Disposable or refillable argon cylinder
Updated: October 2026
A second cartridge is in the basket because the first one died halfway along a sill, and the shelf price still looks kinder than a cylinder. Disposable or refillable argon cylinder is the wrong question until you count litres you can actually weld with. In this amazon.co.uk set the cheap tickets are 60 litre gas-volume disposables around £18 to £33, while one cylinder at £306.07 arrives empty. The [argon gas cylinder comparison](/hub/soldering-and-welding/argon-gas-cylinder) lists the eight bottles. This page is the container and the ownership, not the choice between pure argon and a CO2 mix. The minute counts below that use 15 litres per minute are a rule of thumb from a BOC example, not a timed test of these ASINs. Peter F. updated this on 18 October 2026. A qualifying purchase can earn a commission at no extra cost to you.
A second cartridge is in the basket because the first one died halfway along a sill, and the shelf price still looks kinder than a cylinder.
A second cartridge is in the basket because the first one died halfway along a sill, and the shelf price still looks kinder than a cylinder. Disposable or refillable argon cylinder is the wrong question until you count litres you can actually weld with. In this amazon.co.uk set the cheap tickets are 60 litre gas-volume disposables around £18 to £33, while one cylinder at £306.07 arrives empty. The argon gas cylinder comparison lists the eight bottles. This page is the container and the ownership, not the choice between pure argon and a CO2 mix. The minute counts below that use 15 litres per minute are a rule of thumb from a BOC example, not a timed test of these ASINs. Peter F. updated this on 18 October 2026. A qualifying purchase can earn a commission at no extra cost to you.
Our top picks
| Badge | Product | Container | Stated contents | At 15 L/min | Note | Price | Offer |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Best overall |  SWP SWP WG/1368 60 L disposable | Disposable | 60 L gas volume | About 4 minutes | 7.6 | about £17.99 | View offer |
| Alternative |  Gray Eagle Gray Eagle 8 L 82/18 | Filled cylinder | 8 L water / 1.2 m³ | About 80 minutes | 7.1 | about £169.99 | View offer |
| Best value |  Sealey Sealey MIGMIX2.2 430 g | Disposable | 430 g / 2.2 L | Not converted here | 7.0 | about £57.17 | View offer |
On this page
What disposable means on these listings
A disposable here is a non-refillable metal bottle. The current British standard record for that object is BS EN ISO 11118, which superseded BS EN 12205. You do not return it for a refill, and you do not decant it into another cylinder. BOC tells customers not to decant. Welding Superstore has cited EN 12205 on a 2.2 litre argon disposable. That citation can be behind the supersession, so treat it as a seller’s standard line, not as proof these Amazon bottles were tested to either document.
The small end of the set is three bottles that say 60 litres. SWP WG/1368 is argon/CO2 at £17.99, 1.28 kg, 4.6 from 160 reviews, ratio unstated. Sealey MIG/ARG/100 is argon at £31.68, 3.7 from 16 reviews, with 100 g printed beside the 60 litres. Sealey MIG/MIX/100 is 80/20 at £32.11, 3.4 from five reviews, again 100 g. The larger disposables are Sealey MIGMIX2.2, one bottle at £57.17 stated as 430 g and 2.2 litres of 84/16 with an M10 thread, and the four-pack MIGMIX2.24 at £192.57. BricoLoco is a 1 litre 86/14 disposable at £78.29 with the regulator sold separately. Threads on the 60 litre bottles are not stated. M10 will not mate with a BS 341 No. 3 workshop regulator.
Minutes, not the word on the label
BOC describes a common 50 litre cylinder as about 10 cubic metres, about 11 hours at 15 litres per minute. Apply that same 15 litres per minute only as a rule of thumb and 60 litres is about four minutes. SWP reviewers reported about 5 to 20 minutes, including bands of roughly 5 to 10, 10 to 15 and 20 minutes. That is review evidence, not a flow bench, and it agrees with a small bottle rather than with an hour of arc. Sealey prints about one hour on the 60 litre, 100 g bottles and marks it approximate. One MIG/MIX review said two bottles ran out during car-arch welding. One MIG/ARG review said a bottle arrived empty and lasted two or three minutes.
The Gray Eagle listing is the other scale inside the set: 8 litres of water capacity, 1.2 cubic metres of 82/18 stated, 150 bar, £169.99, regulator included, no reviews. At the same 15 litres per minute rule of thumb, 1.2 cubic metres is 1,200 litres, about 80 minutes. That arithmetic is not a test of the bottle, and it collapses if the cylinder does not arrive full. Adams Gas describes a 2.2 litre disposable as about 220 litres of gas. This page does not convert the Sealey 430 g claim into litres, because the listing already states both 430 g and 2.2 litres and a homemade conversion would pretend to be a measurement. If the gas is gone before the joint is finished, the next question is often the connection rather than the brand. That order of work is on the how to use page.
When another cartridge is still the right spend
A disposable is the rational buy when the job is one short repair, you already own the matching regulator, and you will not weld again for months. Adams Gas frames disposables that way: no deposit, suitable for occasional work, and the point at which you leave them once welding becomes regular. The SWP bottle is the top pick in the comparison for that short session, because 160 reviews exist and the price is £17.99. The limit is the unstated mix and the short reported time. Sealey MIGMIX2.2 is the best value mark on stated mass, 430 g for £57.17 against about 100 g for about £32, and only if M10 is already your thread and you accept zero reviews.
