oxy/propane or oxy/acetylene

[phil shelton]

which do you use oxy/propane or oxy/acetylene when doing work that requires heating quickly and in small spots such a rivets

[welder19]

I switched to propane a while back and I like it better than acetylene, it seems like it heats faster, however it isn't as hot as acetylene, so if you need the higher temp then stick with acteylene.
For me it was a matter of convienence since I have propane crucible furnaces and am building a gas forge, so I have a 100 lb propane bottle and am getting another one, plus if i were to run out on a weekend or any day the welding supply is closed it doesn't put a stop to my job, I can just grab a bottle from the bbq grill or just run out and get more since propane is available just about anywhere.

welder19

[moya034]

I've been told oxy-propane is cheaper then oxy-acetylene. I've also been told oxy-propane uses more oxygen then oxy-acetylene, however the cost in fuel gas savings more then makes up for the extra oxygen used.

That all being said, I've never ran the numbers so I don't know know for myself. I do know that I use oxy-propane at welding school for oxygen cutting and it works very nicely.

Some oxy-propane hoses and tips are on my list of stuff to buy, since I keep alot of propane around my garage anyway.

[meancoyote]

I have both oxy-propane and oxy-acetylene in my shop, they both work. Oxy-propane is cheaper.

[SGropp]

For cutting, I use plasma or oxy/ acc. For small spot heating oxy/ acc. with a#2 or bigger cutting tip. This give better control with less fuel/ oxy consumption than a rosebud.
For big heating I use oxy /propane with a #8 or 10 rosebud on a line from the shop 500 gallon tank with [2] 250 cf Oxy tanks manifolded together. The hose , regulator and tip have to be designed for propane. All torches are set up with Smith Gas Saver shut off valves. The rosebuds are run at less than the recommended oxy pressure to save blowing out the Gas Savers which should not have more than about 25 psi at the inlet. They seem to work just fine.
In the field I use oxy/ Chemtane 2 with propane gear. Chemtane is propane with an additive that increases the flame temp. and cuts the oxygen consumption by half. I get it from Central welding Supply.

[Scratch]

Does anybody use the oxy/gasoline combo for heating? Or is that not as effective for heating, just cutting?

[Buffalo]

I have oxy-acetalyne in my shop, I thought that I would learn to weld with it,but I been able to figure it out. We use oxy-propane at work, and it heats nice for braiding and twisting, rivets, and such. As soon as I run this cylinder of acetalyne out, I am going to switch to propane-oxy, since it is cheaper, and I allready run the forge on it.

[KYBOY]

Ive got both..Act burns hotter but I really dont like it any better for general cutting.If i run out of ACT I can hook up my forge tank, change fixtures and go...You cant weld with propane is about the only real drawback..

[mtforge]

I switched my OA over to propane by changing out my cutting torch tip and replacing the Acet. tank with a 30# propane tank. After I installed a 330 gal tank for the forge and put in a manifold line into the shop for the forge I dropped the 30# tank and hooked straight into the manifold. Cheapest way I've found so far.

[Jan]

A few years back,I have met Bill Epps who told me about certain alternative of this=>propane x compressor burner set.Does know anyone of you gentlemen something about this set up?