It's time for a torch. (oxy/acetylene)

[PugetDude]

Another vote for Oxy-Propane. Mine does everything I need, (heating, cutting- just cut a couple of suspension brackets out of 3/8" plate) with the convenience of a propane tank that can be filled anywhere.
(I don't need the Oxy-Acetylene welding capability)
I'd start here, add Acetylene capability later- if or when you need it.. YMMV)

 

[Wabash]

I'll throw in my two cents. I was in a similar situation as yourself. I went a long time without a torch outfit in my shop. Now that I have it I use it much more than I originally expected. I too thought that the idea of buying a portable torch setup would be more than enough for my needs. I thought on it and figured if I'm going to spend the money I might as well get larger tanks. Airgas and Praxair are the 2 major distributors in my local area and the largest tank they would sell was an 80 cubic foot cylinder. They would lease a 125 cu ft, but nothing larger. My local tractor supply store sold oxygen tanks up to 251 cu ft, and acetylene up to 145 cu ft. So they got my business. No leases to deal with and when I empty a tank I take it to tractor supply pay for the fill and swap it for a full one. It's very convenient, and they are open 7 days a week unlike most welding suppliers.

 

[toyotadriver]

I have a Harris torch. I've used Victor and just prefer Harris. But Victor is fine too.

I would go acetylene.

 

[L.Cheapo]

Stopped by the LWS today. The largest O2 cylinder they will sell me is a 60cuft, like my 75/25 tank. The largest acetylene they will sell me is a "B" tank, which I understand is about 40cuft. Anything bigger is a lease/rental, which is silly for someone like me who will rarely use this, although when you need a torch, you need a torch.

They carry extensive selections of Victor, Harris, Smith/Miller, and some no-name Chinese stuff. They have tips/parts in stock for the Victor and Smith.

So going with the 1/7 rule, with a 40cuft "B" acetylene tank, I could get 5.71 cuft flow rate out of it, or say 5 max for safety? Would this be enough for tips to heat nuts/bolts and cut steel up to say 1/2" on a very occasional basis? (1/2" would be max ever, 99% of the time I'd be cutting 5/16" and less)

Are the 60cuft O2 and "B" size acetylene enough to safely operate a setup like this?:
https://www.millerwelds.com/equipme...ium-duty/medium-duty-series-30-outfits-m00256

Sorry for all the questions, and thank you all for your insight.

 

[Farmall450]

I'd get a new smith, don't risk some old one to save a few bucks.
Actually, I am going to get one of those smiths soon.

 

[L.Cheapo]

I'd get a new smith, don't risk some old one to save a few bucks.
Actually, I am going to get one of those smiths soon.

Finding out today that my LWS stocks units, parts, and tips for Smith sealed the deal on one of those. Now its a matter of which one can I run on the B acetylene tank? Cost is really no concern. Safety is #1, however.

 

[sberry]

Find used bottles. This is becoming quite a scheme on behalf of the gas people.

 

[MoonRise]

Oh, there is no 1/7 withdrawal rate 'limit' for propane (or any other 'alternate' fuels).

The 1/7 withdrawal rate limit is ONLY for acetylene.

Just in case I wasn't clear on that.

L-Cheapo,

A 60 cu ft oxygen tank? That really isn't all that big.

+ 1 on checking out a Tractor Supply, if you have one around. Or another LWS.

 

[L.Cheapo]

Oh, there is no 1/7 withdrawal rate 'limit' for propane (or any other 'alternate' fuels).

The 1/7 withdrawal rate limit is ONLY for acetylene.

Just in case I wasn't clear on that.

L-Cheapo,

A 60 cu ft oxygen tank? That really isn't all that big.

+ 1 on checking out a Tractor Supply, if you have one around. Or another LWS.

I understand its only with acetylene, to do with the acetone in the tank. I'd like to stick with acetylene to keep it simple. My 60cuft 75/25 cylinder will probably last me at least a year on my MM211. Nearest TSC is 1:30 round trip. Not a lot of farms in the NYC area.

 

[trackwelder]

I understand its only with acetylene, to do with the acetone in the tank. I'd like to stick with acetylene to keep it simple. My 60cuft 75/25 cylinder will probably last me at least a year on my MM211. Nearest TSC is 1:30 round trip. Not a lot of farms in the NYC area.

I would also go with acetylene. Smith is my personal favorite and I have used all the brands over the years. You might want to gas weld or silver solder some day and will have what you need except the required tank capacity. Most of the LWS shops in my area will swap out bigger bottles if you already have them. Check out craigslist for a used bottle or if you are ever in the capital area I will give you a bottle.

 

[L.Cheapo]

I would also go with acetylene. Smith is my personal favorite and I have used all the brands over the years. You might want to gas weld or silver solder some day and will have what you need except the required tank capacity. Most of the LWS shops in my area will swap out bigger bottles if you already have them. Check out craigslist for a used bottle or if you are ever in the capital area I will give you a bottle.

I asked about upgrading, and they said I could trade the small bottle in on a large bottle anytime and only pay the difference between them. So if the future requires more, I can get more, no issue. Right now, I'm leaning towards the 60cuft O2 and B acetylene, as those are all I can "own" locally.

Thank you for the kind offer!

 

[L.Cheapo]

So I've spent a fair amount of time researching and stopping by the local gas suppliers. The one I usually use will not sell any tanks larger than 60 O2 and 40 acetylene. I'm not renting tanks. They will not refill any cylinders of any size that are not theirs, citing liability. The gas supplier near my work will sell an 80cuft O2 and a 75 acetylene--no bigger. They will also refill cylinders that aren't theirs as long as the hydro test is good.

