Home shop torches

[Ljohnsaw]

OK, so I have hoses that are propane rated.  I have tips from 1 to 7 or 8.  MM, are you saying a #3 (which is what I normally have on) is good for propane?  What about the cutting head - will it work with propane?

[Magicman]

??  Don't know.  My information came from that Google search.   :P

[21incher]

My set has 2 different regulators also. One for propane and another if you use acetylene.  Not sure it is required or something my dad added.
If you plan on welding up parts or fixing old equipment plasma is the way to go. With gouging consumables it is very easy to remove a bad weld or rivet without damaging surrounding material or remove welds from parts that you welded in the wrong place.

[Jeff]

My purposes would be mostly for heating stuff that won't come apart, like the job I have coming up on MR. Truck.  King pins.  Cutting would be secondary. Gas welding, probably next to never. I have a mig/gas for that.  I have a portaband and cutting wheels for side grinder that handle most cutting chores in the barn.

[starmac]

OK, so I have hoses that are propane rated.  I have tips from 1 to 7 or 8.  MM, are you saying a #3 (which is what I normally have on) is good for propane?  What about the cutting head - will it work with propane?

No a propane tip is built different, it will look nothing like the act one.

[YellowHammer]

It's important to size the cutting tips and general outfit for the type of job being done to get fast and clean cuts.  Yes, a 6 inch steel capable cutting torch will cut thin stuff, but it will burn a lot of gas and leave a nasty ragged edge on thinner stock.  I cut mostly farm stock, 1 inch inch and less, generally, and bought a torch sized for that with the appropriate sized preheaters and main jet.  It will cut 3/8 plate very clean, and it will cut a 3/4 inch nut off a bolt without leaving a slag pile.  I can operate it at very low relative pressures compared to a thicker capacity torch, and save a ton of money.  

I lease my bottles from the local Farm Store.  That way I don't have to pay for bottle repairs and certifications, if needed.

Not all systems have flash back suppressors in them, which is an important safety item that can be installed on the hoses, at the regulators.
 

[Larry]

Sounds like MAPP gas might be a solution for heating. Use your other toys for cutting.

I have a large set of oxy/acetylene bottles that I bought 30 years ago. They came with Craftsman regulators and Victor torches that were old when I bought them. Still work well, but I had to put an "O" ring in the cutting torch. Primary duty these days is brazing cast iron and heating to bend stuff. 

If I could learn to braze with my TIG I would sell them to get rid of the expense of refills.  I could heat with my carbon arc torch on the stick machine.....old antique trick.

I lease my bottles from the local Farm Store.  That way I don't have to pay for bottle repairs and certifications, if needed.

Besides my oxy/acetylene bottles I have 125cf TIG and MIG bottles.  All owned by me.  They always swap the bottles out instead of refilling.  Never heard of having to pay for repairs or certifications.  Maybe my gas price is higher to make up the difference.

[Kbeitz]

I own all my bottles. They need inspected every 5 or ten years. My LP tips have tracks grooved into them not holes like acetylene 

[starmac]

Every lp tip I have ever seen has been built like that.

[Al_Smith]

I own the two smaller sets of bottles .The larger set were my dads .I don't think I'll have  any problem getting them filled because all three sets are AirGas .Most times they don't even check the lease dates on the large bottles just mark them cash sales .From what they told me a few years back the reason acetylene is so costly is due to the fact there  are only a few huge companies in the entire world who make and control it .

[starmac]

Well if you don't want to pony up the bucks for acetylene, you can always get you a carbide generator. I do not even remember what I ever did with the one I had, and only know of one currently in use.

[coxy]

Sounds like MAPP gas might be a solution for heating. Use your other toys for cutting.

I have a large set of oxy/acetylene bottles that I bought 30 years ago. They came with Craftsman regulators and Victor torches that were old when I bought them. Still work well, but I had to put an "O" ring in the cutting torch. Primary duty these days is brazing cast iron and heating to bend stuff.  

If I could learn to braze with my TIG I would sell them to get rid of the expense of refills.  I could heat with my carbon arc torch on the stick machine.....old antique trick.

I lease my bottles from the local Farm Store.  That way I don't have to pay for bottle repairs and certifications, if needed.

Besides my oxy/acetylene bottles I have 125cf TIG and MIG bottles.  All owned by me.  They always swap the bottles out instead of refilling.  Never heard of having to pay for repairs or certifications.  Maybe my gas price is higher to make up the difference.

i have 2 sets also one for the shop with big bottles and two 2ft tanks  if i need to put them on the 4 wheeler or side by side to fix something in the woods  and i use map gas in the big tank a little more money but hotter and a cleaner burn not much slag compared to lp or acetylene  you can buy them at TSC that's what i did for my mig because i was always running out after the gAS PLACE CLOSED FOR THE DAY  and wanted to get the job done  i think for the 2ft tanks and every thing to start cutting is only350- 450$ at TSC    sorry for the capital letters wasn't going to erase and start over ;D 

[scsmith42]

My purposes would be mostly for heating stuff that won't come apart, like the job I have coming up on MR. Truck.  King pins.  Cutting would be secondary. Gas welding, probably next to never. I have a mig/gas for that.  I have a portaband and cutting wheels for side grinder that handle most cutting chores in the barn.

