If your welding operation is growing, buying one cart at a time and hoping it’s enough is a slow way to fall behind. The right number of welding carts affects productivity, workplace safety, and how efficiently your team moves through the day — and getting it wrong in either direction costs money.
Anthony Carts manufactures gas cylinder carts built for demanding work environments. Whether you’re running a single-bay shop or managing welders across multiple job sites, the answer to how many carts you need comes down to a few concrete factors: the number of active welders, how cylinders are stored and transported, and the layout of your workspace.
This article walks through each of those factors so you can make a decision grounded in your actual operation.
How Many Active Welders Are on Your Team?
One Cart Per Active Welder Is the Starting Point
The most straightforward baseline is one welding cart per active welder. Each welder typically needs a dedicated cylinder cart to keep gas accessible at their station without sharing equipment or waiting on a coworker to free one up.
If you have six welders running simultaneously, six carts is your floor — not your ceiling.
Account for Multiple Shifts
If your shop runs two or three shifts, you may be able to share carts between shifts when welding stations are fixed and assignments don’t change. But when welders move around or work on separate projects, shared carts create bottlenecks. Map your shift structure before assuming sharing will work.
Cylinder Types and Cart Configuration
Not all welding operations use the same gas. Shops that work with multiple cylinder sizes — standard industrial cylinders, acetylene tanks, and smaller specialty cylinders — often need different cart configurations for each type.
A cart designed for a standard oxygen cylinder may not safely transport a smaller acetylene tank. Mixing gas types on a single cart creates both safety concerns and compliance issues.
If your shop regularly uses three different cylinder types, that alone can multiply your cart requirements well beyond what headcount suggests.
Fixed Shop vs. Mobile Operations
Shop-Based Teams Have More Flexibility
A fixed welding shop can often work with fewer carts per welder because cylinders stay in one area and the work comes to them. Carts don’t travel far, and storage can be centralized near where they’re needed most.
Mobile Crews Require Dedicated Carts Per Site
Mobile welding operations follow a different logic. When welders move between job sites — construction, infrastructure, industrial maintenance — each crew typically needs its own set of carts. A cart at one site can’t serve another, and a shop cart isn’t always built for rough job site conditions.
If cylinders are loaded onto trucks and moved daily, carts need to stay assigned to each vehicle or crew.
Workspace Layout and Cart Positioning
Distance Between Storage and Work Stations Matters
A large open shop floor allows carts to move freely between stations. A multi-room facility with narrow corridors requires more carts positioned closer to each work area, because moving a cart across the building isn’t always quick or practical.
Sketch Your Floor Plan Before You Buy
Identify the distance between your cylinder storage area and each welding station. If a cart has to travel more than 50 feet regularly, a second cart positioned closer to that station saves time across thousands of trips per year. Small inefficiencies at that scale add up fast.
Managing Cylinder Storage and Buffer Stock
Welding shops that maintain a rotation of full and empty cylinders on-site often need more carts than welder count alone would suggest. If you’re storing a buffer of full cylinders waiting to be used, those cylinders need to be properly secured — not leaning against a wall.
Some operations use dedicated storage carts separate from their active-use carts. This adds to total cart count but keeps the floor organized and helps maintain compliance with safety regulations governing cylinder storage.
Signs Your Operation Is Running Short on Carts
These are signals that your current cart count isn’t keeping pace with your operation:
- Welders are waiting on carts before they can start or resume work
- Cylinders are being moved or stored without carts, creating safety exposure
- Carts are shared between shifts and frequently end up in the wrong location
- New welders or stations have been added without adding carts to match
- Mobile crews are pulling carts from the shop, leaving it short-handed
If any of these describe your operation, the gap is already costing you in time, safety risk, or both.
Running the Numbers: A Working Framework
There’s no single universal formula, but a practical estimate starts with these steps:
- Start with one cart per active welder as your baseline
- Add carts for each secondary cylinder type used regularly across your shop
- Add storage carts if you maintain an on-site cylinder buffer
- Add a full set of carts for each mobile crew or satellite location
- Add carts near stations that are far from your central storage area
A shop with eight welders, two cylinder types, a cylinder buffer, and one mobile crew could reasonably need 14 to 18 carts — nearly double the welder headcount. Running that number before you buy prevents the frustrating cycle of ordering in small batches every few months.
Choosing the Right Cart Once You Know the Quantity
Once your quantity is settled, the next step is matching the right cart to each application. Capacity, wheel type, handle configuration, and securing mechanisms all vary based on cylinder size and work environment.
Anthony Carts manufactures gas cylinder carts for a wide range of industrial and welding applications. If you’re sizing up your operation and want carts built to hold up under real working conditions, browse the full lineup at Anthony Carts or reach out directly to talk through your requirements.