I'm pretty set on a Smith/Miller set up. Likely this one:
https://www.millerwelds.com/equipme...ium-duty/medium-duty-series-30-outfits-m00256

From this Smith/Miller chart:

...it appears with a 75cuft acetylene tank, using the 1/7 rule, I could safely draw a little over 10cfh out of it, which would run a #3 cutting tip, which would cut up to 2". The setup I'm looking at above includes #0 and #1 cutting tips, which should cut up to 5/8" which is more than I can foresee needing. Though I suppose I could add a #2 just in case?

I'm probably overthinking this, but I would be grateful if someone experienced could verify my line of thinking is correct. Safety is my #1 concern.

Thanks again!

 

[May Pop]

20% off at Zoro today

 

[mark52621]

Propane is safer and cheaper. For portability get longer hoses, say 50 feet, and a good cart.

If you go with acetylene only use it with the bottle vertical. If you lay it on its side for transportation, set it upright for awhile before you use it.

If the flame ever gets a purple tint to it shut it down your burning acetone and close to blowing up.

You should be able to find a local shop that will exchange any bottle, as long as you have proof of ownership. Call a couple scrap dealers, they should point you in the right direction. In fact one of my local scrappers sells torches because of all the calls he gets.

 

[driz]

20% off at Zoro today

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[Know Wosad]

Oxy propane is a goofy concept. It triples the oxy use, is useless for welding or brazing.
I never understood it. Victor is another China sellout.
Get a Smith set( or old used Victor) and don't be afeared of acetylene....or cholesterol. LOL

 

[driz]

You know another thing you can do if you cut mostly and weld with it very occasionally is get a small bottle of acetylene and just use a barbecue bottle of propane for all your other work. That's what I ended up having after buying a small set and getting tired of being robbed blind by these outfits after they bought put all of mom and pops out of business around here. I have a little tank that's 3 feet tall I can't remember the size it must be like 20. All I do is use it on that rare rare occasion when I might have to bottle weld or cut something really tough. everything else gets the propane. If I've got something like an exhaust and it's messy and I got to weld it. on I'll even use The cutting rig. I just use the cutting torch like a mechanic showed me how one day. I know it's not hot enough but it works it works pretty darn well considering .
Another thing I see is somebody mentioning smaller or midsize Victor torches I have a journeyman set and I hate it because it's just too small my hands and wrists keep hitting the Dials. I finally found myself really nice old 70s craftsman Harris set that a guy had on craigslist and I much prefer it and parts are all over if I need them. Best of all they don't hit my wrist and change the settings on the dials like that Victor journey set. It's just too small even for a guy with small medium size hands. Merry Christmas......



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[Know Wosad]

LP is actually hotter (BTU scale) and could really be handy for heating and bending with a cost savings there. I have LP tips and rosebuds. I don't have time to save $20//////YET

 

[b_bueno]

Lincoln plasma Pro-55 is my go to in the garage.

 

[jrcampbe]

I just went through all this a year ago.

For a home shop, a "medium duty" torch setup like the Victor Journeyman is overkill. What you want is an "airline torch", which is a lightweight torch of the type that used to be used to weld aluminum airframes. These torches have the valves up ahead of the handle, which is very convenient.

Most airliner torches aren't made anymore, except for the excellent Smith AW1A torch and a couple other obscure ones. Unfortunately, you can usually only find this torch handle as part of an HVAC setup that includes the worthless little "burglar bottles" and regulators. That's ok, you don't need to use them.

The Smith AW1A has a cutting attachment available that turns it into a nice little cutting torch that will cut up to 6" thick. Cutting is an oxidation process. The acetylene or propane heats the metal to red hot, then when you squeeze the lever an abundance of oxygen is added to rapidly "rust" the steel. In theory, you could turn off the acetylene and just run pure oxygen after the reaction starts. All this to say, cutting doesn't use that much fuel gas, it uses lots of oxygen.

You need the following equipment:

1. Torch handle
2. Tips for what you want to do (I bought 5-6 welding tips in a range of sizes, a small heating "rosebud" tip, and the cutting attachment with the smallest tip I could get.)
3. The cutting attachment
4. Flashback arrestors and check valves for both the torch side and the regulator side of the hoses.
5. Regulators (one of the regulators with the HVAC set will work with larger bottles and one won't)
6. Hose
7. Sparker
8. Gas bottles

The little AW1A uses the smaller "B" size fittings. You can go to Tin Man Tech website and buy a length of his ultra flexible black twin hose and adapters. Put the regulators and a 25' or 50' length of standar sized "twin hose" on the larger bottles and buy adapters from TM Tech to adapt down to the small gauge hose that connects to small B size flashback arrestors that you connect to the torch body.

Acetylene is more expensive than propane, but you can weld with it. The reason for this is that when it burns, acetylene produces a plume of CO2 that acts as a shielding gas. Propane doesn't do this. Get acetylene so you can weld with it if you want to. Gas welding is super fun. You won't use it much, so get the acetylene setup.

Acetylene is some dangerous ****. And so is oxygen. NEVER transport these bottles in an enclosed vehicle like a trunk or van. ALWAYS use the valve covers unless they are chained to a wall or a properly sturdy torch cart. Don't be careless with this stuff.

Watch the Steve Bleile video on YouTube about gas welding that has a good safety how to on torch operation.

All in you're $500-600 for all the stuff new, plus bottles and gas. I bought off zori on a flash sale.

Try Airgas. They will sell you anything and have always been great to work with.

Hope this helps.

Jim