Milt and Folks,
I use the 1 pound tanks also, 1 with a large plumber’s type torch
and one with a pencil torch. The bottles say to disconnect torch when
you are finished, but other’s have told me that it isn’t necessary to
disconnect the torch every night as long as the fuel is turned off.
Which would ya’ll do?
Thanks for the info,
Dawn B. in Taylor, Texas
Reading this post see no mention of an alarm that detects
unacceptable levels of gas. Cheap insurance available at all hardware
stores.
Hi Dawn
You asked if it was best to disconnect from a disposable propane
bottle when not using your torch, or if just closing the valves was
OK.
I always close my valves when I am done soldering for the day.
Disconnecting entirely from a disposable propane bottle would be
fine too, but you really don’t have to disconnect from the bottle as
long as your equipment is in good shape, your connections are not
leaking and the bottle valve is not leaking.
It is standard practice with the larger refillable tanks to leave
everything connected and to turn off the main tank valve and of
course the torch valves at the end of the day.
Regards
Milt Fischbein
Calgary Canada
Dear Orchidians,
I have followed this thread with great interest. Thanks again to all
for providing such great as usual.
On several occasions it was mentioned that compressed air can be
used instead of oxygen. Could you please provide more
Pros and cons of using this method? Does it work with any of the
standard gases? Does one need special torches? If so, where can I get
them (don’t recall reading about them in the catalogs)? Any special
features the air compressor/regulator needs to have?
It is pretty far to drive to get the oxy tank refilled, and it would
be wonderful to be self-sufficient as much as possible. I have
experience with acetylene/air and oxy/MAPP.
Thanks to all in advance!
Claudia
I use oxy/propane, which I've plumbed into my studio from a standard gas grill (20lb/5 gallon) type of tank..... With every joint in the black iron pipe that I plumbed in is a potential for leakage.
I use propane which we plumbed into my studio from our large
backyard propane tank which holds the fuel that heats our house. It
comes through a copper pipe which is buried slightly below the ground
so it doesn’t get run over or tripped upon, and then comes through
the wall at baseboard height, travels around the room fastened just
above the baseboard, and then curves up near my bench to a handy
height for me to reach the on/off valve, and then it goes to the
regulator which is attached to the wall as well. My oxygen tank is
next to this arrangement, chained to the wall.
This fuels my Little Torch, a larger torch for casting, and a glass
bead torch, with Y junctions on the torch side of the regulators. I
am in the habit of properly shutting both down when I finish using
them, or at the end of the day’s work. I can tell if the gas valve
is open or shut just by looking at it, since it is the lever type. I
heat the studio with propane, so there is always an open flame in
there (at least in winter) that could ignite a gas clouded room.
That would be bad. So I am careful.
The point I want to make with this post is that there are very few
joints in the gas line, since it winds in and around in its single
copper pipe. That is how the gas is brought in for the other 2 space
heaters in the building, as well.
M’lou
For propane, I bleed the pressure out of the hose, but leave it
attached to the tank (small green camping type), since I don’t want
it to get taken off on a camping trip…
Hope this helps, Betsy
I am not sure which is the best torch for a basement studio, I have
used propane, MAP gas, Acetylene and Oxy/Acet. I used to keep two
fire extingushers within arms reach and never let my insurance
company know what I was working on.
Today, I use a variety of torches, but TIG being the most favored of
all the welding/fusing process, less hassle, but more intial costs.
The small TIGs are less than useful to me, so are those small stick
welders. With my TIG, I dial the level that I want and then tap the
foot pedal…Done! Set up is about the same as with gas welding, but
less danger and clean up.
Jerry
Jerry
Could you point me to the TIG manufacturer? The only ones I know of
are for steel.
Terry
Reading this post see no mention of an alarm that detects unacceptable levels of gas. Cheap insurance available at all hardware stores."
I didn’t know something like this was available. Is it similar to a
carbon monoxide detector? Which gases does it detect, or does each
kind of gas need its own specific detector?
I noticed no mention of the hydrogen option. A few years ago, I
bought a hydrogen generator for my goldsmith. He loved the thing. Up
until recently, I had not used it since I still had the little torch
at my own bench. Then he borrowed my oxygen bottle for a few days to
do some casting at his home. Left without the O2, I turned on the
generator. Flame: Sharp as a fine pencil. Any amount of heat I needed
for large or small jobs. Absolutely no gas bottles needed, it runs on
water with a little alcohol as a moderator. (Without the moderator,
the flame would be too hot for some applications.)
Peace,
Francis
I didn't know something like this was available. Is it similar to a carbon monoxide detector? Which gases does it detect, or does each kind of gas need its own specific detector?
There are single gas models and multi-gas models. The site below has
a pretty good selection by an number of makers. You can at least read
the specs and hunt for the best price.
DetectGases.com
http://tinyurl.com/h3b2f
Ron Charlotte – Gainesville, FL
@Ron_Charlotte1 OR afn03234@afn.org
A few years ago, I bought a hydrogen generator for my goldsmith.
Where do you find a hydrogen generator?
Where do you find a hydrogen generator?
Try Spirig Advanced Technologies
144 Oakland Street
Springfield MA 01108-1787
Phone 800-628-8862
I own different brand of “water torch” that had a handle fire a
couple of years ago. I plan to buy the Spirig brand generator soon
but obtained one of their handles in the meantime. They have an
excellent backflash prevention system and advertise a multicell
electrolysis system that runs cooler thereby allowing generation of a
larger volume of gas while maintaining a safe temperature in the
reaction chamber.
Howard Woods
In the beautiful foothills near Eagle Idaho
Dear Jim:
Where do you find a hydrogen generator?
Like anything else, there are water welders, and there are water
welder s. You should review them all. In the we provide,
there is a list of each. We manufacture the finest Hydrogen/oxygen
generator in the world. The fully patented Spirflame=AE Karat 250. We
do not sell through equipment suppliers, but prefer to work directly
with our customers. We would be happy to send you a complete packet
of Please just send me by E-mail your mailing address
(no PO Box we send via UPS). Your contact will be kept
confidential. It is not even entered into our firms system.
Best Regards,
Gary
Gary W. Miller
Sr. Technical Advisor
Spirig Advanced Technologies, Inc.
Technical Division
35 Bronson Road
Stratford, CT 06614-3654 U. S. A.
Telephone: 800 499 9933/203 378 5216
Fax: 203 386 1346
web site: www.spirig.com