Summer officially begins on the 21st June in 2019, but whichever year you’re reading this in, we know that you can’t wait to roll out your calor gas bottles and start up the barbecue for a good party. In this blog, we show you how to upgrade your BBQ party from great to amazing, it just takes a little planning and preparation.
Guest List
If you want to avoid overstuffing your garden with people then a guest list is a must-have. More people will also mean needing to buy more food, so if this is your first-time hosting keep your party small to ensure a roaring success. You don’t want your party planning to feel too much like work, but once you succeed with a smaller audience, you will have the confidence and knowledge to approach hosting a bigger party with gusto and skill.
A Floor Plan
Know where all the important items are going to sit in your garden and place them with maximum efficiency to ensure smooth transitions. For example, keep your barbecue grill near an entrance to your house so you can nip inside if needed, but be sure not to block any entrances or footpaths – you don’t want to be bumping elbows with guests when you’re trying to cook!
You will also need lots of chairs or picnic rugs – ask your guests to bring their own foldable seats if you don’t have enough. Optional extras to consider include the placement of cooler boxes for icy beverages or keeping the meat cool. Place a small coffee table next to the BBQ to hold items like paper plates and cutlery for your guests too.
Decoration
Setting the scene for your BBQ means more than just planning the functionality of everything. Getting your guests in the right mood will kickstart your BBQ party with a bang, so string up some fairy lights along the fence or in the shrubbery. Bring out a CD player or radio and start some tunes – not too loudly though, you don’t want to anger the neighbours or drown out the conversation between your guests!
Food
For an amazing BBQ, you want a range of food but beware, the more dishes you plan to create the more ingredients you’ll need and time you will spend preparing. When planning your menu, consider who you are inviting, their diets, and what kinds of food are best for the BBQ setting.
If you have children present at your party, then some tame dishes without any spice of strange flavours will be a safe bet. If in doubt, buy in some pizzas for the kids and focus instead on preparing some grand BBQ dishes for the parents – the kids will be perfectly happy with their pizza.
Be mindful if you have vegetarians and vegans visiting, perhaps designate one half of your grill to non-meat foods so that they don’t have to worry about animal grease mixing with their dishes – be wary if your BBQ is placed on a slope as the meat juices could run onto your vegetarians’ dinner.
When planning your meat dishes, think hard about what kind of sauces and glazes you want to season with, we’re thinking strong BBQ sauces, sweet honey mustard glazes and creamy satay dip.
Drinks and Sides
The meat or Quorn might be the main event, but you’re planning the Ultimate BBQ so you need to nail the drinks and sides too. Meat and grilled vegetables can be quite flavourful, so you need drinks that work in harmony with the event and the food. If you are worried about supplying the right kind of alcohol, ask your guests to bring some to add to your own collection – don’t worry about intimidating them, most of the time people love to get involved in the process and help out a little.
Homemade lemonade or similar fruity drinks can also prove very refreshing on a hot day with intensely flavoured meals, and for similar reasons fruit salads will also go down very well between burgers. Think watermelon and mint with a sprinkling of salt to really bring out the juices hidden within.
Tips and Tricks
Here are some extra tips and tricks to ensure your day goes off without a hitch:
Non-stick Grill: Rub half an onion over the grate to stop your meat from sticking.
Bug Repellent: Have some bands ready for kids and burn essential oils where there are lots of people – like on tables and near food.
Freeze-pops: Cheaper than ice cream and far more refreshing, crushing these up into drinks can create some interesting combinations, and the kids will love them too.
Temperature: If you’re starting early, consider a paddling pool for guests to dip their feet in. If your BBQ is an evening occasion, have some outdoor blankets ready to wrap up in.
All that’s left to hope for now is a spot of good weather, so good luck in preparing your ultimate BBQ because summer is coming.
Planning the Ultimate BBQ
Summer officially begins on the 21st June in 2019, but whichever year you’re reading this in, we know that you can’t wait to roll out your calor gas bottles and start up the barbecue for a good party. In this blog, we show you how to upgrade your BBQ party from great to amazing, it just takes a little planning and preparation.
Guest List
If you want to avoid overstuffing your garden with people then a guest list is a must-have. More people will also mean needing to buy more food, so if this is your first-time hosting keep your party small to ensure a roaring success. You don’t want your party planning to feel too much like work, but once you succeed with a smaller audience, you will have the confidence and knowledge to approach hosting a bigger party with gusto and skill.
A Floor Plan
Know where all the important items are going to sit in your garden and place them with maximum efficiency to ensure smooth transitions. For example, keep your barbecue grill near an entrance to your house so you can nip inside if needed, but be sure not to block any entrances or footpaths – you don’t want to be bumping elbows with guests when you’re trying to cook!
You will also need lots of chairs or picnic rugs – ask your guests to bring their own foldable seats if you don’t have enough. Optional extras to consider include the placement of cooler boxes for icy beverages or keeping the meat cool. Place a small coffee table next to the BBQ to hold items like paper plates and cutlery for your guests too.
