I am currently using the Little Torch with the rosebud multi-orifice tip for larger soldering, annealing, and melting jobs, and I am running into its limits. I would like to get a larger, hotter torch to use for casting and such, but I don’t like the idea of unscrewing my little torch every time I switch.
Has anyone here ever built a manifold for using multiple torches, and sharing gas between them?
I am not intimidated by the plumbing aspect, as I have plenty of experience plumbing houses and such, but I don’t want to do anything that wouldn’t be appropriate, since I am ignorant of any codes, rules, or laws regarding the types of fittings used in this case.
For Example: I could easily get a 1/4" NPT adapter for the CGA 540 fitting on my o2 tank, and pipe it to a wye, or manifold mounted alongside another adapter to wye fitting for my propane tank, but is this advised? is it legal?
I have seen lampworkers with wye/manifold setups mounted right to their tanks, but I feel like that is kind of precarious, and I don’t like having a big tree of fittings hanging their weight right off the neck of the tank.
If anyone here knows of any research resources, or has any of their own experience with using a splitter or manifold to run two torches, I thank you in advance for chiming in!
Two fittings like the following, one for fuel the other for oxygen, are all you need for two torches.
That shows my oxygen concentrator, flashback arrestor, and the Y fitting.
You can shut off / open whichever torch lines you want to use.
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I have run a LT and a Meco on Ys from 1 lb. propane cylinders and an O2 concentrator for years. It works fine for what I do as long as I switch to a regulated O2 cylinder when I do melts. I currently have a flash back/check valve compo on the propane cyliner as I know that the regulated O2 could over come the propane, otherwise, I wouldn’t worry about. Over time, the kind of work that I do, and my confidence in the LT, is making me use the LT more and more. I still use the Meco for larger soldering projects and melts with the Paige MX tip, Although I just bought an LT casting tip and it appears to be equal to the Meco with a Paige MX. I use Paige tips interchangeably on both torches and they are an improvement over single orifice tips. Unfortunately, it appears that Paige is off the grid right now, but there are other multi orifice propane tips on the market. Excuse the spelling, it has been a long day and I broke a bone in one of my feet and it has been a chore getting to the end of the day. Let us know what you come up with…Rob
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Thanks for the quick reply! I am very sorry to hear about your injury, and wish you speedy healing with minimal pain.
I think I will just run a short hose to a piece of plywood holding my mounted flashback arrestor, followed a mounted wye, since I am uncomfortable hanging so many items from the necks of my tanks. (picture of current setup with regulators and arrestors as-is)
Connect the Ys that Neil showed you after the flash backs. You can then use the valves on the Ys or your torches to control what goes where. Just remember to turn off the one that isn’t in use. You can see my arrangement if you go to the Shop Shots page of my website. What larger torch are you thinking of?..Rob
I have a Hoke (Haven’t tried yet) that I figure might put out a bit more heat than my Little Torch. Looks like Hoke has some pretty big tips available, and the torch body looks like it is capable of putting out more gas than the Little Torch. I have also considered just getting something like a Victor cutting torch. I would like to be able to quickly melt a few ounces of silver, which my Little Torch struggles with. What do you think? Any larger torches you would recommend?
-S
Have you tried the LT melting tip?….Rob
Yes. I have the multi orifice melting tip. I use it quite a lot for annealing and melting small amounts of metal. I find it doesn’t put out enough heat to melt more than 2 ounces of sterling at a time. I can do it, but it takes forever, and it feels like a fight each time. I don’t think melting so slowly is good for the metal either.
Thanks, my foot is getting better. I see that you are using an acetylene regulator on what looks like a propane tank. While some of them might fit, the gases are different and this may impact the material compatibility, performance and possibly the safety of your torch. You also have a very small O2 cylinder. You will go through O2 very quickly. This is why many of us have switched to O2 concentrators. With a concentrator the supply of O2 is limitless, but the pressure, while fine for regular fabrication and annealing, may not support bigger melts. I keep a regulated O2 cylinder handy for just that purpose and also have an electromelt furnace for very large melts. Good luck and keep us posted…Rob
My work is more in the Craft Work area of silversmithing. Craft Work does not mean painted rocks and woven toilet paper cozies. I don’t have the need for many of the tools I see in the catalogs but the gear head in me argues with the craft worker constantly. I tend to keep things pretty spartan.
