used torch, hose, regulators etc

C

cwhittington

Joined
Sep 6, 2002
Messages
106
Howdy- I just went to my buddy's last night and we used his cutting torch to cut up some steel, which I had never done before, and now I gotta have a torch set-up but can't afford a new one. What should I expect to shell out for a used set-up? I know that one might luck out at a garage sale or flea market but I can't count on a steal- or am I wrong?
Thanks!
 
I dunno where you are in the world , but check the price at the weld supply house first, that should tell ya what a used one is worth,they might even have a rebuilt. You'll be buying gas from them anyway.

If you don't know anything about em, I suggest you buy a new one or get your buddy to help you spot problems with a used torch. If the torch has a burned/blue spot onthe tubes below the cutting head, it's gonna need rebuilt.

It has had a flashback, and the seat is probably bad.

Get flash back arrestors for the torch. Check out a welding book from the library on the use of a torch. You can kill yourself with one, it's just good practise to know how to use something.

For eaxmple, oil and or grease and oxy=BOOM
 
I bought a Victor Junior at a pawn shop for about $125. The expence is when you go for the bottles to use it with. The welding supply houses want to rent, lease, or sell you the bottles. I opted to buy mine because Im in this for the long run. I bought the medium sized ones and still spent about $300 plus the $125 for the torch kit. I bought an extra tip the other day for welding nickel silver. It was $27. I know it all sounds high but you can almost always sell them later for about what you paid.
 
How much would a small oxygen tank cost? And is it possible to buy one at a garage sale and get it filled? Also, what would it cost to have a small tank filled vs. a medium size tank?
thanks
 
Picking up a gas bottle/tank somewhere is risky if you want it refilled. You should check first before investing any cash in purchase.

It used to be if you brought a bottle in for refills and the paint job was the same as the ones the gas dealers had, they exchanged it no questions asked. Now they check to see if you have a valid lease or bought the bottle/tank from them, at least in my state.

You can find all this out when you check prices from a welding gas dealer. They all now seem to tack on a flat HazMat fee in addition to the gas. Sometimes that alone makes small bottles not cost effective after a couple of refills.

Buying tanks outright from a dealer has proven problematic for some after time, if they go out of business or you move somewhere else. Its best to have it in writing up front that the dealer will buy the bottle(s) back should they close or you move somewhere they don't provide service.
 
In my experience being a welder I would recomend buying a torch set new. It will probably only be around $130-150 and you will have a warranty that it will all work. Deffinatly chech with a welding supply store on your state laws reguarding tanks before buying one used. The laws vary a great deal from state to state. If you have a good relationship with a store they may choose to bend rules for you, but don't count on it. If you will be doing cutting I would recomend the large sized tanks. Definatly not the small ones as you will blow through them in very short order.

WS
 
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