A welding gas question

Ive just got my self a new welder! its 160 A max 30 A min mig or flux so can weld anything from 1mm up to about 8mm so perfect for the landy, Ive been practicing all weekend and think Im picking it up really quick!

It came with a BOC 2L Argosghield light bottle that only lasted the day so now im after more gas.

So looking into getting more gas it appears that I will have to find local a supplier (beer gas cymru etc) put down an initial deposit of about £50 for the bottle, pay the for gas and then pay a rental fee either monthly or per annum.

It may sit unused for months so I dont like the idea of rental so was wondering if it was possible to buy my own bottle and then simply get it filled when I need to or are gas suppliers a bit reluctant to fill customers own bottles? Does my bottle then need 5 yearly safety checks etc.

I have a mate who can get me pub gas but is CO2 as good as Argon?

CO2 works ok but you do get more splatter so it depends how tidy you want your welding to be

I've got an oxy acetylene set with full size bottles and had the same problem.
If you manage to get hold of empty bottles (BOC) you have to make sure they have the correct tags on or they wont exchange them.Lucky for me the BOC agent was very accommodating and he got some of the delivery driver for £10 each.All i do now is buy the gas and a week later return the empties,job done two full bottles without the rental

Ive just spoken to the lad who sold me the welder, he also owns a campsite. He has said to me that for £30 he can supply me with full 3 foot bottles that I can keep for as long as I want, when I run out I simply return the bottle, pay him another £30 and I get another full one for as long as I like, its CO2 but I've asked if he can get me Argon as I know its advertised on his suppliers webpage.

Ive only ever welded with Argoshield and must say either im a great welder already or its a good product, the welds have been really clean with good penetration, no spatter and didnt blow threw once, the minute the gas run out it started spattering and blew a whole straight through, I havent tried the gasless wire yet. The father in laws got a big bottle of CO2 in the shed I may have to "borrow" it to see how I get on.

Not a big fan of gasless wire,imo it's inferior as you may find out.The pro's would use it otherwise and save a small fortune on gas.

Yep everyone Ive spoke to says its **** compared to using gas, I havent got round to testing it yet as Ive got the machine set up just nicely right now (previously by the welder lad who sold it to me) and dont want to fiddle too much until ive practiced my welds a bit more, hopefully new bottle tomorrow and away I go! (or tonight if I get the F I Ls)

Your better off using pure argon if you can get hold of a bottle.
If it would help out i can get hold of brand new tags for BOC bottles,they were a tenna last time i got mine so can't be much more now.

I use these guys Adams Gas they are based in Kent but may have a local stockist to you?

You pay a £55 deposit on the cylinder and then £36 for a fill of Agoshield.

No rent to pay at all and if you ever give up and return the empty bottle you get your deposit back