Decoration
Setting the scene for your BBQ means more than just planning the functionality of everything. Getting your guests in the right mood will kickstart your BBQ party with a bang, so string up some fairy lights along the fence or in the shrubbery. Bring out a CD player or radio and start some tunes – not too loudly though, you don’t want to anger the neighbours or drown out the conversation between your guests!
Food
For an amazing BBQ, you want a range of food but beware, the more dishes you plan to create the more ingredients you’ll need and time you will spend preparing. When planning your menu, consider who you are inviting, their diets, and what kinds of food are best for the BBQ setting.
If you have children present at your party, then some tame dishes without any spice of strange flavours will be a safe bet. If in doubt, buy in some pizzas for the kids and focus instead on preparing some grand BBQ dishes for the parents – the kids will be perfectly happy with their pizza.
Be mindful if you have vegetarians and vegans visiting, perhaps designate one half of your grill to non-meat foods so that they don’t have to worry about animal grease mixing with their dishes – be wary if your BBQ is placed on a slope as the meat juices could run onto your vegetarians’ dinner.
When planning your meat dishes, think hard about what kind of sauces and glazes you want to season with, we’re thinking strong BBQ sauces, sweet honey mustard glazes and creamy satay dip.
Drinks and Sides
The meat or Quorn might be the main event, but you’re planning the Ultimate BBQ so you need to nail the drinks and sides too. Meat and grilled vegetables can be quite flavourful, so you need drinks that work in harmony with the event and the food. If you are worried about supplying the right kind of alcohol, ask your guests to bring some to add to your own collection – don’t worry about intimidating them, most of the time people love to get involved in the process and help out a little.
Homemade lemonade or similar fruity drinks can also prove very refreshing on a hot day with intensely flavoured meals, and for similar reasons fruit salads will also go down very well between burgers. Think watermelon and mint with a sprinkling of salt to really bring out the juices hidden within.
Tips and Tricks
Here are some extra tips and tricks to ensure your day goes off without a hitch:
Non-stick Grill: Rub half an onion over the grate to stop your meat from sticking.
Bug Repellent: Have some bands ready for kids and burn essential oils where there are lots of people – like on tables and near food.
Freeze-pops: Cheaper than ice cream and far more refreshing, crushing these up into drinks can create some interesting combinations, and the kids will love them too.
Temperature: If you’re starting early, consider a paddling pool for guests to dip their feet in. If your BBQ is an evening occasion, have some outdoor blankets ready to wrap up in.
All that’s left to hope for now is a spot of good weather, so good luck in preparing your ultimate BBQ because summer is coming.
An Introduction to Industrial Gas
We’re sure that you are an expert at how gas is used in your industry, but have you ever wondered about how similar businesses are using gas for their own procedures and products? In this article, we look at industrial operations involving the use of gas and why it is so important to modern society.
STEEL WELDING
Welding gas is important for any kind of metal welding and while hobby welders will gleefully discuss the pros and cons of MIG Welding versus TIG welding, the steel welding industry can be quite a lucrative business so it is exceptionally important for steel welding businesses to find a welding gas supplier that they can trust.
Welders use shielding gases to ensure that their welds are clean, slag-free and secure, but to achieve this they need to make sure that the flow of their shielding gas is smooth which you can ensure by choosing the correct TIG or MIG welding nozzles.
SPACE ROCKETS
Bottled gas is an important fuel supply for space travel. Some of the most common gases used to propel us ever further into the universe are currently bottled hydrogen and methane, but the US space shuttle also used liquidised oxygen to produce thrust. Bottled gases can produce a lot of power, so it is always important to be aware of gas safety, whether you’re at home or at work.
Space rockets use gas as a force of propellant. Liquidised gases are currently preferred because they are the most reliable, but the types of gases used during space missions vary depending on the aims and journey. It is important to consider a range of factors including stability, reliability, cost and toxicity of the fuel when planning a space mission.
CRUDE OIL REFINEMENT
The yield from crude oil refinements can be improved by adding hydrogen gas during the conversion phase in a process known as hydrocracking. Once the basic fuel is extracted and separated into different levels of purity, conversion is carried out to reduce the number of heavy hydrocarbon molecules in the product. These molecules need to be broken into smaller parts to meet current demand, and this is carried out by heating the fuel up to 500 degrees and adding hydrogen to convert the heavy molecules into gasoline and diesel fuels.
Conversion can be quite costly, so many businesses in the crude oil sector seek to find the perfect balance between the achieved yield and the cost of this highly skilled operation.
CHEMICAL INDUSTRY
The chemical industry often uses the dangerous and highly explosive acetylene to achieve results in a process known as chemical synthesis. There are various inorganic substances that we would not have access to without the application of acetylene, but due to the danger associated with this gas the components that it produces need to have high value for the risk to pay off.