Jeff, because heating tips (aka rosebud's) use a lot of fuel, an oxy-propane setup would be your most economical choice for heating in terms of gas consumption. 
However, you will probably find 100 used oxy-acetylene sets for every single oxy-propane setup.  So it comes down to budget and time.  
There is a complete, used oxy-acetylene set near you for $400.00, including tanks, regulators and torches.  cutting torch - tools - by owner - sale  You may have to add a rosebud for around $100.00 new, although if you're careful you can use a cutting torch to heat in lieu of a rosebud.  A few hundred bucks and you're in business, tanks and everything.  You might be able to negotiate them down a bit, and it appears to have the larger capacity two stage regulators.  
If you use it once a month for ten minutes at a whack, you might spend 20 bucks extra per year on acetylene versus propane.  
Just something to think about.

[Dave Shepard]

 I'm dumping acetylene this year. $280 per year for 3 tank leases (torch plus argon),  and about $150 to exchange an acetylene. Anybody doing any amount of torch work around here is using oxy/propane. A 20 lb cylinder would last for years. My local scrapyard uses 22 tall ox bottles per 100 pound cylinder for cutting. There is a trick to lighting propane, basically you hold the tip against something until you have the ox dialed in, and you need a propane tip for cutting. 

[DMcCoy]

Propane sounds like it would work fine and is less expensive.  I use the cutting torch instead of a rose bud, I have both, for heating stuck parts.

We always hit king pins (not the pin but the side of the knuckle) with a sledge, one sharp rap and they were loose.

[Al_Smith]

Usually unless you get some eager beaver at the welding supply they don't even bother to look up the inspection fee on the bottles .I think in over 40 years of owning them I might have paid the charge once .
In addition to that AirGas which was AirCo has moved location at least 4 times in 40 years and their records are so mixed up they don't know who has paid nor who has not .To add to that they have absorbed or bought out just about every smaller company such as Avon and add that to the mix they don't know if they are afoot or astride .

[Kbeitz]

Inspection is tough in my area...

[Corley5]

  I trade my Airgas O2 and Acetylene bottles in @ Car Quest.  No one asks for paper work on the tanks or looks at certification dates.  They were my Grandpa's bottles.  He used to have a card in his wallet for ownership.  I have no idea what became of it.  They're my tanks ;D
  I'd look for a set of used Victor torches with bottles at auction.  I like acetylene.  A plasma cutter is on my short list ;) ;D  

[Larry]

Yesterday I swapped out my MIG tank at Airgas.  Backed up to the loading dock and had a guy waiting to unload the empty.  He had me loaded with a new one before I got inside to pay.

For the last few years Airgas has been charging an Hazmat fee.  Yesterday it was $5 on the gas and $4 on some aluminum TIG wire I picked up.  I don't quite understand the fee on argon/co2 and wire.  Nother way to extort $$$$'s. >:( >:(  Some of the farm places haven't picked up on this method of extortion yet.

It does pay to shop, I have other tanks from Welsco and Linweld or whatever they call themselves this week.

[Peter Drouin]

I rent my tanks from Maine Oxy, When their empty I just go and swap them out.
I use Acetylene, 

[chet]

Switched to Oxy-Propane at least 25 years ago, for cost savings and ease of tank refill. Figured if I needed acetylene I could use my brothers. Well in da 25 years since da switch, I never had ta hit up my brother.  ;D

[Dave Shepard]

Propane will do everything acetylene will do, just takes a little longer preheat. 

[jason.weir]

what does everyone use for a torch cart?   A propane tank won't fit in mine in place of the acetylene bottle...

[Al_Smith]

My usage of torches is about like chainsaws .It could be almost constant for a period of time but might be months of non use at certain times .As such the increase of cost for acetylene isn't a big issue .

The subject of the little tiny acetylene sets you carry around in a tote would be great for somebody engaged in the air conditioning business .The simple fact is you can't silver solder with a B bottle turbo torch .You can however use soft solder like  "stay bright  8" on certain systems .It worked for me on a freon 22 system compressor change I had not done in over 40 years .--still got-er-done . ;D BTW a roll of that silver bearing solder is 45-50  bucks .

Much else that would require a greater amount of heat you don't have enough volume in the tiny tanks to do much .

[Jeff]

Craigslist.
1. 10 minutes from the house.
2. New the guy! Older fellow retired from his own bodyshop.
3. Owner tanks.
4. Victor torches, tanks inspected and filled this pat fall.
5. Tanks still full.
6. Great visit with Floyd.
7. Torches demonstrated, work great.
8. More visiting with Floyd who is restoring a V.W. "Thing"
9. $450
10. 10 minutes back home.