Acetylene torch advice..

These guys know more about it than me, but I'd be leery of buying anything used. This is one tool where mis-use can do more than shorten the life of the tool, it can kill you. Starving the torch can burn the inside or tips out, overtightening things messes up seals, and you don't want a regulator some moron tried to oil :eek:
I just thought I'd mention this since you mentioned Ebay. Maybe these other guys have had different experience, but from what little I've done I think I'd go ahead and spend the money to get a new set.
 
Matt brings up a great point for the novice. Oil and oxygen are deadly. You will notice that the gauges are clearly marked "Use No Oil". If it was me, I would buy new.

Dana, I am not familiar with Victor's MetalCraft line, but perhaps Walt is. The price looks good if you are just doing some basic cutting, soldering and brazing. If you decide you want to try some gas welding or cut larger stock, you may need a greater variety of tips making some of the larger kits more attractive.
 
Matt does bring up a good point ....but like many safety issues it must be viewed in a reasonable light. I have had many an unpleasant discussion with the people at Airgas about O2 explosions. I agree that oil in the O2 regulator is bad and dangerous. Not explosive. I had one salesman tell me flat out that O2 was explosive and a friction explosion was certain if you got oil in the line or regulator.
I defined explosion and bet him a hundred dollars he was wrong. I guess he thought I couldn't prove it so he took the bet. I went out to the car, got an old (and worn out) yard sale regulator. Gave it a squirt of oil on the torch side.
I didn't use the acetylene tank.

Out in the parking lot I cranked it open....gee no explosion....I opened the torch all the way......no explosion..... To help it along, I lit a match at the torch.....Suprise, the oil flared, burned like crazy and quit as it ran out of oil.

I won the bet, got chewed out by the manager and made my point.
Remember, knife makers are people who make their own burners for forges. I have launched my forge lighting it wrong.

Acetylene/O2 torches should be respected, not feared. Buy used if you want, just check them out and know what your dealing with.
 
The price is about right but you will need to by at least one more tip maybe more, A 000 tip for sure is at least $20 Gib
 
Darren Ellis fired me an email a bit ago and gave me a good source for a good deal on a Victor that he bought.

Here's the link that Darren pointed me to.

http://cgi.ebay.com/ws/eBayISAPI.dll?ViewItem&category=34099&item=3872817462

I took a peek and it looked like a pretty good deal to me.

These Victor Super-Range II outfits are NEW, not used, and not refurbished. They are direct from Victor Equipment.

Here is what is included in this cutting and welding outfit:

*CSRM350 Oxygen Regulator with CGA 540 connection 2" Gauge
*CSRM360 Acetylene Regulator with CGA 510 connection 2" Gauge
*100FC Handle w/built in flashback arrestors & check valves
*CA 1350 Cutting attachment with 90 degree head angle
*0-3-101 Cutting tip
*2-W-1 Welding nozzle
*6MFA-1 HEATING NOZZLE
*Goggles
*Spark Lighter
*25 foot 1/4" Grade "T" hose (for all fuel gases)
*free rosebud tip
*Free shipping

Victor offers a 2 year warranty.
buy now price - $183

Dana
 
Gib Guignard said:
Dana, you will still need a 000 welding tip. Gib
Click to expand...

I agree with Gib if you are going to use it for soldering and brazing small items. The Super Range is a nice rig. The heating tip, called a rosebud, can be a handy thing to have.
 
Dana, this is going to carry the thread a little off the torch, but do you live in a big enough town to have a welding supply for your tanks? When you go to get tanks, ask about a "lifetime lease" versus an outright purchase. It costs about the same, but leasing means that any periodic re-certifcation of the pressure tank is picked up by the dealer. How it works around here is that you drop off the empties and cart away refills immediately. Airgas is the only local supplier. Locally, people who take in tanks the dealer doesn't "own" have found themselves waiting a considerable time to get them filled, and eventually they get pestered about them being "certified". How in the heck that works I don't know, because there's no dating on them that I find. Might be just a con to get you to lease. Nonetheless, it's how I have my tanks and it's been no problem with years sometimes between refills. Just take 'em in and get a full pair.

I hope a couple others will mention how the tank thing works in their locale. :)
 
Replace those goggles with a face shield right off the bat. A welding shield might even work depending on what filter you have. The spatter will mess up a lot more than your eyes.
 