It stops being rational when you are buying the third 100 g bottle for the same panel. Two Sealey 80/20 bottles at £32.11 are about £64 and, on the car-arch review, may still not finish the job. Four MIGMIX bottles at £192.57 are a cupboard of disposables. You still throw the steel away, and you still do not have a BS 341 valve. BricoLoco at £78.29 for a stated 1 litre, plus another listing for the regulator, is a high ticket for a small disposable even before you know the thread. If you are choosing the gas rather than the container, use the argon or argon/CO2 page.
Exchange cylinders are a different contract
A refillable bottle in the UK trade is usually an exchange or a rent-free scheme with a deposit, a BS 341 No. 3 valve, and a cubic-metre fill, not a cartridge you own outright and pierce once. Hobbyweld’s FAQ describes no monthly rental in their model. They state high-pressure deposits of £70, £110 and £190 depending on the cylinder. Their line that an Original cylinder is equivalent to approximately 21 disposable cartridges is their comparison, not a count of the 60 litre bottles in this set. A disposable regulator does not fit their industrial valve without an adaptor, which is the same thread problem as M10 versus BS 341.
Express Gases has listed a Hobbyweld 5 at £57, with 1.40 cubic metres, a 9 litre water capacity and BS 341 No. 3. That price is a public scale check. It is not an ASIN here, and it is not a promise the price is still £57 when you click through. Gas Shack has listed Hobbyweld cylinders from £57 as well. A forum post on MIG-welding.co.uk once quoted a Hobbyweld 5 around £170.50 including gas, deposit and regulator, and an Air Products 10 litre around £213. Those are forum quotes, not a 2026 tariff. Adams Gas tells occasional welders to stay on disposables and regular welders to move to a refillable. The Gray Eagle 8 litre at £169.99 is the only filled cylinder inside this Amazon set, and its outlet is L 21.8 × 1/14, not the BS 341 valve those exchange schemes use.
The empty £306 shell is not the refillable bargain
The steel listing at £306.07, 60 cubic feet, cranberry, 13.2 kg, states that every cylinder ships empty. The valve is CGA580, not BS 341 No. 3. A DOT bullet is a seller’s mark, not evidence a UK gas company will fill it, and this comparison has no fill price to add. Paying that money does not buy you Hobbyweld’s deposit model, BOC’s exchange, or 60 cubic feet of argon on the day. It buys a shell you may not be able to fill locally.
If you want one short MIG job, a disposable that matches the regulator you have is the spend, and the SWP bottle is the one with the review record. If you are already on the second or third cartridge, an exchange cylinder with a stated cubic metre and a BS 341 No. 3 valve is the model the trade guides describe, at prices you should take from the supplier rather than from a forum. The bottle-by-bottle picks, including who should skip the empty shell, are on the argon gas cylinder comparison.
Common questions
How long is 60 litres at a normal flow?
As a rule of thumb, 60 litres at 15 litres per minute is about four minutes. The 15 litre figure is BOC’s example for many jobs, not a setting stamped on these bottles. SWP reviewers on amazon.co.uk reported about 5 to 20 minutes of welding, which sits in that short range. Your torch manual may specify something else, and a higher flow makes the same bottle shorter.
Is the Sealey one-hour line reliable?
No. Sealey marks about one hour as approximate on the 60 litre bottles that also state a 100 g component. A review of the 80/20 bottle said two of them ran out during car-arch welding. A review of the pure-argon bottle said one arrived empty and lasted two or three minutes. Treat the hour as the seller’s estimate, not as arc time you can book.
When is a disposable the sensible buy?
When the job is a single short repair, the regulator you already own matches the outlet, and you will not be welding every weekend. The SWP disposable at £17.99 is the comparison’s top pick for that narrow case, with an unstated mix. It stops being sensible when the same panel needs several 100 g bottles, or when the thread is M10 and your regulator is BS 341 No. 3.
What does a small exchange cylinder cost before the gas argument?
Inside this Amazon set, the only filled cylinder is Gray Eagle at £169.99 for a stated 1.2 cubic metres, and it has no reviews. Outside the set, Express Gases has listed a Hobbyweld 5 at £57 for 1.40 cubic metres and BS 341 No. 3. Hobbyweld states deposits of £70, £110 and £190 on high-pressure cylinders and says there is no monthly rental in their model. Those outside prices are scale, not a live quote.
Can I refill a disposable?
No. These small bottles are non-refillable. The standard trail runs from BS EN 12205 to BS EN ISO 11118. BOC tells customers not to decant gas from one cylinder into another and not to repair a valve. A disposable that feels empty is finished. Returning a bottle that arrived flat is a retail question, not a refill.
Is the £306 steel cylinder the refillable bargain?
No. It costs £306.07 and the listing says it ships empty, with a CGA580 valve. You do not receive 60 cubic feet of argon. A UK filler is not confirmed in these sources, and a DOT line does not create one. An exchange cylinder with gas and a BS 341 valve is a different product from this shell.
Related pages
Sources
Public UK sources and the amazon.co.uk listings in this set, last checked on 17 October 2026.
- HSE INDG297, safe use of gas cylinders (retrieved 17 October 2026)
- HSE, asphyxiation hazards in welding (retrieved 17 October 2026)
- Carriage of Dangerous Goods Regulations 2009 (retrieved 17 October 2026)
- BCGA CP 44, storage of gas cylinders (retrieved 17 October 2026)
- BOC, shielding gas brochure (retrieved 17 October 2026)
- BOC, transporting and handling cylinders (retrieved 17 October 2026)
- BSI, BS EN ISO 14175:2008 (retrieved 17 October 2026)
- Boiswood, bottle connections (retrieved 17 October 2026)