Tennessee Nashville CO2 Fills

[Tyler.W]

Does anyone have a recommendation on places to buy/fill CO2 tanks? I live near Franklin, TN and called a spot in Columbia that quoted $25 fill/$130 new for a 5# tank. That seemed steep to me, so I wanted to check if there are other recommended spots.

 

[twitchster]

Volunteer Welding in Nashville fills CO2 tanks for $15. As for the tank itself, $130 is pretty ridiculous. There are numerous places online that sells them for $75-80. I would got that route.

 

[Tyler.W]

Awesome, I’ll have to check them out. I bought a filled tank at a local Airgas for 85 and they do swaps for 18 I believe. If I am out and heading towards Nashville I will check out Volunteer Welding.

 

[IslandLizard]

Fire protection agencies/outfits are another resource for refilling CO2 tanks. They usually don't swap (they don't stock our kind of tanks), as most welding places do.

Check the yellow pages, and call around.

5# fills/swaps tend to cost more, due to the handling required. It takes almost as much time and labor to fill a 5# as a 20# tank. The CO2 itself is very cheap.

In that light, $3+ a pound is quite steep. For comparison, I swap my 20# (aluminum) tanks for $25 at a welders outfit (Praxair).
If you use a lot of CO2, larger tanks are more economical. Keep the small tank for when you're on the move.