I use two Little Torches on two separate propane bottles with a splitter for the the O2 generator. The splitter doesn’t use valves. It is a very simple set up. Torch # 1 has a Paige melting tip on a nearly permanent set up. This is mainly for melts but I have soldered with it and at Rob’s suggestion I have recently begun to use it for annealing as well. Torch #2 has a Paige M-3 tip that I use for the bulk of my soldering work. I have an EZ Torch that I use in my shop at my daughters house when we are visiting and doing shows in Indiana. I can do all my work with an EZ Torch; maybe because it is a little like a Prestolite torch I earned on. I rather like the EZ Torch because it is a bushy flame and the heat is easily dialed back. What I don’t like is the force of the flame on the EZ. I’d like more heat and less force. EZ torches will do the work I need it to do but it is relearning the torch every time.
We all have our set ups and means of working around a problem. Most of my set up allows me to have a more ergonomic use of my torches. What would be right handed for most is lefthanded for me. (I used foam pipe insulation on one torch to thicken up the grip area. It worked great until it melted. Hand injuries and maybe even a little arthritis can be great motivators when it comes to modifying your tools.)
Don Meixner
I keep looking at that photo with the acetylene regulator on the 20lb propane tank. Is the regulator running propane or is the propane bottle holding low pressures of acetylene?
Yes- It is an acetylene regulator on a propane tank. I had the regulator checked at my gas supplier to confirm this was an okay use-case. From what they told me, there is some concern about incompatible pressure ratings in some cases, or degrading valve/seal materials with older/cheaper regulators, but I have been assured this specific regulator is good here. Apparently the only difference is the sticker, but I have ordered a propane-specific regulator as well, to see if I can notice any difference.
When I worked at the University machine shop here years ago, we had mounted gas manifolds at several stations so we could hook up our torches in different places, rather than stringing hoses across the room, or wheeling big tanks around. I think I will just start putting together parts to do something like this, as I really hate the idea of hanging so many heavy fittings off the neck of my tanks. I also like the idea of having dedicated, mounted regulators and shutoffs for each torch.
I just put new hose on my Hoke torch, and I am looking forward to trying it out as soon as the new tips arrive from Otto Frei on Friday. Hopefully I can get the level of heat I am looking for out of it. I love the Little Torch for soldering, and I love how light and nimble it is, but I feel like melting more than a couple of ounces with it is too much for it, even with the multi-orifice tip.
My electromelt is great, but I am impatient, and there is something magical about melting metal in a whip crucible, where I can see the whole process, rather than under cover as in the electric melter.
My uncle is a smith as well, and he uses an old Victor welding torch for centrifugal casting and he swears by that method. He claims since it goes so quick, it introduces less O2 into the metal. I might look on ebay for something like his melting torch if the Hoke doesn’t do what I am looking for. (Though I am excited to try the Hoke anyhow, since folks speak so highly of its bushy flame)
Sounds like you are covering all of the bases. Since people with different skill levels and knowledge about how torches work read these posts, we have to be careful to cover all the basics and ways that things can go wrong. Keeping your hoses short and setting up a manifold makes a lot of sense. I too love to watch a collection of scrap melt in a wip crucible and eventually become fluid and ready to pour. You can’t really do this with an electromelt. I only save the electromelt for larger 4 - 5 ounce melts. TM Technology used to sell a very light weight hose set. I bought one for my Meco and it is a vast improvement over regular welding shop hoses. I think that TM might be out of business, but you can look for the light weight hose from other suppliers. If I can find a specific supplier, I will post it. Stay safe and have fun…Rob
This is the closest that I can come right now to a reference regarding the light weight hose that I have…Rob
https://www.gpescientific.co.uk/brands/tm-technologies/product/tm-ultralight-welding-hose
I enjoy melting metal. I like watching it flow and change shape. I will bet that we all love campfires at night with the kids/grandkids too. I have read that the fascination with flames goes back to the earliest days of human memory.
I realize that in my earlier post I never once covered the issue of torch hoses, new or old.
The first day I changed from a Prestolite torch to a Little Torch I melted the new torches hose in half. For years, from my time in the Boatyard to the time using the Presto in my shop, I would turn off the gas and hang the torch from a handy location, either on the hull or on the bench. When an Oxy/Acetylene torch swung the hot tip into the hose it just bounced off and hung there. Such is the industrial covering on those torch sets. In my case the hot tip of the LT melted through the woven covering and hose on the O2 side and half way through the propane hose about two feet from the hand piece. Since the torch was shut down there was no real danger of a blow up. I had work to do so I slid a couple brass tubes into the hoses, clamped off the hoses and used the torch for the few days it took Rio to send me a replacement hose. I threw away the damaged hose and installed the new one.
I learned I can do a temporary fix o a leak in a hose with brass tubing from the hobby shop. But I had seen some remarkable accidents in the boatyard caused by leaky hoses, fittings, and handsets. I don’t take those chances anymore.
Don
