Oxy Acetyline torch set up

[1948]

Originally Posted by pitterpat

Where I live that's all you can do is "rent" tanks. I inherited some tanks, hoses and tips from my dad when he died; as I was going through his stuff I found the receipt from when he bought the tanks like around 1971. They are still in good condition.

good condition or not, once they run out you need to get them filled, and they will need to be inspected. and if the company is out of business the other company might not take the tanks. but i got lucky with some old tanks as the company knew about the other company and was taking there old tanks in exchange.

[Boomer343]

I have a Marquette set made in China that is Victor compatible and it works very well and is every bit as good as the various other brands I have used over the years including the OEM Victor.

You do want to put in some flash back arrestors, when I did training we had torch and regulator arrestors....some folks just can't follow directions. You really only need the torch units. I would definatly get a new hose and the regulators serviced.

Please though, treat this stuff with a lot of respect....40 psi of oxygen pressure means sparks can go 40 feet or more and leaking tanks can cause serious fires. Oxygen tanks are under 2200 psi, fuel gases are just looking for a spark. Get some proper training, don't guess or assume.

If you can gas weld then you will be a better arc, tig and mig welder.

[95YJIL]

I sell this stuff and the best value on the market is the Victor Performer Kit. This is a medium duty kit and where I work the kit is $285.00. It is $100.00 cheaper than the comparable Smith kit. Also we rent, lease, or sell the bottles.

http://www.thermadyne.com/victor/pro...odID=0384-2045

[Steroblan]

'
The reason for the flashback arresters at the regulators would be for the remote possibility of hose failure, severing, or burning a hole in it. Most industrial users insist on them.

[ZRX61]

Originally Posted by tonym

victor maybe?

That's the one

[taumac]

I bought this last year and its all Victor equipment and you just exchange tanks out there. Its a good set but tanks are small but I have plan to get a propane reg and propane rated line for heating and just actylene for welding.

http://www.tractorsupply.com/gaspony...inders-3862540

[brslk]

Originally Posted by 1948

ive found that the old stuff seems to be built better. ive been using my grandfathers victor II torch from the 1940s? 50s? for the last 14 years and it hasnt giving me one problem! you can usually pick them up cheaper than dirt at garage sales ect. some tips that i can give you is

-use the right tip for the job; when welding sheetmetal use a 00 or 000 tip. when heating metal dont use a cutting torch head, use a rosebud tip.
-keep them clean and invest in a torch cleaner.
-dont try to rush things, let the torch work at its own speed.
-if in a pinch at 2am and you dont have any welding rods, go dig some metal coat hangers out of the closet, they do work, altho a little bit dirty sometimes.

Very cool pic to have of your grandfather.

I once welded the door hinges back on a school bus with a coat hanger when I worked for a cab/school bus company.

Bruce.

[Kevin54]

Originally Posted by brslk

Very cool pic to have of your grandfather.

I once welded the door hinges back on a school bus with a coat hanger when I worked for a cab/school bus company.

Bruce.

My dad could lay down some of the prettiest weld you have ever seen with an Oxy/Acet set and coat hangers. Then new coat hangers aren't as good for doing that as the old hangers from 40 years ago were.

As far as tanks go, if you can find a set to buy, I would go that route over renting. Just make sure that the ones you get can be refilled locally. If you are going to use the torch setup quite a bit, then renting may be the way to go. A couple of taNKS WILL RUN YOU AROUND $20 OR SO PER MONTH BUT CAN ADD UP OVER TIME.

Oops sorry...wasn't yelling, just fat fingered the keyboard and I'm not going back to change it.

[Falcon67]

Bottles bought here will run you $500~600 full. Why I'm going to go with propane/oxy instead. I spent $300ish to own my MIG C25 bottle. Rent was $52/year so I bought it twice, really.

[trainer]

Ive never liked using coat hangers. It seems to me like they burn dirty and don't seem to be consistant, even in the same hanger.

Ive found that sometimes you need to ask for tig rod. Some guys seem to think that gas welding rod is brazing rod.

If you have a gas outfit, you do want to learn how to braze too, though. It's a very handy process for repairs and for joining thin metal to heavier stock

[Originalspanksta]

Originally Posted by Steroblan

'
The reason for the flashback arresters at the regulators would be for the remote possibility of hose failure, severing, or burning a hole in it. Most industrial users insist on them.

We now require arresters at the regulator and at the torch itself where I work.

[metalmagpie]

New Victor stuff now made in China. Victor has also considerably damaged their reputation by putting their name on other imported lines e.g. victor firepower or victor performer. Only buy older Victor stuff made in the US.

Personally, I like Airco stuff. It's older now, 'cuz Airco got split up quite awhile ago now, but it was top quality industrial gear and can usually be rebuilt forever. But Harris, Smith and Victor are all top quality companies as long as you buy the stuff they sell to pros.

I would never ever in my life consider buying new torch gear. It's easy to buy whole torch kits with bottles and tons of accessories cheap on CL. I generally buy one about every six weeks, keep whatever I want, sell the torch kit as a lot and sell the bottles as a lot and double my money.

