skotl
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julianf
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58 quid for y size fill on argon.
4.72 M3
58 / 4.72 = £13.12 per m3
I *think* the cost on my 30ltr argon from sgs was 95 quid. If that was 200 bar, that's 6m2.
95 / 6 = £15.83 per m3
But...
Use 1 cylinder per year from boc and the added rental makes the cost per m3 to be -
58 + 52 / 4.72 = £23.30 per m3
Use two cylinders -
58+58+52 / 9.44 = £17.79 per m3
I can't be bothered to do more sums, but my feeling is that you would need to be doing 4 or so cylinders for the boc deal to start to match the SGS deal on price.
Ps. I think there's an environmental charge on the boc deal that's not in the sums above also.
4.72 M3
58 / 4.72 = £13.12 per m3
I *think* the cost on my 30ltr argon from sgs was 95 quid. If that was 200 bar, that's 6m2.
95 / 6 = £15.83 per m3
But...
Use 1 cylinder per year from boc and the added rental makes the cost per m3 to be -
58 + 52 / 4.72 = £23.30 per m3
Use two cylinders -
58+58+52 / 9.44 = £17.79 per m3
I can't be bothered to do more sums, but my feeling is that you would need to be doing 4 or so cylinders for the boc deal to start to match the SGS deal on price.
Ps. I think there's an environmental charge on the boc deal that's not in the sums above also.
Spot the welders dog
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^^ I was thinking I would get through atleast one bottle: Last week I finally returned it after 10 years!
BOC lost my custom after all the secret charges started to appear - Non-DD & paperbiling charges...
...Was reminded of something I read on here after the counter guy huffed something about "Should have asked you to park near to the bay" > "You charge a handling fee - so go handle", or some such witty retort
I now feel cleansed, yet dubious that its the last dealings I will have with them after the guy couldn't get his zapper to read the barcode of the bottle I returned
BOC lost my custom after all the secret charges started to appear - Non-DD & paperbiling charges...
...Was reminded of something I read on here after the counter guy huffed something about "Should have asked you to park near to the bay" > "You charge a handling fee - so go handle", or some such witty retort
I now feel cleansed, yet dubious that its the last dealings I will have with them after the guy couldn't get his zapper to read the barcode of the bottle I returned
Agautosport
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Hi
Yes that is our web address, not sure what the issue might have been then.
Alan
skotl
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Working now (as I'm sure you'd expect!)
skotl
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Jeez. I'd read about BOC's "hidden charges" but hadn't encountered them until today.
Got my annual rental invoice, that includes £4.74 "Paper Invoice Fee".
What? I don't remember being told about that!
Oh well - lesson learned for this year, just gonna have to pay it.
But I better get onto boconline.co.uk and tick the little box that says "Get invoices by email, so we don't rip you off for a fiver every time", except there isn't such an option anywhere on the account management, direct debit setup, profile or invoicing pages.
I eventually found it by googling "site:boconline.co.uk paperless invoice" that takes you to a hidden page where you need to enter your account number and a recent invoice number, then it takes you through a somewhat tortuous series of pages where you need to re-enter your details several times, then it lets you setup invoice-by-email.
A suspicious sort might think they don't want you to take this option...
Oh well, 11 months and two weeks to wind this cylinder down, then swap to SGS...
Got my annual rental invoice, that includes £4.74 "Paper Invoice Fee".
What? I don't remember being told about that!
Oh well - lesson learned for this year, just gonna have to pay it.
But I better get onto boconline.co.uk and tick the little box that says "Get invoices by email, so we don't rip you off for a fiver every time", except there isn't such an option anywhere on the account management, direct debit setup, profile or invoicing pages.
I eventually found it by googling "site:boconline.co.uk paperless invoice" that takes you to a hidden page where you need to enter your account number and a recent invoice number, then it takes you through a somewhat tortuous series of pages where you need to re-enter your details several times, then it lets you setup invoice-by-email.
A suspicious sort might think they don't want you to take this option...
Oh well, 11 months and two weeks to wind this cylinder down, then swap to SGS...
mr migwire
It's more fun with metal.
