Old Argon bottle for emergency air?

Can I use a old Argon bottle for air off road? I dont have 300$ to buy on already set up.

Just for airing up tires maybe an air gun for a quick tire change? If I change the valve on the bottle and put a regulator on it?

Also where would I get the parts from to do this and where would i go to have it filled?


Or amI just retarted and should go buy one already set up.

 

I would make sure the bottle has no leaks and the connections are good! A welding supply place that can also have the air for the tank.

 

You should be able to get it filled with CO2. It will likely need to be recertified.

Or hit up a welding/industrial gas place and see if they'll let you trade it out for a certified CO2 tank.

 

Warning lights and horns are going off in my head right now.

Argon = flammable. Cylinder would have to be absolutely clean of argon. Pressure level of compressed gas cylinders = 2000 to 3000+ psi. If certification is expired, cylinder would need to be retested and restamped. Cylinder shut-off valve and regulator would have to rated to the full pressure rating of the cylinder. Since there is potential liability, you may have trouble getting a legitimate gas supplier to co-operate with your plans.

 

Argon is non-flammable.

 

Just to be clear. Argon does NOT = flammable.

Argon is an inert gas. Same as CO2.

You probably cannot get it filled with CO2, but you can probably exchange it. As long as it is still in date (10 year certification stamped on the bottle), you can probably exchange it at your local welding supply.

 

My bad...you're right. Argon is used as a shielding gas for tig and mig welding. I must have been thinking of that other a-gas...acetylene.

In any event, OP should be aware...3000 psi mishandled will be extremely dangerous. The reason OSHA has strict rules regarding the storage of compressed gas cylinders is if one falls over, and the cylinder valve is broken off, the cylinder becomes a soda bottle projectile.

 

That's why it possibly could be redone as CO2. Tank pressure for that is 8-900, still dangerous but far under what's required for argon.

The exchange is still probably the easiest route though.

 

eh, just point the bottle towards the rear, when it hits a rock, you just call it boost.

 

@KevinK can guide you in the right direction.

I'd go with nitrogen. More bang for your buck.

 

Swap it out for a CO2 tank at a welding store, it shouldn't cost anything even if they need to recertify the old tank. You can get a cheap regulator and hose and chuck and everything off Amazon for like $60.

 

I'll see about trading it in for a CO2
Its full and I have no use for Argon.

 

Since it’s argon, it should already have the CGA580 valve which is used for inert gasses like N2, not liquid like CO2.
Just ask your local welding supply to release the argon and fill it with N2. They can slap a sticker on it to indicate gas type.

we use N2 on our truck because we also pressurize our water system with it, and N2 doesn’t go into solution as readily as CO2. A soda water shower would be quite invigorating, but not what we wanted. N2 can also be used to fill shocks, inflate tires and run air tools, so it’s a little more useful than CO2. And since it’s a gas and not a liquid, you can mount the bottle in any orientation without having to change dipper tubes or anything like in CO2 tanks (in CO2 the gas is at the top of the bottle and liquid at the bottom, so you either have to stand the bottle vertically all the time, or have a dip tube installed to allow you to mount it on its side or at an angle).

it costs about $20 to fill and lasts us 3-4 trips of pressuring the water and airing up 37s from 18psi to 37psi.

Bottle mounted on the right

 

Trade it for N2. N2 is also stable unlike CO2 that changes with the temperature

 

Weld supply company more than likely is not set up to purge the argon out. You would have to send it off, and more than likely get it recertified. Better off selling bottle of argon to a private company or some welding hobbyists. Take the money and buy a new bottle.

 

Perfect! Use it as is!

https://www.independent.co.uk/news/...eact-thats-why-industry-loves-it-1449740.html

When it is empty, trade it for a Nitrogen bottle or have the supplier fill it with nitrogen.

 

It actually is affected by temperatures like CO2 just not as bad, and for it to truly do any good, the tire would have to be in a vacuum to remove all the air to be 100% nitrogen. I still use nitrogen to air my tires because it’s fast and accessible to me, but don’t buy into that hype that it doesn’t change pressure

 

I didn't say anything about what it does in a tire. I have a shop full of N2 cylinders and I use plain old compressed air

 

You don't have to have a tire in a vacuum to remove air. You just need to purge it. Its already sitting at about 78% anyway. Purity is not a concern so 3 times would get you close enough. Drain current air till almost empty, fill to about 15psi, drain again till almost empty, repeat 2 more times. Not that anyone would need/want to do that anyway...especially on a trail.

A shop will not change gas service on a bottle.

Yes No2 and Ar use a CGA 580 fitting. You should not change these fittings.....there is a reason the CGA was formed and fittings were assigned.

I doubt a shop will give you any kind of credit for that bottle full. Its going back to the plant and going to get drained before they refill it. So anything in the bottle will just be returned to the atmosphere.

You could use AR for what you want since you have it...but when its empty swap that bottle for a N2 bottle. You will already have the regulator anyway. C02 regulators have different seals in them because it is more corrosive. Or at least should.

I would never use CO2 in my tires. Yes I know people do and companies make products for them. Just my .02

Lastly make sure you leave the collar or protective cap on it so it doesn't turn into a projectile like mentioned above.

 

I know how they can become a rocket. The metal cap is on. lol
Ill put it up for sale or trade...

 

I'm missing why you wouldn't use it for your intended purpose.

You will need a regulator, but that is no big deal, then, when you are out of argon, exchange it at the local welding shop for a nitrogen bottle. I've changed bottle types for free several times. You'll be able to use the regulator you bought for the nitrogen bottle.

 

Off topic but kind of on topic.

It's interesting to see how old some of the cylinders are, we use CO2 in our pool at work and I regularly see ones that are 60+ years old. So far the oldest stamp I've seen is 1913.

 

I use to play that game while doing my annual inspections on customers that had cylinder backups. I was a Cryo Field Service Tech for about 3 years before this job. I found a cylinder in Oxygen service at a hospital from around the same time. I think it was 1908. I used to have a picture of it. It was hard to read because it had stamps all over the neck.

 

This is what I was saying. The only down side is that Ar is heavier then N2. But that’s probably not relevant for this purpose. But if he can sell it then I guess he could start with which ever gas he chooses.

 

I use a 20 year old 2200 PSI SCBA tank for this purpose.

 

I’ve been looking at some of the carbon fiber ones and wondering if I can adapt a CGA580 valve onto it for N2. Any idea?

 

Couldn't a old aluminum scuba tank work. Not sure about a regulator, but a 80 CF under 3,000 PSI is a lot of air. And can be filled at a scuba shop for a couple bucks.

 

Hmm, I'm not sure, are NGT valves conical? SCBAs are straight pitch.

 

Looks like this could work? NGT to CGA580

https://gascylindersource.com/shop/...as-valve-cga580-34-ngt-argon-helium-nitrogen/

 

I don't think so. SCBA valves are a straight pitch with on O ring seal at the top. The NGT looks like a conical pipe thread style.

But SCBA valves are not very expensive. The trick is an adapter from the SCBA male threads to NIP or similar for your hose and fitting, those are available, mostly for paint ballers who use SCBA tanks for air fairly often.

You will also need your own compressor or an 'in' with the local firedepartment as dive shops will not refill tanks that are not certified or expired.

This is all doable, just letting you know what is involved.

I really like using tanks instead of compressors but I work for the Fire department and got dozens of free SCBA tanks when they expired and am able to use the departments 4500 PSI compressor to fill them when needed.