Without industrial acetylene gas, we wouldn’t have acetic acid, vitamin A or vitamin E. Like food grade gas, Acetylene purity should be strictly maintained when used in the production of consumables.
LASER CUTTING
Laser cutting can be achieved using either oxygen gas bottles or nitrogen cylinders. In oxygen laser cutting, the liquidised material is removed from the rest of the material through the force of the oxygen pressure being blasted out around the laser beam. The pressure of the oxygen jet needs to be adjusted depending on the thickness of the materials being cut.
The difference between cutting with nitrogen and oxygen is that the oxygen reacts with metals to generate extra heat, which can cause problems in unwanted burning if the pressure isn’t properly adjusted. Nitrogen, on the other hand, won’t react when laser cutting metals, but will, therefore, require a higher-powered laser to make up for the reduced heat.
FOOD PRESERVATION
Food preservation uses nitrogen bottles from industrial gas suppliers to modify the atmosphere within the packaging of the food product. By eliminating any oxygen from the food, microorganisms are going to struggle to create bacteria and mould, meaning that the food we buy can last longer and go further.
There are so many varied but important uses for gas that our society couldn’t live without. Learning more about how other industries use popular gases to succeed in their businesses give us a greater appreciation for the value and flexibility of these amazing compounds.
Impressive Feats of Welding
Welding is a job which requires both skills and high levels of concentration at all times, which can make it seem like quite a stressful career choice for many, but it is also a very popular hobby that can lead to fantastic creations and even better skill sets. (more…)
Welding in Space
Welding in Space isn’t just cool, it’s entirely different from welding on Earth. While we expect that very few of our readers are going to have the luxury of welding outside Earth’s stratosphere, we know you will enjoy learning about the extreme welding undertaken by Earth’s greatest adventurers, up in space.
How Does Metal Behave in Space?
What most people don’t know about metal in space is that it behaves differently to its counterparts here on Earth. As you know, when you weld on Earth you usually heat the metal up to very high temperatures using either MIG or TIG welding gas, depending on your preferences. In space, however, welding can happen without your input at the most inconvenient times.
The short answer is that in space, metal sticks, but the truth is a little more nuanced than that. First, the metal must be unprotected, connect with some force, and lastly, be of similar metal. The chance that metal could accidentally start sticking together originally presented a worry for astronauts needing to fix issues on the International Space Station – what if the welding gun started sticking to the space ship?
How to Stop Your Tools from Sticking in Space
In truth, it is unlikely that your tools would stick to the space station because they will have a protective layer of oxygen which will prevent the sticking from occurring. If you were to remove the thin layer of oxygen from the surface of the tool, however, you may find that the tool could stick. Removing this layer would be quite difficult, thankfully, as it’s only because of oxidisation on Earth that our metal doesn’t stick together like it would in space.
To be sure that valuable tools aren’t lost in space, however, precautions are often taken to reduce metal-to-metal contact. This might mean coating your welding in plastic or ceramic where possible.
Cold Welding
The fact that metal sticks together is actually known as ‘cold welding’ and it is a process that has been used on Earth for centuries, often without properly understanding the science behind the phenomenon. Cold welding can usually only happen in a vacuum when the oxygen layer is removed, and the lattices of atoms on the sides of the metal objects that are going to connect.
This means that for the metal to stick together like two pieces of a jigsaw puzzle, the metal needs to be smooth and alike. You could not cold fuse copper to gold because the atom structures are too different. Dirt and irregularities in the metal will also prevent cold welding, as well as jagged surfaces at the point of welding.
If the metals can fuse together and the right circumstances are present, such as; no protective oxygen layer, smooth edges and they are the same metal, then it will happen immediately. A bit like tipping a glass of water into another glass of water, the metals will join together and become the same piece.
Has Cold Welding Been Done on Earth?
Cold welding experiments have been completed on Earth so that we can learn more about it and prevent accidents in Space from ruining valuable technology, but as mentioned earlier, the concepts behind cold welding have been used in centuries past.
Forge welding actually bears a lot of similarities to cold welding – although blacksmiths use fires to heat the metals, they aren’t so hot as to liquify the metal like in gas welding. Instead, those fires serve to burn away the protective oxygen layer and to smooth the edges of the metal – the smoother the edges of metal, the higher the chance that a cold weld will take place.
Everything is cooler in space, even the welding. If you’ve been motivated to return to your latest welding project, don’t forget that we can provide you with all the welding equipment you could ever need, from safety to welding gas canisters. We can supply to hobbyists and tradesmen, so please contact us if you need more information.
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Top 4 Welding Myths – BUSTED!
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What Will Gas Cost in 2019?
Those who rely on gas and portable gas bottles for a number of activities are no doubt wondering what will happen to the cost of gas next year. There are uncertain times ahead with the impact of Brexit and other financial issues across the world.
We can use past trends in gas prices to inform our predictions for future trends to give us some idea of what to expect.
Things Made out of Carbon
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