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i got an sgs cyliner with my new tig, tried getting it swapped for a full one when it ran out and was met with some totally ridiculous bs from the local agent. didnt have a clue about how to upgrade me to a larger cylinder,
current cylinder is a 10ltr and wanted to go up to the 30ltr, i assumed if returning the 10ltr i would have the deposit credited to the new cylinder cost leaving me to pay the remainder, apparently not the case according to the ill informed monkey behind the counter who had to keep asking his even thicker cohort for advice on the matter, in the end iirc they wanted just over £200 plus my 10ltr bottle to swap to a 30ltr, suffice to say a quick trip to the local boc agent and i have a decent ammount of gas without the hassle of dealing with the above cretins, yes rent free may be cheaper but my boc agaent is a stones throw away and very friendly and knowledgeable, still have an empty 10ltr sgs cylinder here that apperently i cant get the deposit back for...
current cylinder is a 10ltr and wanted to go up to the 30ltr, i assumed if returning the 10ltr i would have the deposit credited to the new cylinder cost leaving me to pay the remainder, apparently not the case according to the ill informed monkey behind the counter who had to keep asking his even thicker cohort for advice on the matter, in the end iirc they wanted just over £200 plus my 10ltr bottle to swap to a 30ltr, suffice to say a quick trip to the local boc agent and i have a decent ammount of gas without the hassle of dealing with the above cretins, yes rent free may be cheaper but my boc agaent is a stones throw away and very friendly and knowledgeable, still have an empty 10ltr sgs cylinder here that apperently i cant get the deposit back for...
skotl
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mr migwire
It's more fun with metal.
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pretty poor indeed skotl but when you rely on car part outlets to push your product who have no knowledge of what they are selling it equates to a bad customer experiance which sends them else where.
i have had no problems with BOC and my local outlet is a welding supplier who knows whats what, horses for courses but if you can afford the extra it costs and justify them i would reccomend boc.
i use around a cylinder a year of argoshield light and probably 2 of pure shield, not heavy use as i am not doing as much as i used too.
skotl
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Fair points. I've used BOC for years and, apart from the annual £70 pain, it's always been pretty painless.
Agautosport
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We will always help end users who have any issues with distributors.
The best option would be to phone us and we would sort the problem for you.
It should be noted that most of our 1000 distributors use modern computerized accounts systems that require an invoice number in order to process the refund of a deposit so it is always worth keeping your original invoice.
Alan
SGS Gases Ltd
Hi,
Initially I tried SGS but returned the full cylinder for a refund then went to Hobbyweld; I used three small cylinders in no time at Hobbyweld and when I wanted to trade up to a larger cylinder my local Hobbyweld in Dewsbury don't stock them but it would be no trouble to get one in for me if I placed the order; Hobbyweld were brilliant to deal with right from head office to the people in Dewsbury.
I must be due to pay my subs to BOC soon as I've been with BOC for about a year; I've used two BOC full cylinders and now have an almost new cylinder which I've not used for months due to other more pressing jobs; I'll renew with BOC and not worry about the cost; I collect my BOC cylinders from The Wakefield Welding Center and the guys there are wonderful; I email Jim asking if he has a full cylinder in stock and he usually has so puts my name on it; parking is very easy indeed with their site this side of Wakefield it being a nice little trip out; I park at the entrance and lift the empty cylinder onto the ground then pop in to let Jim know I've arrived; Jim then pops out with a dedicated cylinder sack cart; scans the barcode on the empty and wheels it in wheeling the full cylinder out and kindly assisting lifting the full cylinder into the back of our Yeti where I tie it securely; absolutely first class service and no fuss of any kind; all the staff at The Wakefield Welding Center are very helpful indeed; I can't praise them enough; I'm now a loyal customer and have been back a number of times to buy consumables.One important point regarding buying gas from a welding center is it comes with years of welding experience covering all kinds of welding kit and free useful advice.
I find it strange that so many people will spend a great deal of money on things like mobile phones but try to save a few quid when it comes to paying for gas; I don't have plans for more Tig welding at the moment but as I say I'll pay my BOC subs with good grace; I like having Tig in my workshop.
I was trained on BOC oxy/acetylene equipment over 50 years ago so know BOC has been around a while and are highly respected in industry.
Kind regards, Colin.
Initially I tried SGS but returned the full cylinder for a refund then went to Hobbyweld; I used three small cylinders in no time at Hobbyweld and when I wanted to trade up to a larger cylinder my local Hobbyweld in Dewsbury don't stock them but it would be no trouble to get one in for me if I placed the order; Hobbyweld were brilliant to deal with right from head office to the people in Dewsbury.
