they could have used the same thread
on both sides.
CHEAPER BATTERIES
& WELDING GAS
ost Club members need a new
car battery occasionally, and I am
sure they would like to get a good price.
Perhaps only a few Club members have
the need for welding gas, but I am
equally sure they would not want to pay
the exorbitant price traditionally associ-
ated with this service. The following
information might be of interest to those
who fit either of the above groups.
WELDING GAS: Unless a welder is
aware of developments over the last
couple of years, she/he might be paying
$509 just for annual rental of a pair of
the common D sized (knee high) bot-
tles. Add $152 for the oxy and acety-
lene gas and the $661 total becomes
discouraging for back-yarders like us.
That works out to be $13 per week if
you refill the bottles about once a year.
However, there are now two much
cheaper options which make it afford-
able to have welding gas on hand.
B.O.C. now has their “D-PLAN” and
Bunnings also have a Welding Gas
Plan. Perhaps one company offered a
cheap option and the other had to
match it? I have kept details simple by
quoting combined oxygen and acety-
lene prices, and rounding off the dollars.
Which is the better deal? It probably
depends on the pattern of gas usage. I
believe details are correct at the time of
writing, but do check before “signing
up”.
The “D-Plan” at B.O.C. costs only $187
per year. That fee rents the bottles and
includes one free refill every year. In
fact, in the first year you can use two
“free” serves of gas, because the bottles
come filled and can be refilled without
charge, before 12 months have
elapsed. Cost works out to be only
M
31
September 2019
$3.60 per week. Extra refills (beyond
the annual “freebee”) cost $152. Al-
though this plan has been available for
a few years, it is still not widely known.
I have never seen it advertised.
The Bunnings deal is also good. It in-
volves paying $400 deposit for the pair
of bottles, but that is fully refundable
when they are returned. The gas costs
an additional $168 at the start and for
any further refills. When I phoned, they
told me a full $400 is refunded and a
new $400 charged, whenever a refill is
needed, although a friend told me they
do “shortcut” that process. However, it
is very important to keep the receipt.
BATTERIES: Several years ago, the
battery I wanted, was not in stock at a
well-known Auto Parts store.
The
salesman told me to go to “Peter and
Rick’s” (also known as “Battery Dis-
counters”) and added that they had
much better prices anyway. Since that
day I have never gone anywhere else
for car batteries. I recently replaced the
battery in my wife’s Mercedes. It takes
quite a big battery (DIN 88) which cost
me $195. Knowing that I might mention
it in a Magazine article, I checked web-
sites and made a couple of phone calls.
The prices at a well-known Auto Parts
store and a Battery specialist were $240
and $299 respectively. The Century 41
batteries I use in my TCs are $154 and
$139 at these same stores but are only
$120 at Peter and Rick’s. Peter and
Rick are at 14 Provident Avenue Glynde
(Ph. 83655100) and specialise in
“Century” and other well-known brand
Batteries. I have never used their fitting
service, but their price usually includes
this (depending on the car). They get a
lot of customers from the Nissan, Toy-
ota and Jeep Clubs. No! ….. I am not
getting commission!