My Smith’s little torch has flashback arrestors on both the oxygen
and fuel lines and works just fine. Even with a large heating tip
they really don’t require a massive flow of gas The standard
flashback arrestors attached to my regulators are supposed to cope
with the demands of industrial torches which consume a lot more gas.
Um, not a lot of technical expertise here, but I bought my Smith
Little Torch from the local gas shop here in Colorado Springs (not a
jeweler’s supply) and while they were unhappy with my request -
calling it “completely unneccesary”, they installed the flashback
arrestors for me. I wouldn’t expect them to know, necessarily, if
said arrestors would adversely affect the gasflow on that particular
torch, as it’s not their scale of exertise - their objection was that
it was $90 worth of unnecesary. (I got them on both my new Smith and
on my older acetylene.) I had always been uncomfortable around my
torch, because of some previous emergency calls as a firefighter, and
requested the arrestors for my peace of mind only, as I couldn’t
quite visualize the safety mechanisms that come standard. And it
worked great - I now use my torches almost daily, with no discomfort
(once I dug my old Nomex fire resistant shirt out of the drawer). So
for me, that $90 was well spent, but according to the gas guys,
unneccesary. Hope this helps.
Blessings,
Susan “Sam” Kaffine
Sterling Bliss