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  1. #1
    Join Date
    Jan 2008
    Location
    Brisbane
    Posts
    53

    Default Gas Prices Savings

    Hi - if you are still renting cylinders and getting your gas from BOC don't blindly accept their standard prices - ask for a supply agreement which may result in substantially cheaper prices on gas and rental even if you only use small volumes.

    After 40 years paying standard prices, the day after I returned my welding cylinders, I got an unsolicited call offering better prices via a supply agreement.

    This was tempting but I managed to avoid the siren song and took back my mig cylinder too - free at last.

    What put the final nail in the coffin was dealing with a thoroughly unpleasant accounts person when trying to sort out an overcharge.

    He was the most horrible arrogant person I have encountered in a long time.

    PS: I didn't need an ABN to get this deal but they did want a copy of my driver's licence and it was based on 1 cylinder a year volume.

  2. #2
    Join Date
    Dec 2005
    Location
    South Australia
    Posts
    1,656

    Default

    The days of renting gas cylinders is long gone BOC just have not realized it yet

  3. #3
    Join Date
    Sep 2010
    Location
    Lebrina
    Posts
    1,910

    Default

    When I took over the metalwork area in my current job, one of the first things I did was kick BOC out as our gas supplier in favour of Supergas. I asked Supergas for a quote and in a nutshell, we save $1200 per year rent, gas cost is between 40 and 60% of what BOC were charging and we do not pay for delivery. When the BOC truck came to collect our cylinders for the last time, the driver mentioned that he was collecting a lot of cylinders for the last time from many premises. That was on a Friday. The following Monday, I had a very pee'd off BOC rep on my doorstep demanding to know why I had made the change. I explained that Supergas blew his prices out of the water and that there was no delivery charge. The rep then asked why I did not give him a chance to beat Supergas' pricing. I simply replied that Supergas had one chance to give me their best price, just as BOC had the same opportunity when they began supply way back when and they had obviously ripped us off for many years and therefore I could not trust them as a company and I took exception to his approach of demanding answers from me the customer. As far as I am concerned, BOC can go take a long walk off a short pier and I buy nothing off them either for business or personally, instead using either Supergas whose rep calls in regularly or a small local welding supplier who is also a repairer.

  4. #4
    Join Date
    Nov 2015
    Location
    Adelaide
    Posts
    27

    Default

    I have had multiple phone calls from BOC since canceling my account with them a few years ago, it seems common practice for them to ring up and offer a better deal once u have canceled the account.

  5. #5
    Join Date
    Aug 2008
    Location
    near Rockhampton
    Posts
    6,216

    Default

    I am surprised the likes of BOC and other long time gas retailers have not forced the government to change laws so the small swap and go places are regulated out of business.

    When I mentioned to my normal welding supplier about company z offering swap and go he said they should be stopped due to the extreme dangers of bottled gas.
    Gold, the colour of choice for the discerning person.

  6. #6
    Join Date
    Jul 2006
    Location
    Athelstone, SA 5076
    Posts
    4,255

    Default

    Quote Originally Posted by .RC. View Post
    I am surprised the likes of BOC and other long time gas retailers have not forced the government to change laws so the small swap and go places are regulated out of business.

    When I mentioned to my normal welding supplier about company z offering swap and go he said they should be stopped due to the extreme dangers of bottled gas.
    why is it a problem. Bunnings, Total Tools etc etc are only supplying gas and cylinders which must be stored, carried etc etc to Australian Standards. Some Total Tools stores can not store acetylene as they do not have outside storage facilities for flamable gasses.
    I do not see this as being any different to say BOC and their agents, supplying to any one who puts a credit card on their counter. I didnt need an account to get a supagas argon cylinder..they to card. no questions asked.

    And I will think you find that swap and go and the like are not exactly small. BOC are getting smaller and smaller due to their pricing and poor customer relations (not advising customers of better deals that they have running) and greed. They thought they had all tied up!

  7. #7
    Join Date
    Aug 2008
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    near Rockhampton
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    6,216

    Default

    Quote Originally Posted by eskimo View Post
    why is it a problem.
    Because they are taking customers away from the old style stores. That is the problem for them.