I must be due to pay my subs to BOC soon as I've been with BOC for about a year; I've used two BOC full cylinders and now have an almost new cylinder which I've not used for months due to other more pressing jobs; I'll renew with BOC and not worry about the cost; I collect my BOC cylinders from The Wakefield Welding Center and the guys there are wonderful; I email Jim asking if he has a full cylinder in stock and he usually has so puts my name on it; parking is very easy indeed with their site this side of Wakefield it being a nice little trip out; I park at the entrance and lift the empty cylinder onto the ground then pop in to let Jim know I've arrived; Jim then pops out with a dedicated cylinder sack cart; scans the barcode on the empty and wheels it in wheeling the full cylinder out and kindly assisting lifting the full cylinder into the back of our Yeti where I tie it securely; absolutely first class service and no fuss of any kind; all the staff at The Wakefield Welding Center are very helpful indeed; I can't praise them enough; I'm now a loyal customer and have been back a number of times to buy consumables.One important point regarding buying gas from a welding center is it comes with years of welding experience covering all kinds of welding kit and free useful advice.
I find it strange that so many people will spend a great deal of money on things like mobile phones but try to save a few quid when it comes to paying for gas; I don't have plans for more Tig welding at the moment but as I say I'll pay my BOC subs with good grace; I like having Tig in my workshop.
I was trained on BOC oxy/acetylene equipment over 50 years ago so know BOC has been around a while and are highly respected in industry.
Kind regards, Colin.
slim_boy_fat
Member
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Me too, I have the Y size in both Argoshield and pure Argon [still to try much TIG] and it costs me c £10 per month to rent both. I'm a low-volume user [prob be more if I wasn't weather dependent
] and don't grudge it - you'd pay that for a couple of pints in some places, and I don't smoke so...
Wallace
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I managed to dodge the bullet somehow on paperless billing, there was apparently a flyer sent out when it was introduced but I did not get one but they were happy enough to send me a PDF copy when I complained!
You can take the cylinder back anytime and the remaining months will be credited back. Sods Law will dictate the day it runs out is just past that months billing date.
Morris
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I've got to agree with Colin, found BOC very easy to deal with, local depot (Corby) is very helpful and only 5 miles away. The convenience of having all I need for MIG TIG and gas welding is worth the extra.
Farside
Badly Welded Man
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Your experience duplicates mine in my local motor factors.
Firstly, they couldn't give me a proper price - probably depends on dropping a name so they know how much to knock off. Secondly, when I enquired about upgrading I was told I'd be stuck with the cylinder and I'd have to find a buyer for it, then come in and be stung for the higher cost of the bigger cylinder.
That was the local agents for Star Gas, and SGS didn't have an agent in the town.
Bunch of cowboys.
I see SGS now have agent fairly local to me in the other direction, so I'll give them a call and hope I don't get rooked. I expect the local price to be higher than on that flyer, as there are extra costs involved in getting it here.
mr migwire
It's more fun with metal.
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yeah they wont be getting my business Dave, will stick with BOC for the time being although i have got an albee oxy cylinder that was given to me and is £50 per fill, its slightly smaller than the boc Y bottle but does the job for me as i dont use the oxy/fuel setup much.
Tangledfeet
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Some good news, for once.
Dear Customer,
BOC Pricing Review – Hobby Welder Deal
At this time of year, we would normally be writing to you to inform you of changes to our prices that would come into effect in January.
The impact of COVID-19 has meant that this has been a challenging year for everyone. We are proud to say that we have maintained a reliable and consistent supply to our customers throughout the pandemic, whilst also managing the exceptional demand within hospitals.
As a result of the pandemic we have experienced considerable reduction in gas volumes and despite significant focus on fixed cost reduction across BOC, we face a substantial increase in our cost of production.
However, we always endeavour to minimise the impact of cost rises to our customers and feel that now, more than ever, is the time to support our smaller customers. As such, the discounted prices you enjoy from our Hobby Welder Deal will not increase in January and will remain unchanged throughout 2021.
Thank you for the business you have placed with us during this difficult year and we look forward to remaining your supplier of choice.
Yours faithfully,
Phil Rowley
Director of Customer Service – Region UK
Dear Customer,
BOC Pricing Review – Hobby Welder Deal
At this time of year, we would normally be writing to you to inform you of changes to our prices that would come into effect in January.
The impact of COVID-19 has meant that this has been a challenging year for everyone. We are proud to say that we have maintained a reliable and consistent supply to our customers throughout the pandemic, whilst also managing the exceptional demand within hospitals.
As a result of the pandemic we have experienced considerable reduction in gas volumes and despite significant focus on fixed cost reduction across BOC, we face a substantial increase in our cost of production.
However, we always endeavour to minimise the impact of cost rises to our customers and feel that now, more than ever, is the time to support our smaller customers. As such, the discounted prices you enjoy from our Hobby Welder Deal will not increase in January and will remain unchanged throughout 2021.
Thank you for the business you have placed with us during this difficult year and we look forward to remaining your supplier of choice.
Yours faithfully,
Phil Rowley
Director of Customer Service – Region UK