Find the tip chart for your gear. Buy the right tips. Never buy tips from your local welding store unless you bring a liberal smear of KY. Use propane for absolutely all oxyfuel needs except welding steel, for which you still need acetylene. Oxypropane cuts beautifully, you use the same exact regulator and the cutting tips last ten times as long because the propane doesn't pop like acetylene and if something does get into the tip the tip is 2 part so you can slip out the inside and use a dental pick to remove it from a groove. Way WAY easier than trying to poke it out with a tip cleaner.

metalmagpie

[RobSmith]

weldingtipsandtricks.com that will have all the answers.

[A**holes Garage]

Most welding supply stores offer a wide variety of Victor kits.

[pcmeiners]

Victor...
3 years back I purchased the top grade 2 stage Victor regulators/torches/tips on Ebay. Look on Ebay how many parts are available, compared to other manufacturers, especially tips. The quality of the top end Victor equipment (especially older models, but unused) beats everything; tough part Ebay prices are going up .

[Hades12]

check with your LWS to see if you can get Acetyline.

I use a smith cut only torch and love it, but I only cut.

[fourjeepin]

I have my grandfather's Victor and oxygen/propane setup. Local shop rebuilt the torch and it works perfectly. I had considered buying new, but they convinced me that the old Victor stuff is better than anything I could buy new. I have also been considering switching to acetylene, but am glad to hear that propane is preferred for cutting. I have a mig and grandfathers Lincoln stick for welding.

[dr_clyde]

Getting a brand new smith torch is only like $300. I just went that route.

However, if you want to use the old torch, here's what you should look for.

Make sure the torch is what you want. What I mean by that is some torches are strictly cutting torches. Others are the more common torch body with attachments. The latter is preferred because they can cut, weld, braze, solder, and heat. However, if you're just gonna cut scrap, or bevel pipe or scarf welds, a dedicated cutting torch works better.

Harris attachments are only good for Harris torches, victor for victor, ect. Check and see what your local welding supply carries and see what fits you the best. I like smith because they're made in USA and lifetime warranty. Other brands that are good but are harder to find parts for include Meco and Purox.

Make sure there are no leaks between the attachment and the torch body. You want the needle valves to close and open smoothly, all the way, and not stick, especially the oxygen cutting jet lever. Harris torches tend to stick on the jet lever.

Make sure the threads aren't damaged where the attachments screw on, and make sure the cutting tip isn't so f'd up it can't be removed and replaced.

The regulators are the most valuable part of a torch set. They are the most critical part of the torch working safely and properly. There are 2 main kinds of oxy-fuel regulators. Single and dual stage. Single stage regulators are cheaper and reduce the supply pressure to working pressure in one diaphragm. A single stage reg will tend to drop in working pressure as the tank pressure drops. This is usually not a huge deal, because the torch is seldom lit for longer than 10 minutes at a time. The main disadvantage to this style of regulator is the tendency to wear out faster. Guys tend to not use a reg properly and don't back off the pressure before opening the tank, and then fail to open the tank slowly. They crank open the valve and smash 2300 psi onto a single diaphragm and it tries to cram it down to 35 psi in a second. This is hard on even the best regs and it will eventually break the diaphragm, causing the pressure to creep up to dangerous levels when be torch is not lit, but the tanks are open. This is the most common regulator problem. You shouldn't buy any regulator where you are not able to check this, unless you're into paying for them to be rebuilt. Just open the tanks, leave the torch off and watch the low side pressure. If it creeps up over a period of 10 minutes, then the diaphragm is either partially or totally shot, depending on how fast it creeps up. If you set it for 2 psi, it should stay at 2 psi for as long as the tanks are open.

Dual stage regulators are the other type of reg, and are the more expensive of the two. Typically, you will find these in a professional welder's shop, and are usually overkill for a home shop. The use two diaphragms and reduce tank pressure in two stages, as the name implies. These regs are more durable, more accurate, and will keep the set pressure no matter what the tank pressure. The disadvantages are the cost and the size, cost being the greatest. They are larger than single stage, so they're not as portable but that's not a huge deal. They are susceptible to the same problems as a single stage, so check them the same way.

No matter what, install flashback arrestors AT THE REGULATORS not just the torch body. If you slice the torch hose, would you rather stop the tanks or the torch? It makes no sense to to just put them at the torch body.

Don't use coat hangers as welding rod. Pure cheapskate rookie move. Modern metal coat hangers have zinc and other contaminants in them that make welds fail. Go to the welding supply, and ask for R45 oxy acetylene rod. NOT tig rod. They are very different.

Also, never use any oil on an oxy-fuel rig. Pure oxygen lowers the kindling temperature of materials and can cause an explosion if it gets inside a regulator. That's why they say "use no oil".

[drb007]

Dr Clyde....thank you! That was very helpful information!

[Steevo]

My regulators/gauges are Airco and all of my torches are Victor. Real Victor, not late model imported stuff with the Victor name on it. The good quality older Victor torches and cutting heads can be rebuilt forever. Only abuse ruins them.