Oxy-Natural Gas setup

Jewelry Discussion
1

Question… I am getting ready to pipe in natural gas in my studio to
mix with an oxg tank. Anyone have any experience with this type of a
set up ? Any hints ?

Thanks
Tina

2

Tina,

My wife uses oxy-Natural Gas in her lampworking studio. Loves it.
The gas is too low pressure to use a flashback arrestor, but the gas
people assured me that I did not need one.

Cheers.
John Fetvedt
http://www.jef.com

3

Tina,

Natural gas off the street comes in to your building @ 6-8 psi. This
is fine to use @ that pressure. Your O2 should be set @ no higher
than 8-10 psi. A 2 stage oxy gauge is best (Victor makes some dandy
models. You can pick those up @ your nearest welding supply store).No
regulator is needed for the gas. However, you will need to have a
plumber put in your piping from outside your building & you will need
a shutoff valve where it comes in to your shop. Your gas company may
do this work instead of a plumber…it can vary from locale to locale.
Make sure you have a “quick-connect” feature on your gas side. You
may also want to take your torch with you when you go to your welding
supply. The connections on your hose are typically larger than what’s
on your torch. They will need to change those out for you.

Walt
American Goldworks
Great Falls, MT

4

Hello Tina,

My city codes require that a licensed plumber do such work. If you
DIY, be sure to use the proper pipe and fittings. NG and propane
are not the same animal and require different materials.

I had a plumber install the NG piping, the shut-off valve, and the
fitting for the hose. In my case, he connected to the NG line
serving the furnace and water heater. I have the oxygen bottle
secured upright under my bench so the two hoses are close together.
Works well. I do prefer NG & Oxygen for it’s cleanliness and the
ease of leaving the NG flame burning and just turning the oxygen off
between uses.

Judy in Kansas where real August temps are expected today…
bummer.

5

I used natural gas several years ago so providing nothing else has
changed, I did not need a regulator for the gas line. If I remember
correctly the pressure was about 4 lbs. (PG&E, bay area). The gas
did flucuate at times which proved to be a challenge with a small
flame. Melting large Qty. of metal may be difficult especially
silver.

RJ

6 
 I am getting ready to pipe in natural gas in my studio to mix with
an oxg tank. Anyone have any experience with this type of a set up?

I’ve had this setup twice - and I love it! Be sure to have a real
plumber do the black pipe installation, leaky natural gas is scary.
My first installation I had the plumber put in two shut off valves
and that was unnecessary. Now I have one shut off valve over my
bench. Have the nipple for the hose horizontal so you can string
the hose behind the bench. Probably the most useful thing I got for
the installation was a low pressure gauge for the oxygen tank. I
got the low pressure gauge from a glass blowing supplier, it’s a
Modern Engineering Co, (Meco) two stage gauge. I use the normal tank
that is filled to 2500# but want the oxy delivered at 8#. That’s
hard to set with a conventional gauge. I use a Meco Midget torch
with this setup and can get any flame I want from dinky to huge -
just change the tip. And to be very clear, my natural gas is at
residential pressure, about 4 ounces of pressure, but the Meco torch
is magic and it makes it all look like I have big propane like
pressure.

Judy Hoch, G.G.
@Judy_Hoch

7 
    Natural gas off the street comes in to your building @ 6-8
psi. This is fine to use @ that pressure. Your O2 should be set @
no higher than 8-10 psi. A 2 stage oxy gauge is best (Victor makes
some dandy models. You can pick those up @ your nearest welding
supply store).No regulator is needed for the gas.

The standard natural gas pressure is less than 11 inches Water
Column which is = to 0.5 psi not 6-8 psi. It is possible to get
higher delivery pressures but the standard is 11 inches WC . This
will work fine for some torches. I have used this type of setup for
soldering but it is not good for casting more than a very small
amount of metal. There is quite a bit about using natural gas in the
Orchid Archives take a look there for more

Jim Binnion

James Binnion Metal Arts
Phone (360) 756-6550
Toll Free (877) 408 7287
Fax (360) 756-2160

@James_Binnion
Member of the Better Business Bureau

8

This is my understanding also. The low pressure is the reason a
flashback arrestor will not work because it needs about 0.5 psi to
open the flow.

Cheers.
John Fetvedt
http://www.jef.com