JHCC Posted March 14 Author Share Posted March 14 Uniweld makes an interesting variety of torches and tips (both cutting and brazing) that it claims can be used with acetylene, propane, propylene, and natural gas. Not sure if any of them would work with the Victor torch (or even if I would need one to), but interesting to know it's out there. Quote Link to post Share on other sites
Frosty Posted March 14 Share Posted March 14 Do any of them claim you can switch fuel gasses in the same torch? Frosty The Lucky. Quote Link to post Share on other sites
JHCC Posted March 14 Author Share Posted March 14 A little hard to figure out. The website images of the torch bodies show packaging printed with “For most fuel gases”, and a lot of the tips similarly are labeled or “For oxyacetylene, propane, MAPP/propylene, hydrogen, and natural gas”. I might try giving them a call. Quote Link to post Share on other sites
Frosty Posted March 14 Share Posted March 14 I had to give up on the Uniweld site, no nuts and bolts info just lots of pictures. I'm thinking a call is in order. Their cutting torches appear to be handle and head in one piece. I haven't used a purpose made cutting torch but I don't work in a scrap yard so I don't have an negative opinion. Heck, I don't have an opinion. Just don't mix fuel gasses. Frosty The Lucky. Quote Link to post Share on other sites
JHCC Posted March 30 Author Share Posted March 30 Well, I've ordered the Victor Medalist 250 (a recent customer having decided to add an extra $100 to the balance for the hatchet I made him) and plan to be getting a 20 cubic foot oxygen cylinder from Airgas. Now the question becomes, do I buy a cylinder ($80, including the initial fill) or do I rent it ($78/year) in case I want to upgrade to a bigger one later? Quote Link to post Share on other sites
arkie Posted March 30 Share Posted March 30 If you are confused about owning or leasing a cylinder, it varies widely from the various bottle gas companies/LWS's and mergers of same. It can be a nightmare in some markets. If you want an indepth appraisal of the pros and cons, go over to weldingweb.com and do a search among the probable hundreds of posts on the own/lease controversy...do your homework and inquire among the bottle gas suppliers where you might be obtaining your gas. Some will fill owner bottles, others will handle lease-only bottles. And some are also restrictive on bottle sizes they will service. Quote Link to post Share on other sites
JHCC Posted March 30 Author Share Posted March 30 Thanks for the tip, arkie. I knew I wasn't the first to have this dilemma! Quote Link to post Share on other sites
JHCC Posted April 6 Author Share Posted April 6 An interesting tidbit: Cyberweld's site says that the WH411-C (0382-0355) Torch Handle that comes with the Medalist 250 outfit can be used for brazing with the addition of the Victor RTEN (0323-0284) nozzle. This is a couple of hundred bucks, comes with a #6 tip, and has tips from 00 to 8 available for about $15-20 each. Probably not something I want to invest in at present (I suspect I'd get more use from a gas saver right now), but good info for the future. Quote Link to post Share on other sites
teenylittlemetalguy Posted April 6 Share Posted April 6 (edited) That is the one that made me rethink using mine for brazing small items. You could get a Meco Midget for about the same price and for little stuff that Meco is very nice as it weighs next to nothing. Edited April 6 by Mod30 Excessive quoting Quote Link to post Share on other sites
JHCC Posted April 6 Author Share Posted April 6 The Meco Midget is oxyacetylene, though, right? Quote Link to post Share on other sites
teenylittlemetalguy Posted April 6 Share Posted April 6 (edited) The Meco is a really cool old torch, they used them during the war with hydrogen to make airplanes. You can get propane tips. Look up TM Tech online. It is a really cool site with a lot of sheet metal tools and information available. He has the propane tips as well as the torch. Edited April 6 by Mod30 Excessive quoting Quote Link to post Share on other sites
JHCC Posted April 6 Author Share Posted April 6 Noted. Many thanks. Quote Link to post Share on other sites
JHCC Posted Saturday at 01:49 AM Author Share Posted Saturday at 01:49 AM Having picked up another order and thus with some more cash coming, I'm thinking about getting a gas saver to go with the oxy-propane rig. I see one from Smith that's currently retailing for about $175 and another from Gentec that goes for about $100. Clearly, the Gentec would be preferable from a price point of view. My question is this: the Gentec's maximum fuel gas pressure is 22 psi, while the maximum rated pressure on the G250 regulator is 60 psi. However, everything I've seen so far about the setup for oxy-propane has given 10 psi as the initial setting on the propane regulator, and I can't find anything on Victor's tip selection charts with a working gas pressure of higher than about 16 psi. If I'm correct in assuming that the 22 psi is still less than maximum *working* pressure I'll be using, is the Gentec still going to be okay? Quote Link to post Share on other sites
JHCC Posted Saturday at 11:27 PM Author Share Posted Saturday at 11:27 PM Another question that arises is the cart to carry all this gear. I know that a lot of folks use what's basically a modified hand cart, but I'm thinking of building something on top of a small metal dolly frame I picked up at HGR. I figure there's plenty of room for the bottles, and it should be plenty stable, especially if I add some kind of wheel lock to keep it from rolling around. So, is it acceptable to have the gas saver/torch stand be part of welding cart, or is there some minimum distance one should be keeping the bottles from the torch's open flame? Quote Link to post Share on other sites
JHCC Posted 1 hour ago Author Share Posted 1 hour ago Interesting info: the full catalog of Victor cutting tools is available on the ESAB website with searchable text, so I've been able to find some very interesting items by searching it for "propane". Lots of charts with pressure ratings and so forth -- very good resource. Just do a websearch for "Victor gas equipment" + "pdf". Quote Link to post Share on other sites
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