    My local bottle seller just stores acetylene bottles out the back in a rack. Looked perfectly safe to me.
    Gold, the colour of choice for the discerning person.

  8. #8
    Join Date
    Sep 2010
    Location
    Lebrina
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    1,910

    Default

    Quote Originally Posted by .RC. View Post
    I am surprised the likes of BOC and other long time gas retailers have not forced the government to change laws so the small swap and go places are regulated out of business.

    When I mentioned to my normal welding supplier about company z offering swap and go he said they should be stopped due to the extreme dangers of bottled gas.
    You raise a good point. I find that BOC in particular have the attitude that are the only worthy supplier and it should stay that way. Possibly the saving grace may be that the vast majority of incidents involving gas occur in the hands of the end user, not the retailer. It does concern me that many have no respect for compressed gas and potentially we will see a similar phenomenon as we have seen with powerful industrial type power tools in that falling prices due largely to Chinese imports, have seen 9 inch grinders, metal toothed cutters for grinders and similar tools in the hands of people with no idea of safety and ill prepared to use them.
    I remember being given a basic run down of safe procedures when I rented my first cylinders from CIG many a year ago. Now it's swipe the plastic and away you go matey, hook them up to a kit you bought off Ebay using procedures learned from Youtube after you threw the (written in chinglish usually) instruction book away with the packing and hope for the best. Not once do you come in contact with someone with the remotest idea of what they are doing during the whole process.

  9. #9
    Join Date
    Aug 2006
    Location
    Melbourne
    Posts
    1,105

    Default

    The same thing happens in industry, guys with no idea are using oxy acetylene sets, they go for a break and leave the valves on, sometimes even the ones on the hand piece so you get the acetylene smell. When I first used an oxy acetylene set at TAFE, I was told to turn off the valves at the bottles the moment I leave sight of them. I still do this today.

    I've seen bottles catch fire at the regulator because there was probably a small leak and someone was doing grinding around the area.

    I've seen argon/c02 bottles that have fallen over because someone wasn't paying attention when moving it on the trolley or didn't realise the safety chain at the back of the welder wasn't on!

  10. #10
    Join Date
    Aug 2009
    Location
    Sydney, NSW, Australia
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    1,836

    Default

    BOC was ok while there products were valued but its a eat or be eatin competition world these days, i bought my cylinder outright from National Welding i bought it probably 4 years ago now and i have exchanged it maybe 5 times i already want to upgrade from the D to a bigger cylinder but unfortunately there won't be a market or resale value for my D size cylinder because of the next inline Bunnings Warehouse but it is a bit tricky buying one from Bunnings as if u lose your receipt u have an empty paper weight, on two occasions when i have returned my cylinder to NW they lady has said the new stock has just came in lucky for me and it must mean a few cylinders are being exchanged

    i personally don't see a problem with the smaller cylinders and storage being a problem as they have shrouds around the gas valve if it were to be knocked over it should be protected the only other danger would be gassing for me if the cylinder had a faulty valve but its out in a garden shed anyway i can't really see any other problems other than acetylene being highly flammable

    it would just be like storing your bbq gas bottle all though a little more unstable to store, how many of us are worried about our bbq gas bottles exploding and erupting into a huge ball of flame blowing out windows and walls on your house or burning it down?

  11. #11
    Join Date
    Dec 2005
    Location
    South Australia
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    1,656

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    Gas bottles have been for sale in the USA for at least 60 years and they don't seem to have a safety issue.

  12. #12
    Join Date
    Jun 2010
    Location
    Canberra
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    1,322

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    Quote Originally Posted by gazza2009au View Post
    it is a bit tricky buying one from Bunnings as if u lose your receipt u have an empty paper weight
    Hmm, all the times I've swapped my D-size Argon at Bunnings, I've never had to show the original receipt.

  13. #13
    Join Date
    Mar 2009
    Location
    Melbourne
    Age
    54
    Posts
    825

    Default

    My understanding is you only need the receipt if you want to return a cylinder and get your $200.00 deposit back. I've never been asked for it when doing a swap.
    Cheers,
    Greg.

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