Cutting rig price

I drove my 8N with a 5' bush hog a couple miles down the road to burn three bolts off the gearbox. They wouldn't tighten or loosen. The smoke wrench made short work of them though. This was at one of my friends dad's that has the rig with small tanks. He hasn't used it since his buddy died two years ago. I'd like to have the rig but didn't know what to offer for it. Can anyone suggest a fair price to offer? David...................

A lot depends on who owns the tanks.

A hot wrench is indispensable. But you might want to check on buying a new rig before you make an offer. Half the price of a torch set will be the tanks. Usually the smaller tanks are sold outright, but that doesn't guarantee you'll be able to get them filled if you buy them. It's very much a regional thing: Here in Michigan, it seems any gas supplier will exchange any other supplier's tanks. In other areas, suppliers will only exchange or refill their own tanks. As you shop around for a rig, you can ask the suppliers on their policy for refilling or exchange tanks you purchased elsewhere, or of which you can't prove ownership.

call around for the brand of rig that you want and then call the local gas supplier and get a price on tanks. i believe about 1/2 of the going price would be about fair. if you can find a gas supplier that refills your tanks, that is better than trading in empty tanks each time. just my opinion. i have my own rig for more than 30 years and it is truly indispensable.

The torch gear itself, minus the tanks I would suggest is probably worth about a hundred bucks or so if it's in good shape. That's roughly half what a new set is worth.

Now the tricky part....
Around here, the knee high tanks are generally customer owned. The gas suppliers don't want to fill their competitors tanks, so they make a fuss about that sometimes. If for instance you have a tank you filled at a BOC dealer, then Prax or Liquid Air doesn't want to see it. Even though ~you~ own the tanks, they still consider them ~theirs~ for filling purposes. Probably somethign to do with testing or somethign like that.
The other catch... at least here is that I can get a large O2 filled for the same price as the knee high. I think there's 17 times the O2 in the large as the knee high. Acetylene is a similar story but there is some price differential...
So it works out liek this: if you're using more than probably 2 or 3 of the knee high's for the year you're probably better of just getting a contract on the O2.
I use propane for my gas. A simple 20# BBQ tank is all I use. Exchange when necessary. No contract. You just need a propane tip for the torch...
Price around on that and see what the deal is locally. Here it just doesn't pay the average person to own the little tanks unless they need them for somethign special like dragging them up on a roof or something like that.

Price of the little tanks... I'm not sure on. Seems like it would be 400 plus for the pair when new. I wouldn't expect much of a discount on the used ones because they're always dealt on an exchange basis here and their certification is maintained. You'd probably be looking at 75% or the new cost I would think. I wouldn't pay new price, but you've got to look at the alternatives...
Call a gas supplier and price the tanks so you know what they're worth.

Rod

I did not purchase my oxygen tanks from my local gas dealer. He would refill my tanks, but not on an exchange basis. Turnaround time was a week. Since I had two tanks that worked fine. Later on he changed suppliers and decided to accept exchanges and has done so ever since. If you didn't buy your tanks from your dealer you might run into the same situation.
I use propane and a 20# tank will outlast 5 or more oxygen tanks. You do need propane tips which are not expensive. You will also need hoses rated for propane. Acetylene hoses will eventually deteriorate when used with propane.
A torch is truly an indispensable tool if you do much work on machinery or tractors. Wouldn't be without mine.
Paul

Good advice. Thanks to all. David...............

The short portable torch outfits with tanks in a plastic cradle sell at Lowes for $275 - tanks, torch, tips, hose, regulators, etc included.

I bought an outfit used with 80ft3 tanks (O2 & acetylene), hose, cart, torch, gauges, regulators, all kinds of tips, for $350. The fellow bought the tanks from a local supply who agreed to exchange them for refills.