Jeff - I have a 5.1 PUK. It is adjustable in every way - down to changing the wave form. The technical information is available on the www.lampertusa.com site. Super easy to use for simple things and equally easy for complex ones. It is way smarter than I.
Judy
First reason why not to draw off too much acetylene at once is because I was told that by a welding expert. 
Reason being, if you draw too much gas out of the acetone at once it drops the pressure in the tank which allows the release of a whole lot more gas suddenly. This is like dropping a Mentos into a 2 liter bottle of Coke. Acetylene is incredibly explosive, and unstable under this condition (and others).
Using a B tank with a large torch tip, like the Silversmith #4 is probably o.k. because a B tank has has a much greater capacity. Even so I’d be hesitant.
I brought it up because while a school or a professional shop would be much more likely to use a B tank or larger, someone new to jewelry and working at home might prefer the MC tank, it taking up a lot less space and being much easier to carry to the gas supplier and back for refills.
I had a regulator fail at the tank-side of my MC tank. A tightening nut split and all the acetylene and a quantity of acetone leaked out. I discovered this when I went to my outside cabinet to shut the tank off. Had the leak happened if the tank was strapped to my soldering bench, the lighter-than-air acetylene would likely have risen to my torch and been set off, making for a very bad day.
So I followed Rob Meixner’s lead and replaced the acetylene with a small camping propane tank with my oxygen concentrator, using a Littletorch sometimes, mostly the Meco with Paige tips, and am very satisfied with that setup.
I will be honest, the Silversmith was my favorite torch. I had used the Smith Versatorch, but the large softer flame of the Silversmith, #2 or #4 tip, worked really well when I was soldering large silver overlay belt buckles. I miss it. But for risk / benefit reasons I see no good reason to keep acetylene on site.
Neil A
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Neil…I agree. I miss my acetylene B tank and Presto-Lite torch once in a while, especially when I am trying to melt copper or brass, but that is about 2 times a year and I can do that outside in my propane furnace. It takes about 5 minutes. The rest of the year I get along very well on my 1 lb propane camp stove cylinder and O2 from a concentrator. Doing this I don’t worry about the potential hazard created by having a large acetylene and O2 cylinder in my shop. If my shop were a separate structure from the house in which we live, I might feel differently, but I have really gotten used to my propane and O2 torches and especially not having to go out and buy O2 every other week…Rob
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Hi Kimberly,
perhaps consider the 2 sizes of hand held butane torches, which would alleviate the need for oxygen/ propane/ acetylene tanks indoors, and the inconveniece of having tanks located away from use…
i never really considered their use until i subscribed to Andrew Berry’s www.AtTheBench.com training website and youtube channel…He uses one of these 2 torches for almost all the soldering shown in the videos…I was impressed with their versatility!
as for melting metal, perhaps consider a melting furnace…no tank, not far away…
julie
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I use my butane torch more and more for annealing and quick soldering jobs. I do this mainly because it is easy and convenient to do. I plan to explore more of what I can actually do with it. I am pretty sure that it won’t let me solder heavy 8 gauge stock, but it will work on a lot of the lighter 16 gauge work that I do…Rob
Hi Rob,
Andrew uses 2 sizes…the larger one he uses to do larger bracelets and such…he has a name for it…i forget what it is…
it is bigger than the smaller blazer micro torch…
julie
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I have the Blazer GT8000. It works great…Rob
Thanks Judy! I’ve got a PUK 5.1 as well. I like it a lot! Yes, you can adjust it in many different ways. I do think that Orion has a much more comprehensive owners manual though and that they’re more upfront with internal technical details. I was passing that info to Steve because he was asking such technical questions about pulse arc welders in general. I think both PUK and Orion welders are excellent machines!
Thanks again!
Jeff
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Yep, im leaning toward a furnace for sure.
Hi Rob,
and the micro size is great for smaller items
The technical specs on these machines make them so useful. Controllable high pulsed power…If the arc were continuous, it would be, if I did not calculate it wrong, 1,900 watts or thereabouts…Since it’s pulsed, the energy is all delivered within less than a 10th of a second… at maximum output, it’s the equivalent of dropping 6.6 lbs. one meter… a good punch!.. These are great machines.
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Hi,
julie
An update to this. I contacted Otto Frei and talked to them. They informed me that using the heads w disposable isnt about it not working or being dangerous, but it would take longer.
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Awesome!
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