Mixing Gas In An Old Cylinder

by Wes
(Bay Area, CA.)

MIG Gas Cylinder Mixing Gases Through Convection In The Sun.

I bought an nice Miller MIG welder from an older guy who cant weld anymore for health reasons. It came with a gas cylinder that is full. The mixture is 75% Argon, 25% C02. But he said that it's been in his garage for years without use. He said I should mix the gases since C02 is heavier than Argon, and since it hasn't been used for so many years.

He mentioned rolling it around on the ground. But I was with an old Airgas engineer and he told me that one of his guys back in the day would leave the old cylinders with Argon and/or C02 in them out in the sun because the heat created a natural convection flow inside the cylinder and it mixed the gases naturally that way. He said 4 hours is about good enough to mix them up.

The picture above is my cylinder getting that convection going. What do you think?

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May 16, 2014
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mixing gas in an old cylinder
by: Leroy

Thanks for sharing this. I thought I was doing something wrong. This is good news.

May 13, 2014
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Rolling Stale Gas
by: richard parker

At work one of the guys had a tank of mixed gas. He said it was bad gas because it would not weld right. I told the gas guy to leave it and I'll mix it buy rolling it on the floor. One of the younger guys saw me rolling the tank on the floor and came over and said 'I will roll it for you'. I told him I'm mixing the gas. Ok then. You old guys should use a tank cart (I am 61), and I know a little bit more than some other people.

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