Many of the larger cylinders in South Africa are never owned by the people who use them. With gas bottle rental the supplier keeps ownership of the cylinder, you pay a deposit or a regular rental charge for holding it, and you pay for the gas each time it is filled or exchanged. It is common for 48 kg cylinders at houses and restaurants, for welding and industrial gas, and for short event hire. This page explains deposits, rental charges, agreements and returns. Send one request and local suppliers will quote you for free, with no obligation.
Deposit, rental or owning outright
There are three ways to hold a cylinder. With a deposit you pay once when the cylinder is issued and get the money back, less any damage, when you return it. With a rental you pay a charge per cylinder per month or per year for as long as it stays on your premises. With an owned cylinder you buy it outright and can take it to any refill station that will fill it.
Rented and deposit cylinders usually stay inside the supplier's own exchange or filling system, so another dealer may refuse them. That is the trade off: the supplier tests, repaints and replaces its cylinders, and you never deal with a cylinder that has run past its test date. See 48 kg gas cylinders for the size most homes and restaurants rent.
What gas bottle rental charges usually cover
Rental charges differ a lot between suppliers, so compare the whole picture rather than one line on the quote. Ask about:
- the rental per cylinder, and whether it is billed monthly, yearly or with each refill
- the deposit, if any, and what is deducted from it on return
- the gas itself, charged per kilogram or per exchange
- delivery and collection, and any minimum order
- the charge for a lost, stolen or damaged cylinder
- who connects the cylinder and who replaces worn regulators or hoses
Industrial, welding and event cylinders
Workshops rent argon, CO2 mixes, oxygen and acetylene from an industrial gas supplier on the same basis: a monthly rental per cylinder plus a charge for each refill. A small shop with three or four cylinders pays rental on all of them, even the one in the corner that is rarely used, so return what you do not need. See welding and industrial gas for the gases themselves.
For a wedding, a market or a film shoot, short hire is common: 9 kg or 48 kg cylinders for a marquee kitchen or patio heaters, and helium cylinders for balloons, hired for the day or the week.
Reading the agreement and returning cylinders
Read the agreement before you sign. Check the minimum term, the notice period, how many cylinders you are being charged for, and how a return is recorded. Keep every delivery and collection note with the cylinder count on it. Rental usually keeps running until the cylinder is physically back with the supplier, and a cylinder left behind when you move house or close a shop can cost you for months. Do not let another dealer fill or swap a rented cylinder.
What to include in your request
- Which gas and cylinder size you need
- How many cylinders, and for how long
- Whether you want deposit or monthly rental
- Delivery address and how the cylinders are reached
- For events, the date and when they come back
Gas Cylinder Rental for different clients
- Homeowners: two rented 48 kg cylinders on a changeover valve for the geyser and the stove
- Complexes, estates and body corporates: rented cylinders per unit in a shared cage, each owner paying their own rental
- Restaurants, takeaways and bakeries: a bank of rented 48 kg cylinders for the kitchen range, fryers and the hot water
- Guest houses, lodges and venues: rented cylinders at the kitchen and each chalet geyser, swapped on a regular round
- Farms and smallholdings: rented 48 kg cylinders for brooders in the poultry houses and the farmhouse kitchen
- Factories, warehouses and workshops: rented welding, oxygen and acetylene cylinders billed monthly with each refill
- Campers, caravanners and event hosts: cylinders hired for a wedding marquee, a market stall or a weekend of patio heaters
- Gas installers, plumbers and dealers: event companies and caterers renting cylinders in bulk for a season of functions
Frequently asked questions
What are gas bottle rental charges?
Can I rent a 48 kg gas cylinder for my house?
Can I hire a gas bottle for one weekend?
Do you rent out gas cylinders yourselves?
Gas Cylinder Rental by province and city
- Johannesburg
- Pretoria
- Centurion
- Midrand
- Sandton
- Randburg
- Roodepoort
- Krugersdorp
- Randfontein
- Germiston
- Boksburg
- Benoni
- Kempton Park
- Alberton
- Vanderbijlpark
- Vereeniging
- Durban
- Pinetown
- Pietermaritzburg
- Richards Bay
- Newcastle
- Ladysmith
- Gqeberha (Port Elizabeth)
- East London
- Kariega (Uitenhage)
- Mthatha
- Cape Town
- Bellville
- Paarl
- Stellenbosch
- George
- Worcester
- eMalahleni (Witbank)
- Middelburg
- Secunda
- Mbombela (Nelspruit)
- Rustenburg
- Brits
- Klerksdorp
- Potchefstroom
- Mahikeng
- Polokwane
- Tzaneen
- Kimberley
- Upington
- Bloemfontein
- Welkom
- Sasolburg