Cynthia,
My guess is you’re using single orifice Tips that came with the Torch. If that’s the case the most likely problem is your Tips. Single orifice Tips are the wrong design for propane, natural gas & butane to realize the best flame stability & maximum heat output.
Another cause for flame blowout: Malfunctioning or contaminated Concentrator filter producing very low oxygen purity.
Propane PSI to the Torch is too high. If you’re using a disposable propane cylinder with a disposable type Regulator too much propane PSI is very unlikely. If your propane is from a refillable tank equipped with a Traditional Regulator adjusted to very high PSI output that can cause single orifice Tips to easily blow out.
Less likely cause: Air getting into one of the gas lines from a break somewhere in the line,
With a little more information about your gas setup a fix should be simple.
Changing to Multi-Port Tips (when using the above fuel gasses) will likely solve your problem. Give us a call, we’re glad to help.
Paige Tools (206) 527-1515
I did buy the Paige tips and doing better with them than the smith little tips. I still cannot to get a large flame but I can get a small flame to work. After months of frustration, I have some hope. Any suggestions on how to produce a larger flame with my Paige tips. I use a oxycon/propane set up. Thank you for all your advice.
Talk to Richard at Paigetools.com. Are you using an oxygen concentrator?
Yes I am using a oxygen concentrator with propane.
If you are using the smallest tip, they blow out EXTREMELY easily. Try going up a tip size….
Am looking to buy a portable oxygen concentrator rather than a full sized wheeled one due to size/space constraints & the huge price increases for the 1.4 oz red Bernzomatic oxygen cylinders.
My Little Torch has gone through ~23 of those while still on its original 1 lb green Coleman camping propane cylinder. Have my Meco Midget on a 5lb propane tank & a 20 cft R tank that I cannot use in the house where my studio is, relegated to a detached building.
What are the minimum capacity parameters for using oxygen concentrators for a Smith Little torch and a Meco Midget on a Y connection? They won’t necessarily be used at the same time. Rio’s specs for their concentrators have a flow rate of 5 lpm (10.59 SCFH) with a max pressure of 7psi.
Will lesser parameters still work and if so, how low can I go?
Natalie,
Our company specializes in products designed for the Little Torch, Meco Midget & other small, jewelry making ‘bench’ Torches.
In reply to what you asked… First, why are you unable to use the oxy Tank in your studio? Did your municipality (building code) or insurance company (specifically) say No to a refillable oxy Tank? Fuel gas Tanks generally ‘are restricted’ indoors. Disposable gas cylinders (fuel gas & oxy) are usually O.K. indoors unless not allowed by a building regulation or building owner.
Oxy Concentrators are a good option for most jewelry making operations but have limitations in certain processes; one area is melting. For small capacity melts of lower melting temp metals a concentrator is often fine.
Increase the amount of metal to be melted and/or the melt temperature of the metal being melted, say from silver to high karat golds (one example) or use the wrong Torch Tip design for the fuel gas being used plus typical psi output & lower purity oxy of a Concentrator (read below) and some melts become impracticable regardless of the Torch used.
You probably understand Concentrator psi output is normally linked to oxy purity generated. This linkage influences higher flame temperature as does the mix of oxy & fuel gas. With lpm / psi adjustable units when the output lpm (psi) goes up oxy purity will generally decrease. Tanked oxy & oxy from disposable cylinders is 99%+ pure. Newer model Concentrators in good working condition produce about 95% pure oxy at best. That’s fine for typical jewelry making operations except ‘some’ melting, as noted above.
Re: minimum Concentrator parameters you asked about: Y valve aside using the ‘correct Tip design matched to the fuel gas is central to all, efficient, Torch operations. The Little Torch & Meco will operate fine on 3-5 psi for fuel gas & oxy for typical soldering operations… when using the correct Tip design as noted. What’s the correct Tip design for propane? NOT single orifice Tips. They are correct for acetylene & hydrogen. For propane, natural gas & butane Multi-Port Tips are a Big Improvement in Heat Output, Flame Stability and other things.
How low can you go… I’m guessing you mean psi? Using propane the Little Torch & Meco are basically even assuming the same Tip design. On natural gas the Meco will operate as low as ¼ psi compared to the Little Torch that really needs a min. of 1 psi on natural gas. In both cases very low pressure fames are small and not too practical for ‘most’ silver work.
Back to propane: For typical bench soldering using silver alloys and the correct Tip design 3-5 psi works fine with Paige Tips for typical bench soldering. Our smallest, M-0 Tip runs at full potential with a stable flame at 3 psi. Our Rosebud Tips & special Melting Tip operate fine between 5-7 psi but can be run up to 10 psi when their full design potential is needed for larger operations. Along with psi remember the fuel gas / oxy mix and how that too effects flame heat.
Y Valve: Running a couple Torches as the same time splitting both gasses with Y valves the gas volume available becomes a factor to consider. Gas volume is not an issues using Tanked gasses but can be using a Concentrator depending on what Torch operations are simultaneously being done.
Question to think about… Why do disposable oxy cylinders run out of gas quickly? Yes, there is less gas in oxy disposables but ‘why’ less gas?
Natalie,
Specifically to the idea of using a portable concentrator, I have no direct experience. However your main issue would be capacity. A 5 pm wheeled concentrator works pretty well for almost all soldering and small melting operations with a Little Torch or similar. If you are contemplating bigger melts, a 10 lpm concentrator would be better. The problem with the portables is lower output. I only saw one in looking on lline which went as high as 3 lpm. Some are as low as 1 lpm, which would not work for any but the smallest flames. You could use 3 lpm, but your flame size is going to be somewhat limited, so if you are working on larger silver pieces, it might not be big enough. Another issue to consider is battery life, which is going to be about 4-5 hours. That might be enough to get you thru most days, if you turn the concentrator off when not using it, but you’d definitely have to recharge it at night. IDK how long the batteries last before you’d have to get another. It’s probably in the spec somewhere if you search or call a dealer. I wonder if a better solution wouldn’t be to put a wheeled concentrator on a shelf somewhere so it didn’t use floor space. Easy enough to extend the lines to it so you could put it up high somewhere. If the switch was hard to reach, you could use a switched extension cord. Just sayin’… v