Hello all,
This is my first post so thank you for all the advice you may have in advance.
I bought a smith little torch with the portable tank setup. Oxygen gets consumed really fast so I was wondering if it is possible to have a setup with the small propane tank and a large oxygen tank with the regulator. I currently don’t use regulators with the portable tanks.
Any advice is welcomed. Thanks again!
Ana
Greetings Ana,
There is a lot of info on this topic in the archives. Yup, little O2 bottles don’t last long. You will hear a lot of folks in this forum, My brother and I especially, suggest buying a reconditioned oxygen separator from a medical supply as an alternative to tanks.
Good luck and welcome in.
Don
Ana, I purchased one of those oxygen generators from RIO Grande. It was one of my best purchases. It has an internal pump that makes a little noise but it beats having pressurized tanks in your house and you never have to refill your tanks which is a nuisance when your oxygen runs out in the middle of a job. I believe mine cost me about $240 about 5 years ago. Ken
Ana –
Yes, you can use a standard, refillable oxygen tank (with proper regulator) and a disposable propane tank with your Smith Little Torch.
I’ve been doing this for several years now. I use a 40 cu ft oxygen tank but have also used an 80 cu ft tank.
– alonzo
Thank you Alonzo, I will be testing that set up soon. I was just wondering if I needed a regulator on the smaller propane tank since it uses the standard connection for the portable setups which does not have the gauges. Thanks again, I greatly appreciate your response
Thank you Ken! This information is really useful! I will definitely look into it and hopefully can get one sooner rather than later.
Thank you Don! Great information, I had no idea about oxygen generators until you brought it up. I greatly appreciate your support!
Hi Ana Marie,
I was lucky enough to find a reconditioned oxygen concentrator on Craigslist for $250. There’s someone on Etsy that sells them as well and I believe they ship free in continental US. I have a student that purchased one from them and they’ve been very happy.
Here’s a link to a video that explains what you’ll need to setup up the concentrator and disposable propane canister to a Smith Little,
Oxygen Concentrator set up with Torches vs tanks - YouTube I purchased the disposable tank regulator on Amazon and the brass fittings from our local welding supply.
Pam
Ana, It’s basically an oxygen generator for people who need help breathing. But they modify it to produce more pure oxygen. you’re welcome!
Ana…Welcome to ganoksin. This is the best place to ask questions, get answers and offer some of your own advice about making jewelry. As my brother Don and others have suggested, an O2 generator is a good way to go. You use O2 at about a 4:1 rate relative to propane with a typical propane and O2 torch. My current O2 generator is a 5 LPM unit that I use to run both my Meco Midget and Little torch. I bought it reconditioned from a local medical supply house. You can find them in Craigs List and Market Place, but you have to be careful if they have been in storage for a while. This happens when a loved one who used it dies and the family just gets around to selling the stuff that they no longer need. The seive beds in a O2 generator need to be run. I sometime just turn mine on and leave it runnng even if I am not using my torch. It serves my needs well. I often solder heavy 8 gauge wire into bracelets and anneal even larger pieces. I also have no touble melting 50 - 60 gram silver and gold melts. It does have a hard time with copper and brass. On the propane side I use small 1 lb. camp stove propane cylinders with a non-adjustable regulator. You can buy these cylinders in four piece bundles at Lowes. I currently get almost three months from one cylinder and I work in my shop every day. I also run an EZ torch on 1 lb. cylinders and use it to do a lot of my annealing. It is a softer and cooler flame helping me avoid the “Oh S**t” moments when you burn a piece while annealing it with a hotter torch. I now have a collection of hoses, regulators and check valves collecting dust. I do still put backflash arrestors on my system. Other than not having to buy O2, you are able to get the large high pressure gas cylinders out of your shop with this type of setup. I sleep better at night knowing that these cylinders are gone. As suggested, do a search and you will find a lot of information on this topic. Good luck…Rob
this is the setup in our shop. large O2 small propane little torch