new boy in town

[malcolm]

In an attempt to clarify: The nut that holds the regulator to the bottle is hexagonal. Any old spanner will work for that so long as you take the precaution of choosing one the right size.

The bottle key people are talking about is the one that turns the gas supply on and off. There's a square thing recessed into a circular hole that needs a square key that fits in there to turn it. Weldingscotty803 linked to one a few posts back.

 

[Paul.]

For anyone new to handling gas cylinders, this page is worth a read, also this PDF document
Pages 5 and 6 cover equipment set up.

 

[pw8757]

I have had this on so many occasions............you buy something and you need a "special thingy" to use it. But the bloke who sells it to you doesn't have the sense to check you've got one................!

It wouldn't be so bad, but I was told when I first purchased welding gas that you had to set up an account with BOC to get their gas bottles..........so you're obviously a new customer!

At least its not that you were rushing home to get on with things if you still have to borrow the welder.......

However - you have come to the right forum for good advice.

By the way - if you have a Machine Mart near you, it may be useful to look at one of these

 

[tangledbug]

thx again for all your advice this is my first post and everybody has been so helpful heres to the future and many hours of welding at least i should have enough gas

 

[Furry Freak]

And whilst we are going through the basics here - please check that the regulator is an ARGON regulator. It matters.

if you get a leak, don't be tempted to keep jagging up the nut to cure it. It doesn't work like that. Shut off, drain what's in the reg and strip it back down. Use a bright torch and inspect the seats on the reg and bottle. The bottles can have tiny cracks or imperfections. If you drop the reg, you could damage the bull nose seal on that too. For argon, I actually use kids bubble mixture in a spray to see if there are any leaks. I ALWAYS turn my bottle off after each welding session so if there are any tiny leaks, I don't lose gas. You should see that there is still pressure in the gauge when you turn off. IF that pressure is still holding when you next come back to it, then you have no major leaks in your line.

FF