I live in what USED :mad: to be a small town, Monument, CO (just north of the Air Force Academy). Colorado Springs is only about a 20 min drive and they have a couple of good sized welding supply companies.

I will, indeed, as about the life time lease thing (although we are planning to bail in a few years for Northern Idaho :D ).

Thanks a lot guys,
Dana
 
I own all my gas bottles 2 oxy, 2 acet, 2 argon, 1 mix gas for wire welder etc. When I empty a bottle I go to Airgas and it is an exchange of bottles. They take what you have and give you another the same size - owner and rental/lease bottles are different sizes. Think Victor for torches, and I reccomend you get the largest bottles you can if you own the bottles. The little baby bottles will invariably run out on you half way thru the job.
 
Bill, did you get your bottles from Airgas originally, or do they have an Aigas tag on 'em somewhere?

I'm serious when I say that one takes a bottle in for a refill here that isn't theirs and it may sit on the dock for a week or more before it gets filled. They also don't seem to have any differences between leased versus puchased bottles, either, just 5 standard sizes. Do you think it could simply be an obstinacy of the local vendor, or perhaps differences in state laws?? Could there be a difference bewteen what they call "lifetime lease" and a monthly lease? I pay once up front and never again, essentially where "lifetime lease" is equivalent to ownership. I've heard where other places you can rent tanks by the month; I've never checked into that here.
 
Mike, I get my gas from Airgas also. What I had to do was buy a bottle from them. They exchanged it with a full bottle and every time I need gas, they just exchange it. Just like the propane tank exchange. I own whatever bottle I have, it's just never the same one....if that makes any sense.
 
Don, it's beginning to sound like semantics more than any real difference. I think I am not allowed to destroy the tanks but my "lease" is "forever". I get a different tank each time, too. Not a really big difference there I suppose, otherwise.

Thanks.
 
I lease mine I buy a 5year lease
and one of each bottle is rent free. then I just exchange them when needed

I use the bigger Green O2 and the mating Ac and just pay for the gas.

My set is a Century I think? at least that's what the gauges say.
I've had these for about 20years. zip for problems and it was a used set at that..

check out your pawn shops too. :D
one thought one the Boom issue..
I think if you get oil on the High pressure side and it leaks and atomizes from the high pressure
then heats from the escaping pressure to a point of ignition then it just may go Boom
but I'm not trying it :)
I don't think you'll get a problem on the low end other than an accelerated fire...as Don got..
 
Yep Dan is right on the explosion thing. I've recently been shown all the safety videos so I know more about how to kill myself with a torch than I do how to weld with one ;)
They call it heat of recompression. The O2 expands as it comes out of the tank and recompresses as the regulator pushes it back. This raises the temperature. If there is oil or dust or anything present, it can reach kindling temperature and start a fire. If the stuff is like oil and burns explosively under some conditions it goes BOOM. Other times, maybe just the regulator catches on fire. Thats why you purge the valve before you hook up the hose and regulator, and you don't use oil on anything.
 
I have no knowledge about the Victor Metal Craft line. Another thing I would like to point out about using a torch of any type. Check valves (some people call them blowback valves) should be on both hoses before the regulators. It is possible for a torch to become defective internally and for the O2 to bleed back into the Acetylene hose when the O2 prssure is higher than the Acetylene pressure. I had this happen to me one time, but there was an ignition in the hose, blew a hole in the hose, and melted the inside of about an 8' section. The rest of the 60' of the O2 hose had black soot in it. Both hoses had the check valves next to the regulators. The "experts" claimed that the check valves kept the worst part of the heat in the first 8' next to the torch and that had it went into the Acetylene bottle it would have been an explosion. I have seen this argued before about the check valves and believe me it won't take but one time for this to happen to you and it will make you pay attention to what the safety and factory people are trying to tell you.
 
on the Victor SuperRange II and will have him add in the 000 tip as well. The total = $183.24 and this includes shipping. I have not heard back yet to see what the extra tip will cost but I thought I'd better jump on this deal while I could.

I never got this fellas name but he is a great guy to deal with: prompt, polite and eager to please his customers - Welding Supplies for Less.
This was the guy that Darren Ellis was so kind to point me too - Thanks Darren.

Thanks to all - Fitzo, Dan, Gib and ALL!

ONE Last question - is the 000 tip the cutting or welding tip?

Dana
 
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