Anyone advise me on a bottled oxygen set up?

[Redhotsal]

Sorry - I missed why you were going to Oz - is it for a holiday or for an extended time? What about your beautiful new shedio - aren't you worried that there will be beady squatters in it when you get back?? 

[Helen G]

Compared to Sal I was a bit blasé with my reply    which is naughty because as she has pointed it can be lethal if not handled properly.
What I should mention is I am lucky enough (or not when the alarm goes off at 3 in the morning cos it's rained a bit!!) to live on a trout farm with nice strong lads that change my oxygen and even they struggle! We rent them from BOC (the farm pays) and take them to the local country/farmers store for refilling at about £4 a go (the farm pays) which needs a decent flatbed truck. Also my brother is a qualified welder and happens to work on the farm for us so he set it all up for me 
If I wasn't in this fortunate position it would be an oxycon for me.

[Kaz]

Sorry - I missed why you were going to Oz - is it for a holiday or for an extended time? What about your beautiful new shedio - aren't you worried that there will be beady squatters in it when you get back?? 

I know - I am worried about leaving my shed behind!!!
I am going for a month and the idea is that I will use the opportunity to make beads to sell when I get back - a kind of semi-working holiday which we intend to do on an annual basis (or maybe even bi-annual in future). Making the beads and having a set up there makes it more affordable and staying with friends who understand my need to bead also helps!
Kazx

[Redhotsal]

I am lucky enough (or not when the alarm goes off at 3 in the morning cos it's rained a bit!!) to live on a trout farm with nice strong lads that change my oxygen and even they struggle! 

mmmmm.....Helen, I dream of living on a trout farm with nice strong lads....!  How're the fishes by the way?

Kaz - just a thought - there's a huge lampworking community in Australia - maybe it's worth hooking up to one of their forums and seeing exactly what the equipment situation is out there? They'll have a much better idea of their own territory and there's bound to be an oxycon distributor over there surely?

Someone on here might possibly know: http://forum.aussiebeadmakers.com/

[Ian Pearson]

All good info here. for what its worth I have two Y size cylinders and rotate them, i.e when one is empty move to other one then replace empty one. Local engineering company deliver, same as for propane which is a B size. I had a two stage regulator and replaced with  a single stage as it was cheaper, £40 as opposed to nearly £100. However I knew the single stage may give uneven flow and was prepared for that but so far its been fine. When the cylinder starts to get empty then the flow slightly fluctuates. I have flashback arrestors and use BS recommended hosing. Already mentioned cylinder key but also worth noting to get a mallet and spanner, non sparking variety to remove/replace regulator. Annual costs are expensive and well over £1000 but I use a lot of oxy.

[llewennog]

ON another glassy forum I use there's quite a few Ozzy lampworkers and they use liquid oxy, ye sure its more expensive but its much safer than standard bottled oxy, and from chatting to a few guys in oz you can get liquid at about the same cost as standard oxy but be aware of dodgy cryo chamber/ bottle suppliers, make sure you check either system for signs of rust or oxidisation at the vavle mouth or pools of ice around the valve or blowoff chamber, as a refernce liquid oxy is around 250 psi and standard bottled is 2500psi I know which one I'd rather have an valve problem with and liquid is just so much better for large blown forms (seems to becoming the standard gas for the U.s scene).
In the Uk a cryo chamber costs for one month tank rental as a year of standard bottle rental :/

Ian I got a quote from Boc direct for both bottled and cryo oxy, the written quote I have stated -£80 a year rental per bottle for Y cylinder with £14 per fill and £12 delivery, Liquid on the other hand was £800 a year tank rental £20 per fill plus £35 delivery(although there is much much more oxy in a liquid bottle of the Y size), maybe you should go deal with boc directly rather than through an engineering company.

Obviously whichever system you use you'll need Flashbacks etc , hurricanes and Ogi systems are also avaliable in oz maybe you should get in touch with the ozzy beadmakers society and see what they can help you with!

[Diane]

I have PM'd you Kaz - but fully encorse what Sal has said.  I just hated the whole business of oxygen cylinders and the fact that they can pose such a danger.

Diane x