Torch Tip Question

[will-max dairy]

PS... you can still use propane to cut a bearing off a shaft cleanly... but not if your tip is outright howling from all the oxygen and fuel going through it. Just dial fuel and oxygen back to a sane setting.

 

[kencombs]

PS... you can still use propane to cut a bearing off a shaft cleanly... but not if your tip is outright howling from all the oxygen and fuel going through it. Just dial fuel and oxygen back to a sane setting.

Glad you added that, as I've done that with propane, a lot! And yep, it uses a lot of O2, but that is much cheaper than less O2 AND acetylene.

 

[will-max dairy]

Glad you added that, as I've done that with propane, a lot! And yep, it uses a lot of O2, but that is much cheaper than less O2 AND acetylene.

Yeah... it's just easy (for me anyway) to get a little wild with the torch settings themselves with the propane tip.

With the size tips that I use, for propane or acetylene, once adjusted for neutral flame, you're "supposed" to hold the tip an inch or so from a scrap piece and see a nice clean cross shape maybe a couple inches in diameter. That tells you that you are running about the recommended level of fuel/oxygen for the tip size. (note that I'm talking about the two little knobs on the torch here... this entire conversation is taking place assuming that my regulators are set properly to the 40PSI oxy and 8PSI propane that my propane tip needs)

I almost never do the little "cross test" anymore.. and mostly just crack the fuel a "little"... light it... and add oxygen until it's neutral.

In windy conditions, especially if my flame's getting blown out during lighting... I get a little overzealous with the propane, so it stays lit long enough to adjust the oxygen... and sometimes, I just run with what I have, once the flame is neutral... and that's when the "howlin' flame" occurs. lol.

The same levels of oxygen would just plain blow out acetylene, or reduce it to little blue triangles...which would force you to cut back... just a leeeetle bit...

 

[caterpillar guy]

I don't know about the howling but I know some times I get it set so it cuts like nobodye business and other times it seems to take for ever to get hot enough to melt it to cut. I figure it is my setting. I use a #2 tip with about 40-60 oxygen and enough propane to make it work. I like to see it blow out and not just bugger up on the back side. I try to adjust to the job heating or cutting and the size of the material I'm working on. Be it a bearing or a plate. It doesn't matter if there is rust or not as long as it is not scale thick rust that cakes on the surface. then it will blow out under it in any direction. I try to get all of that knocked off when cutting also. Don't remember if I tried welding with it or not. Usually just use the welder for that.

 

[will-max dairy]

I don't know about the howling but I know some times I get it set so it cuts like nobodye business and other times it seems to take for ever to get hot enough to melt it to cut. I figure it is my setting. I use a #2 tip with about 40-60 oxygen and enough propane to make it work. I like to see it blow out and not just bugger up on the back side. I try to adjust to the job heating or cutting and the size of the material I'm working on. Be it a bearing or a plate. It doesn't matter if there is rust or not as long as it is not scale thick rust that cakes on the surface. then it will blow out under it in any direction. I try to get all of that knocked off when cutting also. Don't remember if I tried welding with it or not. Usually just use the welder for that.

I know what you mean.

What I do when it seems to run colder than I remember... is look at my propane regulator. I've mentioned ad nauseam that I set mine to 8PSI. With a fresh tank... 8PSI... is 8PSI; whether the torch is on or off. But then, if you crack the propane valve on the torch and you see the regulator read... say 6PSI... what that means is maybe your propane tank is getting down a little. It's still got propane... but the tank's internal pressure isn't far enough above 8PSI to keep your regulator... regulated...when that happens, I re-set the regulator with the propane turned on a little at the torch... so that it reads 8PSI while running...and it will usually read something like 10PSI with the torch completely off.

Usually, that gets me back to good, until the tank actually runs out... which is often quite a while later. I'm amazed how long a BBQ grill tank of propane lasts, compared to a tank of acetylene.

 

[caterpillar guy]

I use 100's on mine change one about once a year. Oxygen is the bigger bottle also about 4-5 feet tall and about 8or 10 inches in diameter. Never did learn those volumes. I know it is in cubic fet or something like that. Compressed to about 2000PSI. would be a rocket if the valve was broke off.

 

[da.bees]

After hearing what works for one doesn't for another I believe it's safe to say the problems have more to do with user than gas. Like many others I keep acetylene on hand but rarely use it. I use one size smaller than recommended tip and more ox pressure for cutting. I set propane flame as much by sound as by sight, just as it begins to sound like a jet engine for primary flame. If you lose the cut and have to start over you are doing something wrong. Could be lack of ox pressure,could be moveing too fast,dirty tip or something and that something IS NOT fuel related. Once it starts cutting oxygen does all the work from there on. Look at chart for your tip and set regulators accordingly. Open ox valve on handle all the way open then set flame with valve on cutting head. I'm no expert plus I'm 80 so when I need cut to be as straight and clean as possible I use a piece of angle iron for a guide. I keep pieces of angle on cart in different widths so I can choose one that not only keeps me straight, resting tip nut on angle holds tip proper distance from work start to finish. That's two less things to think about while cutting, try it. If you aren't pleased with your torch work swallow your vanity and ask someone that is good to look over your shoulder and tell you why.

 

[m16ty]

We do a lot of scrap at my day job. Y’all have about got me talked into switching to propane on scrap. The only issue I see is O2 use. All of our scrap cutting in in the field, and right now a big bottle of O2 will last about a day. It could run into a logistics issue with us, because I fear that if we switch to propane we will have to carry 2 bottles of O2 to the job each day instead of just 1. That in turn might cause us to have to rent more O2 bottles also, so we would have full bottles to carry to the job the next day.

 

[moresmoke]

We do a lot of scrap at my day job. Y’all have about got me talked into switching to propane on scrap. The only issue I see is O2 use. All of our scrap cutting in in the field, and right now a big bottle of O2 will last about a day. It could run into a logistics issue with us, because I fear that if we switch to propane we will have to carry 2 bottles of O2 to the job each day instead of just 1. That in turn might cause us to have to rent more O2 bottles also, so we would have full bottles to carry to the job the next day.

Most of the high volume scrap cutters I have been around use liquid oxygen. And propane.

 

[m16ty]

Most of the high volume scrap cutters I have been around use liquid oxygen. And propane.

Yes, but they are usually working at the scrap yard. I might give propane a try and see how it works out.
We aren’t usually completely cutting stuff up, usually just getting it small enough to be able to get it loaded on a truck.

 

[kencombs]

Yes, but they are usually working at the scrap yard. I might give propane a try and see how it works out.
We aren’t usually completely cutting stuff up, usually just getting it small enough to be able to get it loaded on a truck.

The first time we used propane was a similar deal. Very soon after Dad decided to go into the auto salvage, just working to get some money coming in, he bought a huge lot of old car transporters. Trailers, early 50s truck tractors. We started cutting them up to scrap using Ox/Ac, Lots of gas costs even at early 60s pricing. Switched to propane, burned more O2 of course but propane cost was almost nothing compared to Ac.

Never looked back. I was only 18-19 at the time, helping Dad on my days off from my normal job, but learned quickly how much business success depends on what you spend, not necessarily what you bring in.

Never did a lot of heavy scrapping after the first year or two, lots more money in good parts.