Webpage Updated Sunday January 16, 2022
REFILLING PORTABLE OXYGEN EDGE CYLINDERS – BUYING WELDING OXYGEN
Buy compressed welding oxygen at your local welding supply shop or any welding supply in the world, like welders. We use two sizes of commercial non-disposable high pressure aluminum oxygen cylinders (9 lb. and 3 lb.) with 540 CGA Global valves and Lexan hand wheels. A cylinder full fill is 2200 PSI. Partial fills, less than 2200 PSI. Common short fills at bait and tackle shops – 1000 – 1500 PSI. Keep in mind you are being charged for a full fill, not for short fills.
Welding supply shops will refill your small portable OE cylinders for $15-$25. With our cylinder refilling adapter, you refill your oxygen cylinder at home or fishing camp for 0.75 cents – pennies. It takes only minutes to refill your portable O2 cylinders in minutes at your convenience at home or any place in the world with the refilling adapter.
High Pressure Oxygen Cylinder Hydrostatic Testing Requirements and Safety. All high-pressure aluminum oxygen cylinders require hydrostatic testing every 5 years. Steel oxygen cylinders every 10 years. The hydrostatic testing date is stamped into the metal on the cylinder shoulder. The Hydro mark for March 2014 may look like this 03 ∆ 14 or 03 ◊ 14.
BY COMPRESSED WELDING OXYGEN AT A WELDING SUPPLY STORES
Consider this: How often do you go fishing a year? How many years remain in your fishing life?
Refilling your portable O2 cylinders at home: Contact your local welding supply store, rent ($5 month) or buy a large oxygen 250 or 281 cu. ft. compressed oxygen cylinder ($125.00). Return empty large cylinders to the shop and exchange for full cylinder of oxygen (2200 PSI). You pay for the O2 contents ($8 – $18) same price as welders pay for welding oxygen cylinder from the welding supply store and eliminate all the hassle, aggravation and cost of taking your portable cylinder to welding supply every time you need refills… consider your savings over years of your fishing life.
Only the welding shop where you buy or rent the large 250 cu. ft. commercial steel oxygen cylinder will exchange your empty large cylinder with a full cylinder (2200 PSI). Another welding shop may not exchange or refill your 250 cu. ft. steel oxygen cylinder.
You buy commercial grade oxygen gas contents $7-$13 (a large 250 cu. ft. O2 cylinder @ 2200 psi is “full”) – smaller OE cylinders are also “full” @ 2200 psi. When you large 250 cylinder needs refilling, take it back to the shop where you bought or rented it and exchange it for a full cylinder when necessary. Some welding shops will deliver the large cylinder to you. Refilling your small OE cylinder with your large welding shop cylinder is by far the easiest and most economical method of buying source oxygen that ensures extremely lower operating gas cost in the long run.
BUYER BE AWARE
THIS COMMERCIAL CYLINDER REFILLING PRACTICE IS COMMON AT BAIT SHOPS AND TACKLE SHOPS
Many coastal and freshwater bait dealers and fishing tackle shops will also refill your portable oxygen cylinder. Many bait shops and tackle shops also consider 1200 – 1500 PSI a “Full Fill.” Many fishermen are not aware that a “Full Fill” is 2200 PSI. Be aware that these low filling pressures are “short-fills” of which you are often charged a “full fill” 2200 PSI price. This is a common bait shop practice.
“Short Filled” O2 cylinders dramatically reduce the total hours of available time before the cylinder is depleted of gas, empty.
Trust and confirm O2 gas sellers: Always confirm filling pressure with your O2 regulator gage before you pay. When your O2 cylinder has cooled to ambient temperature post refilling. Cylinder gas pressure and gas volume will fall as the cylinder temperature cools to ambient temperature. Allow 10 minutes post filling for your cylinder to cool to ambient temperature, then connect your oxygen regulator to your portable cylinder valve. Open the cylinder valve slowly, pressurizing the regulator and confirm the filling pressure with the regulator pressure gage. Bait shops and tackle shops commonly short-fill fishing oxygen system cylinders. You may or may not be getting what you’re paying Never assume you are getting a “full fill”, 2200 PSI. Always trust and verify filling pressure.
BUYING OXYGEN – OE-D SYSTEM DISPOSABLE O2 CYLINDERS
Use for Emergency livewell oxygenation when live bait or tournament fish are in crisis or for small amounts of live bait (a handful of shiners – 6 oz. live bait)
The OE-D oxygen system uses Bernz-O-Matic® disposable oxygen cylinders. Buy these oxygen cylinders off-the-shelf at many locations, Ace Hardware, Home Depot, Lowe’s, and most plumbing supply stores. Cylinders are sold as singles ($5-$8) or buy economy 12 packs ($40-$50). If 12 packs are not stocked, most store managers will place a special order for you. Burnz-O-Matic oxygen cylinders contain 99.9% oxygen @ 500 PSI, 1.10 cu. ft. gas @ 70 F.
Empty cylinder disposal – any dumpster. No wrenches needed to connect the adjustable brass regulator to the Bernz-OMatic cylinder. Cylinder and regulator connections are left-hand threads. The OE-D regulator will not connect to refillable oxygen cylinders with CGA 540 valves (right-hand threads).
Please call us immediately (409) 267-6458 from the welding shop if you ever have any problems buying commercial welding oxygen or having your oxygen cylinder refilled at a welding supply store or bait and tackle shop.
FACT: The only difference between pharmaceutical compressed oxygen gas and a commercial welding oxygen gas is the fixed label attached to the cylinder wall, price and tracking of the gas? Medical oxygen is classified as a drug requiring a doctor’s prescription.
Compressed aviation oxygen is required to be dryer (less water vapor content) than medical and commercial welding oxygen, the purity is the same. Aviation oxygen must be dryer (contain less water vapor) because of sub-freezing temperatures at altitude. Extremely cold temperatures at high altitudes commercial and pharmaceutical oxygen humidity containing higher water vapor in the O2 may freeze oxygen regulators causing aviation oxygen life support systems to malfunction and fail in flight at altitude.
Extreme cold is also issue for high altitude mountain climbers that use supplemental oxygen in the death zone.