Thread: LPG heating torches

Originally Posted by Ueee

Thats an interesting thought, i was going to go to LPG oxy when my current acet bottle ran out...

Ewan, I've had an oxy/LPG set for over 30 years. It really is a poor man's oxy/acet. The flame has nowhere near the heat of acetylene. You can't fusion weld with it and brazing steel more than about 3mm thick is slow. I've taken to using a cutting tip for brazing to get enough heat into the job. Where Oxy/LPG excels is in cutting steel as you don't need the advantages that acetylene gives for cutting. If you do a bit of cutting then LPG may be the go for you.

If you were planning to re-use your acet welding tips forget it- they won't work with LPG as the LPG ones have a small flare in the end.

I'm the opposite to you. I'm actually considering upgrading to acetylene. It is expensive though and it may be more economical to just get a cheap MIG for welding steel.

Chris

Ueee,
I'm not certain what pressure acet is as I just adjust the reg to suit the flame I need, I will look tommorow.

I mainly use the lpg/oxy to silver solder(2% silver) copper fittings from 1/2" to 2" and copper to brass fittings.

I also use I think a #8 tip that is reamed out to the largest tip cleaner, I then got a 1/8" drill bit to put a slight countersink in the end.
Works a treat for brazing & I don't need to worry too much about burning holes in the copper or overheating the silver solder.
I don't use the oxy for cutting or fusion welding but that is outdated process anyway as I have a plasma cutter, arc and tig.

Cheers Andy

Found this on the web:

POL is the common name for the standard CGA 510 connection. Thread specification is .885" – 14 NGO – LH – INT, meaning .885" diameter thread, 14 threads per inch, National Gas Outlet form, left-hand internal thread.

Hope that helps.

Just an update all (also thanks everyone for assistance)
I removed that silver pin and this allowed removal of the tailpipe and nut. With care and time the nut has been reduced in size and is now a snug but not overly tight fit with 12" shifter. Soapy water was bubble free. Only had a quick light of the torch, looks good, then came back in from the cold
I'll keep my eye open for the correct nut.

This is what I found for $80 on ebay(au) a few years ago:

http://i1131.photobucket.com/albums/...Sievert/01.jpg

it is a Sievert Promatic totch. It has automatic ignition, and there is a large range (almost 30 at last count) of bayonet fitted burners available, from 0.7kW to 125kW. Shown on my handle is the 7.4kW standard burner. And detached in front of it a pin-point burner of 700W aimed at jewelry and the like. The regulator is from Harris and the gas cylinder is the spare from my barbeque. The pin-point burner was not included in the eBay deal, I got it from the UK. This is a great unit, only problem is the price of burners (about AU$ 90 each).

I also have an air blown desktop burner, left over from a glass blower workshop when it shut down. The way I see it, these air blown burners are to achieve a smaller and hotter flame. I remember the days as a kid interested in chemistry. I used to bend glass tubes into shape with a spiritus burner. The spiritus flame was far too large and not hot enough. But by blowing air from my mouth through a hose and a glass pipe nozzle into the wide spiritus flame, I was able to obtain a small pointed flame hot enough to melt glass. That is essentially what todays sophisticated air blown burners do. And you do not need an air compressor to run them, the outlet of a suitably modified vacuum cleaner will do just fine. You do not need air pressure, just flow.

By the way, I recovered a number of bunsen burners from a univerities rubbish bin. If anyone needs a simple primitive used bunsen burner email me, free for postage cost only.

On a side note, I do some brazing with TIG. Just needs some silicone bronze rods available from ebay. And yes, me too got VERY frustrated and ANGRY at these Argon cylinder rental costs from BOC. Did you know, that Aussie gas companies make 50% of their profits.... from cyinder rental alone????? In most other countries you can buy your cylinder, not so here. Well, I asked around and was given generously a number of G sized gas cylinders. Out of test date. Now I hire one G size argon cylinder from BOC for one day, and through a homemade copper pipe/needle valve fill its content into my 4 old untested cylinders. It only takes half an hour. The BOC cylinder gets cold to touch, my cylinders barely warm up. The pressure from initially 170 Bar drops to half as much for my first cylinder, one quarter the next and so forth. So I am not the least worried about my cylinders being out of test date. I do not need worry about liability or worksafe either, as mine is a pure hobby workshop with no employees. Where there is a will (to save), there is a way. I would not do this with Oxygen though, but Argon being an inert gas is in my opinion no problem. And by the way, when I was given a tour in a large gas filling company in oz (no names), I was told they only find a couple faulty cylinders a year when re-testing them. This cylinder hire business is well and truly a bonanza for them. Chris

Hi Chris,
Nice looking touch. Is the 125kW burner for bottled gas? wouldnt the cylinder freeze?

I'll put my hand up for one of your bunsen burners Thank you.

There is a company in NSW selling cylinders. May they make lots of money and expand into VIC soon!
So if my math is right you get 15/16ths of the bottle. What does BOC charge by the day?

Stuart

> Nice looking touch. Is the 125kW burner for bottled gas? wouldnt the cylinder freeze?

I just double checked with the brochure. The very largest burners for this handpiece are 102kW. Burner diameter 60mm, gas consumption 8 kg/hr at 4 bar. They say these are for "roofing and other heat demanding works". I guess for "roofing" you would use them with a cylinder small enough to still be portable. Maybe not suitable for prolonged use, the gas pressure would drop as the bottle cools. Also I think the flame shape would not lend itself very much for soldering or brazing, more for melting bitumen or burning weeds.

> So if my math is right you get 15/16ths of the bottle. What does BOC charge by the day?

Yes you get most out of it. Then I plan using the cylinder with the highest pressure first, as this would be the most likely to loose pressure due to any small leak. I used to hire a small cylinder for several years. Told the dealer I need to swap it for a larger for a one off job, returned it right away and only paid for the content. It will likely last me for a couple of years. Normally I think the shortest hire period is a month. The only downside is that the four G cylinders take up quite some space in the workshop and are heavy.

Chris