OXY PROPANE

[Firebird]

Hi

I was brought up with oxy/acetylene, 40 years or so, so I'm used to handling the high temperatures available. For many years I had a BOC portapak in my home workshop. While propane is perfectly alright for most of the tasks in model engineering the pinpoint flame of oxy/acet is really usefull. You can get into a tight space to silver solder a bush without heating up the whole boiler again. Recently though the cost of keeping oxy/acet at home has rocketed out of all proportion. The rental on the bottles is astronomical let alone the cost of the gas. So it was I gave up my portapak outfit and sold it on ebay. With the cash generated I bought one of these.



Great bit of kit. Not quite upto the high temps of oxy/acet but it is possible to weld thin sheet steel. For silver soldering jobs its brilliant, insant heat right where its needed. Ok thats the pros now the cons. The disposable bottles don,t last too long and are not that cheap. I buy 2 x oxygen bottles and 1 x gas for around £45.00. You need 2 oxygen bottles to every gas bottle.

Propane on the other hand is as cheap as chips so I have invested in a 10ltr oxygen bottle. I have gone for the rent free type. You pay an initial deposit of around £60.00 and thats for life. Its fully refundable any time you want to hand it back in. The oxygen is around £35.00.

Afew bits ordered off ebay.  2 x  3mtr lengths of gas hose, red for propane and blue for oxygen £11.00



A few 3/8 BSP and 1/4 BSP fittings £10.00



Some crimp type hose clips £6.00



Make up the hoses



Take the gun off the small kit



Connect up



Works great.

While cruising ebay I came across a small torch called the Little Smith. Quite expensive but searching a little further I came across what appears to be the identical thing from our friends in China





The connections are 9/16" UNF????? Possibly american standard???? Any the have to be chopped off and some 1/4 BSP fitted. I had to chop down some tails, make up some brass tails and silver solder them in.





The little torch is really good with a very fine pinpoint flame. Once again very high temps are achievable, enough to melt brass easily.

Hope you find this usefull

Cheers

Rich

[Steamer5]

Hi Rich,
 Nice looking bits of kit!
Sounds like the cost of Acetylene round the world is heading sky ward! Happened here to. Getting your own bottles filled here is getting harder & harder.

Cheers Kerrin

[10KPete]

I love my Tiny Torch!!  I have O/A, full size, but have found I need a big propane also. I like your P/O set up.....

Pete

[b.lindsey]

I love mine too Pete, and somewhere along the line acquired ownership of the two small O and A tanks ( I forget their size nomenclature but they are the sized used by most HVAC repair guys... meaning portable). I haven't had to fill them in a year or more so don't know where local prices are currently, but the local guys will usually work with you especially if you take a model and show them what you are doing. I still find it more economical that the single use tanks and no more soldering than I do a filling will easily last 1-2 years. It used to be that even in larger sizes you could "buy" the tanks and just exchange them as needed. Recent changes in regulations now require renting them which adds a lot to the cost for hobbyists. Not sure it that applies to the portable sizes or not but thus far haven't had any problems exchanging them for full ones. I should probably stop by the local gas supplier and ask one of these days.

Bill

[Flyboy Jim]

I love mine too Pete, and somewhere along the line acquired ownership of the two small O and A tanks ( I forget their size nomenclature but they are the sized used by most HVAC repair guys... meaning portable). I haven't had to fill them in a year or more so don't know where local prices are currently, but the local guys will usually work with you especially if you take a model and show them what you are doing. I still find it more economical that the single use tanks and no more soldering than I do a filling will easily last 1-2 years. It used to be that even in larger sizes you could "buy" the tanks and just exchange them as needed. Recent changes in regulations now require renting them which adds a lot to the cost for hobbyists. Not sure it that applies to the portable sizes or not but thus far haven't had any problems exchanging them for full ones. I should probably stop by the local gas supplier and ask one of these days.

Bill

I own my tanks. When I got my Smith Little Torch a couple of months ago, I took my empty acetylene tank in and exchanged it for a full one. Had to pay extra, since mine was out of date, but the one I got in exchange had just been tested, so am good for a while.

Jim

[Jo]

Nice, Rich do you have the link to the one from China 

Jo

[fumopuc]

Nice, Rich do you have the link to the one from China 

Jo

http://www.ebay.de/itm/Jewelry-Jewelers-Micro-Mini-Gas-Little-Torch-Welding-Soldering-kit-5-tips-/191769625202?hash=item2ca65c4272:g:XGwAAOSwCQNWgfwi
or luxury version from BG
http://www.ebay.de/itm/The-Little-Torch-Smith-with-EURO-FITTINGS-Gift-/162333683945?hash=item25cbd770e9:g:xloAAOSw9GhYX~wa

Happy New Year.

[Jo]

Thanks Achim, thanks to your link I found it at the UK Fleabay 

http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/Jewelers-Universal-Micro-Mini-Gas-Little-Torch-Welding-Soldering-Kit-5-Tips/162266370521?_trksid=p2047675.c100005.m1851&_trkparms=aid%3D222007%26algo%3DSIC.MBE%26ao%3D2%26asc%3D38661%26meid%3D0c0aa7d98e5b4bc4a7f62c69c0cfadfa%26pid%3D100005%26rk%3D1%26rkt%3D6%26sd%3D272382881713

I wonder if the import duty man will catch it 

Jo

[Firebird]

Hi Jo

Yes thats the one, looks the same as mine. I ordered 2, one for Julian as well. They were delivered no problem.

I paid £33.00 each for ours!!!!!  So less than £20.00 is a real bargain, go for it. The tails and connections look the same as well 9/16" UNF LHT & RHT which might be the standard in Japan/China? so you will have to change them. I chopped mine off and made new ones, see above post, but it has just occurred to me you might be able to use the existing tails and just change the nuts to 3/8 BSP

Cheers

Rich

[fumopuc]

Thanks Achim, thanks to your link I found it at the UK Fleabay 

http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/Jewelers-Universal-Micro-Mini-Gas-Little-Torch-Welding-Soldering-Kit-5-Tips/162266370521?_trksid=p2047675.c100005.m1851&_trkparms=aid%3D222007%26algo%3DSIC.MBE%26ao%3D2%26asc%3D38661%26meid%3D0c0aa7d98e5b4bc4a7f62c69c0cfadfa%26pid%3D100005%26rk%3D1%26rkt%3D6%26sd%3D272382881713

I wonder if the import duty man will catch it 

Jo

If this will happen in Germany, J have to pick it up at a special post Office by paying 19% VAT.
In this case sure not a disaster.

[Jasonb]

Rich, what did you do about regulators / gauges for the new larger bottles? I assume the throw away can ones don't fit.

[Firebird]

Hi Jason

I had to buy an oxygen gauge. I am sure I have one somewhere but can't find it £20.00 off ebay for a new one
I already have 2 propane bottles 3.5 kg the small ones. So I only needed to buy 1 regulator, I got one with a gauge £14.00 off ebay.
I have also ordered 2 Y connectors, one oxygen and one propane with seperate taps so that I can have them all permanently connected. I'll show those when they arrive. There is a bit of expense in setting up but will be worth it I hope

Cheers

Rich

[Noitoen]

If you can buy some calcium carbide, you can still make a small reactor to produce usable acetylene like in the old days.

[Bertie_Bassett]

looks like a nice little setup, i could do with something like that myself 

do you have flashback arrestors in the lines?

[Firebird]

Hi

I haven't heard of that one Noitoen I'll have to look it up.

Bertie. no I haven't fitted flash back arrestors. Depending on who you talk to some say fit them and some say they are not necessary on this type of set up.

Cheers

Rich