Oxy Acetylene gear?

[Karn3]

(I hope this the right place to post this. I couldn't see anywhere obvious that it fit in.)

 

Hi all!

 

I'm looking to get hold of some oxy acetylene gear for spot heating stuff and a bunch of other extremely useful things. The trouble is, I don;t really know that much about them. What sort of kit do I need for just heating metal? How much should I expect to pay? How much is gas? etc. Any help would be greatly appreciated :)

 

[njanvilman]

Please get some instruction on how to set up the equipment, check for leaks, and proper SAFE use.  O/A is great to use with its hot flame, but can also be a disaster waiting to happen.  Do not just assume you know what you are doing unless you get proper instruction.

[Glenn]

Do a search on the site for Ox/Ac dangers. Boom is only good if you wake up in the hospital the they can tell you how loud it was and how far away it broke windows and shook houses.

 

 2nd what njanvilman said.

[SoCal Dave]

Both posts above a correct and should be followed.  After getting some instruction on how to weld with a O/A setup, find a welding supply near you and ask them about prices. Good luck

[Frosty]

Get instruction, as in take a class. The folk at the welding supply will be happy to recommend one to you and may teach safe handling and use of their welding equipment.

 

Buy new equipment, you have to know what you're doing and looking at to safely buy used. A compete torch set isn't enough more than buying bits and pieces, just get the kit. Heck, it's probably more expensive to buy just a couple tips with the rest of the set.

 

Oxy propane may do you well and propane is much less expensive and is available most anywhere. At least here this side of the pond.

 

Frosty The Lucky.

[John McPherson]

A class at the local community college*** (or local equivalent) is money well spent. How *not* to kill yourself with industrial tools is good to know. Lessons by folks with *decades* of experience is a plus.

 

***Disclaimer: I do this for a living. I have taught how not to die with tools for a while.

[Greenbeast]

As above oxy/propane may do you fine, no welding but it can heat and cut fine, propane much more available

[Yellow Hammer]

I can help you if you need information. I teach Mechanical Maintenance class. I have lesson plans on OX-Ace classes with all the latest OSHA and approved information on the subject from Weld Star one of the suppliers of welding equipment. The lesson plan is about 95 pages long and I would be happy to send it to you if you send me a self addressed and postage paid padded envelope.I would put $3.25 in stamps for the weight of the copies. The pages are 8 1/2 by 11 so get a padded envelope large enough to handle that.  
PM me

[Mike Romo]

I run a Harris oxy/propane setup for cutting and heating.  It works great and the same fuel for my forge and my torch keep me from having one more thing to deal with.

 

I used it yesterday to cut some 1/2" plate and it worked like a champ.

[Karn3]

Thanks for all the advice and cautions. I will definitely get some proper tuition on safety for it, and I will go for a new kit rather than the used kits I was looking at. A few people have recommended propane instead of acetylene, does this require any different gear or does it just use the same stuff?

 

 

I can help you if you need information. I teach Mechanical Maintenence class. I have lesson plans on OX-Ace classes with all the latest OSHA and approved information on the subject from Weld Star one of the suppliers of welding equipment. The lesson plan is about 95 pages long and I would be happy to send it to you if you send my a self addressed and postage paid padded enevelope.I would put $3.25 in stamps for the weight of the copies. The pages are 8 1/2 by 11 so get a padded envelope large enought to handle that.  

PM me

 

That is a very generous offer, but I live in the UK so that will jack the price of postage up a bit. Is there a digital version you can email me or link me to?

[Greenbeast]

different hoses because i think propane eats away at standard hoses

 

but you'll easily find a good propane set, that's what i did bought a kit with torch, hoses, nozzles, gloves, all sorts

[beammeupscotty]

Thanks for all the advice and cautions. I will definitely get some proper tuition on safety for it, and I will go for a new kit rather than the used kits I was looking at. A few people have recommended propane instead of acetylene, does this require any different gear or does it just use the same stuff?

 

 

 

That is a very generous offer, but I live in the UK so that will jack the price of postage up a bit. Is there a digital version you can email me or link me to?

Oxy/Propane is certainly the less expensive option, at least here in the U.S.A., but I don't use it myself because as has been mentioned in this thread, you cannot weld with it and I do a fair amount of gas welding in my shop.  I gas weld rather than MIG (though I have and use a MIG too) because it is easy to hide or blend a gas weld in to a piece of work, much more so than with a MIG weld. 

[DSW]

Gas fittings are going to be a bit different for you in the UK vs those we use here. In the US, you may or may not need to change the fitting on the reg depending on the style valve on your acetylene cylinder.  In the US there are two "standard" fuel gas fittings used on large acetylene cylinders. The one will work on standard propane cylinders, the other will not. The other thing is that most acetylene regs won't go as high on the output side as the propane regs will. You can use an Acetylene reg at pressures up to about 15 to 20 psi, ( the red zone on an acet reg is 15 psi or higher) on propane with no issues. You need to watch though if you use a propane reg on acetylene since acetylene is unstable above 15 PSI. (I'm not even going to try and convert to bar in metric...)

 

 

 

 

As far as used... I'd have no issues buying a used rig from someone who keeps his gear in good shape, especially if I know them. Dirty gear or gear of questionable origin, I'd send out for rebuild. I'd weigh the cost of used with rebuild vs the cost of just buying new and see what makes the most sense.  It's not the acetylene that would concern me, it's the O2 side. O2 and oil/grease do not play well together. In fact just about everything can combust in the presence of high pressure O2 under the right conditions. You don't even need a heat source to start the fire as in some cases like oil, simply the force of compression of HP O2 hitting the oil is enough to light up your world.

