Propane gas is “heavy” and hugs the floor. In the past, I knew of a
family whose house exploded due to the fact that a propane leak was
near a gas water heater…Kaboom and the whole place went up.
Definitely not something to be used indiscriminately!
Could you please tell me what a “water torch” is?
Regards. Phil
Could you please tell me what a "water torch" is?
Water torches use electrolysis to split water into hydrogen and
oxygen. Their advantage is there is no stored gas. You only generate
gas when you turn the unit on and it is a very low pressure system.
One draw back is on even relatively affordable systems flame size is
quite limited. Good for small work but not suitable for casting or
larger silver work. Also they are quite expensive to purchase but
the upside is you don’t have to buy compressed gas so eventually
they could be cheaper to operate.
James Binnion
James Binnion Metal Arts
Propane gas is "heavy" and hugs the floor. In the past, I knew of a family whose house exploded due to the fact that a propane leak was near a gas water heater.....Kaboom and the whole place went up. Definitely not something to be used indiscriminately!
And hydrogen and acetylene will rise and when you turn on the
lights, boom. Please people, all fuel gases are dangerous. They all
will kill you if you are stupid with them. Learn how to safely turn
and off and change tanks. Learn how to leak test and then get on
with the jewelry work and don’t somehow think you are safe because
you use acetylene rather than propane that is just foolish.
James Binnion
James Binnion Metal Arts
Check for leaks when setting up (soapy water will work. bubbles mean a leak.), secure the tanks upright, use backflow preventing valves, take care where you direct the flame....
All good advice. I would like to add though that it’s extremely
important that no grease or oil is EVER used on regulators. And you
never want to have greasy or oily hands when using compressed
oxygen. It’s also a real good idea to not only mark your gas bottles,
but to have a sign above your tanks for firefighters to see if (G-d
forbid) your shop ever catches on fire.
Tips: Compressed Gases Safety Program
http://www.ganoksin.com/gnkurl/bt
These folks spell things funny and drive on the wrong side of the
road, but it’s good stuff nonetheless
And I’d suggest leaving aluminum regulators in the hands of
professionals. Or not:
Graphic photo of oxygen-grease accident:
Water torches use electrolysis to split water into hydrogen and oxygen. Their advantage is there is no stored gas. Y
I use one but only under a microscope. Other than that the flame is
too small.
I also agree that the one pound propane canisters are the way to go, if you're soldering indoors. Fire Departments are NOT keen on having those 5 ga. propane tanks used indoors.
I’m not keen on it either. I use oxy/ace on most things, but I use
oxy/propane on platinum. I drilled a hole in the wall behind my
platinum desk (the desk I use to work on platinum…if I had a desk
made of platinum…) and poured a concrete slab under the hole on
the ground, and placed my propane cylinder on it. I use check valves
on all my tanks and hoses.
I don’t need a microscope for my water torch…Use it to make
women’s rings, bails (bales?) for pendants, pendants…have no
problem with that size work.
Catherine Schratt, Cate Jewelry
There are tens of thousands of houses in the US, not sure about
other countries that have propane stoves and heaters. Yes, you hear
about a few that explode, but you also hear about just as many or
more that have natural gas that explode. I have been using propane
for 30 years, the bottle sits outside and it is piped in or in some
cases I just run the hose through the door. There is a really cool
piece of safety equipment that is really cool, it’s called a nose, it
smells out gases or smoke or burning wires really well. If you use a
water torch you have to plug it in and that would mean you have to
run electricity into the house. Have you ever checked to see how many
houses burn down because of electricity. I know I am being a little
cranky here but come on guys. There is more chance of you being
killed in a car wreck going to the post office than being blown up
with propane, but we all still use autos.
Bill Wismar
Please remember to check town code, fire department, and most
important of all - your insurance company.
Hey folks- a possibility is to slog thru all the fire codes and such
for your town, state, area… but if you dont want to alienate
yourself from your insurance company- do your due diligence. I made
2 phone calls to set up an appointment with my local Fire Marshal…
I brought a rough outline of my house, and the specs of what I
wanted to do.
In about 30 minutes I not only had met (or exceeded) my local fire
code- but THEN when I called my insurance agency I already had the
inspection approval letter so there was NO issue.
These guys are paid to know the codes- and they will definitively
spell it out what is legal versus not- better to be up front than
face a penalty or worse a shut-down later… You truly do not want
to meet these guys as the fire trucks are leaving your house.
Hope this helps, FWIW, IMHO, Call your mother, batteries not
included- all the normal disclaimers-
I am a lurker and making jewelry for just a few years but I felt
compelled to respond to Bill’s answer for the best torch for the
house. Finally Bill, a person of intelligence responding to this
thread. It could have been written by my master welder, extremely
anal, security conscience, brilliant husband. Every time I mention
this subject to my husband, these are the things he says to me. I
have a large acetylene tank, a propane tank, and oxygen tank in my
house, right off of our open living area. I have all the appropriate
safety features on my tanks. Dave has shown me how to use them
safely. My husband is more worried about me leaving unattended
candles. Thanks Bill for saying it so well.
Cynthia
Thank you to all that responded, both on the forum and personally.
Apart from being a metalsmith, I’ve also been an OH&S nurse at remote
copper/gold mine, so to those of you that posted about my use of the
Oxy/Acetylene, fear not, I do wear the proper shaded welding eye wear
and I also use the flashback arrestors on the regulators and purge
the lines and close the tanks after use. I personally don’t have any
concerns about the Oxy/Acetylene, it’s out in the garage; but the use
of gas in the house was a question, but many of you have answered my
question, the safety of it as with most things really boils down to
the user. I’m confident enough in my safety processes and there’s
been some really excellent feedback on this post that I’m comfortable
with using the propane in the house and have ordered my new Little
Torch for inside the house for use with propane. I had initially
given some thought to to the Smith SilverSmith as it’s a more
substantial torch, but as an added concession, I’ll be going with the
small disposable tank of propane, so I have the flexibility of
running down to the Canadian Tire 7 days a week, and using the
existing O2 cylinder. The eventual plan is to get the G-Tec 15
natural gas pressure booster so my husband can start paying for half
my fuel costs (lol),…he doesn’t know this yet. Happy days
regardless, as the weather is actually warm enough for me to get out
to the garage, fire up the oxy/acetylene unit and cast the 12 oz of
scrap that accumulated over the winter.
Sonja