everything i read suggests that one should bleed the lines of an
oxy-acetylene torch setup at the end of each work day using the
torch.
why is this?
thanks in advance,
jocelyn broyles
Morning Jocelyn, you bleed the torch so that the seals and regulator
are not under pressure for a long period of time. It’s not
absolutely necessary but it will help keep your gear in working order
for longer. Eileen
Hi Jocelyn,
What should be done and what I actually done are two different
things. I never bleed dry my regulators although for complete saftey
I should because the fuel in the hoses are vulnerable. I do ALWAYS
shut down the tanks though. The amount of fuel in the regulators
that could leak out is equivalent to what you would bleed at the end
of the day anyhow. Basicly negligable.
My reasoning is this…As for the regulators: On the oxygen side
slamming the first stage bladder of the regulator daily with
1000-2000 lbs of pressure is more stress than leaving the pressure in
there. On the Acetylene side the tanks hold only about 200 lbs max
so this is not really an issue. Also every morning before I open the
tanks up again I am able see immediately if any fuel or oxy has
leaked out. They should both still be at 6 lbs for each line. If
not I know have a leak to fix.
You will find a lot of people on the "better to be safe than sorry"
side of this issue. I was taught to bleed them too but don’t for the
above reasons. If you are concerned about it you should bleed them
and not lose sleep over it. You choose.
Mark
Just a side note: It is critical that you make sure your tanks are
secure and cannot fall over. (Chained or tied) You don’t want to
break the regulators and you really don’t want to expose the neck of
a full oxygen tank to damage.
turn off the tanks & open the torch valves (like you do before
igniting the gas) - when there is no hissing sound, there’s no more
gas trapped in the hoses. at least that’s my method to ‘bleed’ hoses
without resorting to leeches or lancets.
ive
well people, are you skinny dipping yet???
Unless you have back-flow valves on your regulators, sometimes the
mixture of both gasses can accidently seep into the regulators and
form a combustable condition.
1. Close the cylilnder valves.
2. bleed the lines.
3. back out the adjusting screws on the regulators.
This doesn’t take long to play it safe.
When you shut down your oxygen lines, there are three things you do.
First you shut off the main valve. Second you relieve the diaphram of
pressure by backing it out to where it moves freely . Third, you open
the torch oxygen valve until the pressure in the secondary gauge
goes to zero.
What Mark said about not hitting the diaphram with 1000 pound of
pressure is correct. If you do not relieve the diaphram as
described in step two, that is exactly what will happen. The
diaphram is not stressed when you reopen the main valve, because all
pressure is relieved. It’s a bit counter- intuitive, but when it is
closed, that’s the neutral point. To open it gradually you screw
the pressure valve in slowly to what ever your operating pressure
is.
Judy Hoch, GG