 

 

If you want to see what can happen when things go bad with 100% O2, take a look at this thread.

 

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[Eddie Mullins]

I am also looking to buy my first torch mainly for localized heating. I am leaning toward oxy propane and have actually found a used set with oxygen AND propane bottles for $200 locally. I'm not sure I can passi it up for the price even if it needs to be rebuilt, but as long as its in good working order with no leaks, what would be the need for a rebuild? Don't want to derail this thread, maybe I should start another...

[DSW]

Best thing to do is send them out for rebuild. Regs aren't hard to do, but cleaning for use with high pressure oxygen require certain  specific processes to eliminate all contaminants and oils. Even the oils from your hands can cause issues. Also it's critical that you use O2 safe or compatible lubricatnts and parts.  I've been trained in 100% O2 service procedures for scuba gear  and rebuilt tons of scuba regs for 100% O2, and I wouldn't even bother to do a rebuild on my own O2 reg even though I've got all the proper equipment. It's simply not worth the hassle for what it costs to have someone else do it. If you want to play around a rebuild a reg, stick to inert gas regs for mig or tig and don't screw around with fuel gasses or O2 regs.

 

You can probably have your local welding shop send the torch and regs out for rebuild. I've dealt with these guys in the past and had good experience with them. I know quite a few others that have also been very happy with their work. They also won't BS you. Some regs simply aren't worth the money to rebuild. You can buy a new one for less money and these guys will tell you that up front. They also have parts for a wide variety of older torches and regs. If they don't have them or don't know where to get them, you are out of luck.

 

http://www.regulatortorchrepair.com/repairservices.php

 

 

 

 

$200 sounds fair depending on the cylinder size for decent used gear.

[Eddie Mullins]

Heres a couple of pics

[DSW]

O2 reg looks like one of the cheap import ones. Not worth a rebuild. It's cheaper to buy another one. Fuel gas reg I can't identify from the pict. I'm not a big fan of the adapter and hose barb connection myself. I'd change that out to the correct fitting and ferule or better yet ditch that old hose and buy a new one. That one looks pretty stiff and dry rotted from what I can see. Cylinder is at least 100cf or larger. If it's over 150 cf though you may have issues getting it swapped out at some locations. Many places consider large cylinders leased or rentals and won't swap cylinders unless it comes from them. Torch looks decent, but I can't identify it from what little is in the pict. It doesn't look like my little Victor, my Airco or Purox though. I'm tempted to say it looks a bit like my Harris, but I haven't had that one dug out for quite a while. 20 lb propane cylinders around me are easy to find free if you look on trash day when people ditch their old grills at the beginning of the season. Township building usually has a small pile home owners leave there because the trash guys won't take them.

 

 

If you can exchange the O2 cylinder it's probably a fair deal.

[Karn3]

And the useful information continues to flow. Looks like I've got a lot of reading to do, and I'm going to see if there is anywhere that does courses in my area. Thank you for all the advice, it is much appreciated!

[DSW]

I don't know about the UK, but here in the US some community colleges and many high school votech schools run night classes that teach basic welding. Almost all of them at least cover the basics of oxy fuel cutting and most are willing to go into deeper depth with a student if they are interested. Finding a class that teaches Oxyfuel welding is tougher. A lot of HVAC and plumbing classes include torch brazing and soldering, but welding is some what of a dieing art. However in the US, a lot of home built aircraft guys use OA to weld up their frames. The Experimental Aircraft Association (EAA) is another good place to look for help learning to weld with OA. I know at their fly-in at Oshkosh Wi they usually do workshops on OA welding and brazing. I'd bet you guys have a similar organization over there.

 

 

I'll also add this. Here's a decent thread that can help guys learn to cut better with OA..

 

http://weldingweb.com/showthread.php?63275-How-to-use-a-cutting-torch

 

Wayne did some great videos as part of the thread. He's got the videos scattered thru the thread unfortunately so you sort of have to wade thru it to find them. I think all in all he did about 20 or 30 videos for that thread talking about how to adjust the torch and make clean cuts. If you go to his youtube site you can locate the videos a bit easier. I pulled up just one for reference.

 

[Gazz]

I got a set of gauges and torches for high school graduation some 40+ years ago.  I went to the local welding supply place (actually they were just a gas supplier and bought a set of oxy/acet bottles.  I had never used anything like it before so I  read some books and talked to a couple of folks at the welding supply place and then lit them up.  It's not rocket science, is easy to do and I pretty much taught myself.  I'm still at it and added a propane bottle to the mix and use that just for heating and plasma torch does most of the cutting today.  Don't freak yourself out about it.

[bvbaird]

Spend the extra money and buy your bottles.  Renting will usually cost more in the long run.  I like the Victor sets and they will run around $200 for the complete set not counting the bottles.  It's been along time since I bought my bottles and don't recall the price of them.  Your local welding supply store can set you up with everything you need.  Check your big hardware stores for some complete kits and you might find some deals.  Don't skimp on your regulators because I believe them to be the heart of the operation. Another great thing about having an oxy acetylene rig is oxygen is great for hangovers.