Stacey. There should be a lot of on Orchid that is both
specific and general in nature to your question. Others may have
advice different from what I am about to give you. That is the neat
thing about Orchid. I too am a Meco Midget user and have been for
about five years. It is now my favorite torch. That being said, it
did not start out that way.
When I bought it, it came with generic one hole tips that were very
difficult to light. My first piece of advice is to buy a set of
Paige Tool tips. Talk to Richard, he is a lot of help and you won’t
regret the cost.
You might struggle with the original tips first to appreciate the
Paige tips. I too started on acetylene and O2. I set the regulators
to something around 5 PSI for both and then adjusted as needed for
what I was doing.
Having used single stage acetylene on a Presto-Lite torch for 35
years, I had several acetylene tanks, so I just need to buy an O2
tank. If you stay with this setup, don’t forget check valves and
flashback protectors. The mess that acetylene made in my shop drove
me to try propane. I did and never turned back. Make sure that your
tips are for propane. Again, Paige tips. So now I had a 20 lb propane
tank, medium size O2 tank, hoses, regulators, check valves, flash
back protectors all connected to my Meco.
With propane and Paige tips, I was finally in business and happy
with the torch. There was one problem. I work in my cellar and I had
two bombs sitting next to me. My insurance people were OK with this,
but I set out to see if I could reduce the potential for disaster. I
researched natural gas and air, propane and air, natural gas
accumulators, O2 concentrators, glass working torches, light weight
hoses, non-adjustable propane regulators, refilling 1 lb. propane
tanks and much more. My Meco has now evolved to the following. Meco
torch with an extended tube, Paige tips, light weight hose from TM
Technologies (you won’t regret it), 1 lb. camp stove propane tank
with a $60 non-adjustable regulator (these can be refilled from my 5
lb.
propane tank), O2 concentrator and that’s it. I now have a 5 lb and
20 lb propane tank, 2 O2 tanks, four regulators, hoses, check valves,
flashback protectors, a complete Presto-Lite torch and various
fittings all in storage. The Meco setup that I describe above allows
me to do everything that I need to do to include 2 oz. melts. You can
go to my website and click on More, then Shop Shots, then Pictures to
see what this setup looks like. You will note that I Y off with both
the Meco and a Little Torch sharing both propane and O2. I rarely use
the Little Torch, but appreciate it when I need it. You will also see
an EZ Torch on 1 lb. propane. I use this for annealing. I hope this
helps and good luck. Rob