BOC to see what my account charges are, I have a size X cylinder (2.42 m3) of Argoshield light and I was being charged:
£34.73 for a refill, £75.65 per year rent and a £14.40 transaction charge so if I use 1 cylinder a year it costs me £51.56 per m3 of gas.

I moved onto the Hobbyist Welder account which means a size Y cylinder (4.84 m3) which was easy enough to do and as soon as I swap the cylinder I'll be paying:
Argoshield Light (5%) £27.99 for a refill and £39.45 a year rent, assuming one cylinder refill a year that is £13.93 per m3
Argoshield Universal (12%) £37.12 for a refill and £39.45 a year rent, assuming one cylinder refill a year that is £15.82 per m3

All this is assuming one bottle refil a year, I had looked at a lot of the rent free gas suppliers as well, all of whom supply 10l (about size Y) cylinders at various pressures, this is what I worked out as the price per m3:
Albee £15.69 but you have to buy a bottle for £170 (not included in calcs) not a refundable deposit
Ryval £21.49 delivered
Welding gases Arg5 £22.70 delivered
Adams £25.00 collected from stockist
Hobbyweld 5 £29.85 collected from stockist
SGS £60.00 collected from stockist (seemed to be making up the prices as he went along)

I'm sticking with the new BOC deal for the moment but if I dont use up a cylinder/year the rent free options look good

Paul

 

[Bill Edwards]

The Y size is 20l, not 10 as some of the rent free ones are.

Also, BOC fill to 230 bar, not all rent free ones do - some only go to 137 bar!

 

[arthur]

I/we (my father) have BOC industrial (W) and BOC hobby accounts (Y only), I also have Target Gas CO2 and Argon in both 10l and 20l 200bar bottles too (Argon only ATM in 20l but CO2 soon in 20l at 200bar), the Garge Gas aka Target Gas from SCWS (Peter at South Coast Welding Supplies) is a good deal and they drop it off to me too free of charge! Tbh the three year rent deal is better IMO than BOC and I prefer the weld from the Target Gas CO2 over AS Light. Given I play it by the book and use my rent free and hobby account for just that I think BOC have had no choice but to offer the private sector gas, I now have a Target Gas argon in 20l at 200bar (same as a Y) and it lasts me well, I have a 10l as back up, the 230bar Y from BOC lasts no longer than my 200bar 20l or so it seems anyway, oddly it soon drops off even running at my normal rate of 6lpm.

 

[t0ne]

Thanks for the heads up on this, I've just created an account with them too. Stuart's a helpful chap and really quick to respond to emails.

 

[arthur]

My post reads a little negative towards the deal, I should say I for one am very grateful to BOC for the deal, its a great offer!

 

[chimpteaser]

The Y size is 20l, not 10 as some of the rent free ones are.

Also, BOC fill to 230 bar, not all rent free ones do - some only go to 137 bar!

Oops finger trouble, but I did use the correct volume and fill pressure in the sums.

One thing I noticed is that the quoted capacities on some of the Rent Free Gas sites just don't make sense. For example Adams and Hobbyweld cylinders are both 9L and filled to 137bar whuch I reckon should mean that you get 1.3 m3 of gas but Adams quote 1.2 m3 and Hobbygas 1.34 m3 capacities.
Albee say their 11L 200bar cylinder holds 2.55 m3 but I think it's more like 2.3 m3.

Confusion or just marketing fudges?

 

[Bill Edwards]

I'm not sure, and if i'm honest I don't feel like doing the sums myself to find out.

I think the figures seem close enough to not warrant too much thought really.

 

[johnakay]

what do these figures mean between ...
welding gases
Water Capacity - 10 Litres

Approx. Height - 910mm
Approx. Diameter - 140mm
Approx. Gross Weight - 20kg
Approx. Nominal Contents - 2,2m3
Approx. Fill Pressure 200 bar - 2900psi
Outlet Valve - BS No.3: 5/8" BSP RH INT Valve
Shipping Class - 2.2 (UN1956)

hobbywelds
Technical Specifications
Gas Pressure 137 bar / 2000 psi
Gas Capacity 1.34 cubic metres
Water Capacity 9 litres
Gas Mix 93% Argon / 5% Carbon Dioxide / 2% Oxygen
Cylinder Fitting BS 341 No. 3 - G 5/8" BSP RH Female
Suited Material Carbon Steel
Max Weld Depth 7mm
Optimum Range 1mm to 5mm
Cylinder Height 840mm
Cylinder Diameter 140mm

it seem to me hobbyweld has less gas?
will my current weld gauge fit? it fit the standard air products cylinder the big one.

 

[Wendelspanswick]

what do these figures mean between ...
welding gases
Water Capacity - 10 Litres

Approx. Height - 910mm
Approx. Diameter - 140mm
Approx. Gross Weight - 20kg
Approx. Nominal Contents - 2,2m3
Approx. Fill Pressure 200 bar - 2900psi
Outlet Valve - BS No.3: 5/8" BSP RH INT Valve
Shipping Class - 2.2 (UN1956)

hobbywelds
Technical Specifications
Gas Pressure 137 bar / 2000 psi
Gas Capacity 1.34 cubic metres
Water Capacity 9 litres
Gas Mix 93% Argon / 5% Carbon Dioxide / 2% Oxygen
Cylinder Fitting BS 341 No. 3 - G 5/8" BSP RH Female
Suited Material Carbon Steel
Max Weld Depth 7mm
Optimum Range 1mm to 5mm
Cylinder Height 840mm
Cylinder Diameter 140mm

it seem to me hobbyweld has less gas?
will my current weld gauge fit? it fit the standard air products cylinder the big one.

Hobbyweld cylinder has 0.86 m3 less gas.

 

[chimpteaser]

And at 10L/min gas flow that's 86 min less welding time. The differences probably are small, I was biased toward a supplier I could pick up the gas from rather then paying (and waiting) for delivery.

 

[johnakay]

86 minutes is a lot of gas to me.

the local hobbyweld shop charges £60 for the bottle and refill £45(which I have got.)
welding gases charge £50 for the bottle and refill £35 but delivery charge?
can't find any info on that but free phone so I'll ring them up on tuesday.

http://www.weldinggases.co.uk/index.php?_a=product&product_id=4

 

[dai]

ive just got a size Y oxy from BOC for £50 something a year rental and £8 a fill

 

[eSCHEn]

Just refilled. Size Y Argon, 40.66 all in.

 

[Badger1bear]

Just refilled. Size Y Argon, 40.66 all in.

who is that with buddy ?

 

[steviec_lj]

Hmmmm, could do with Oxy too, is there a deal going on this too now?

 

[eSCHEn]

who is that with buddy ?

The volkszone/forum deal from BOC mate. Rental is about sixty quid a year IIRC. A size Y did me a whole year last time.

Only bad bit is the miserable gas troll who refuses to smile or have a bit of banter.