Those of you with torches...

[Lookin4_67GalaxieConv]

What do you use them primarily for?  I have a chance to get a torch setup relatively cheap.  What should I be looking out for if I decide to buy? Basically it's a two tank setup with relatively newer regulators. The torch nozzle needs to be cleaned, but I have a couple of them I believe I could use in that one's place.

[J.A.F.E.]

Make sure they are a brand you can get parts for locally. Some brands are favored in some regions and getting parts for the others can sometimes be an issue. If they are two stage regulators that is ideal but most home stuff and even a lot of commercial is single stage. Make sure the hoses are in good shape and the tips are in good shape and haven't been hogged out or out of round with oversize cleaners.

[walrus]

Used to use them alot, now hardly ever. Still good for turning a stuck nut or bolt cherry red but I use a cut off wheel or plasma for most cutting.

[oldnslo]

Used for heating 90%, brazing 10% of the time.

Share the brand name of the torch setup and we can offer some advice if you care for it.

[ken w.]

Up here in the Northeast you really need one if you do a lot of automotive work. I use mine mostly to heat up bolts before I attempt to remove it. Bleeder screws , some brake line fittings , lower shock bolts , etc.   You should make sure you can get the tanks filled or exchanged at a local welding supply.  Once you have them , you'll ask yourself why I waited so long to get them.

[goodfellow]

I still use it a lot on cars and restorations to blow off rusted fasteners and to heat bolts/nuts for removal. The cutting and rosebud tips in O/A are still the best solution when it comes to delivering heat quickly and precisely. For annealing metal (especially aluminum) in preparation for forming I use a rosebud tip to apply heat very quickly -- although for smaller jobs I now use an air/propane torch hooked to a standard BBQ-Type cylinder.

I haven't done O/A welding in quite some time, but I still do quite a lot of brazing and silver soldering with those O/A welding tips. Just last weekend I brazed a cast iron door flange for a neighbor. It also came in very handy two weeks ago when I heated and removed a corroded O2 sensor from my daughter's Highlander. Of course it still cuts thicker metal much better than my plasma cutter.

There are two basic options -- Professional heavy duty O/A outfits are usually 2-stage regulator units; meaning that cylinder pressure is brought down to working pressure in two separate regulator chambers, and that makes for better flame control and precise welding operation. Cheaper and often lighter duty O/A outfits usually are single-stage; meaning that cylinder pressure is brought down to working pressure within one regulator chamber. It's not nearly as precise as 2-stage, and as cylinder pressure drops, you have to fiddle with the torch settings more often to keep proper flame control.

The biggest issue in buying a used set is to make sure you don't have a diaphragm or needle valve seat leak in the regulators and/or a needle valve problem in the torch handles. Older equipment that's been sitting for a long time can often have diaphragm problems --- ozone cracks and dries the neoprene material.  That said, older Harris or Craftsman (usually Harris), Oxweld, Smith, Victor, Uniweld, AIRCO, or Purox (Union Carbide) are damn good systems and will work for decades without any significant maintenance. My Craftsman, AIRCO, and Union Carbide rigs have been working since the 1970s -- no issues.

[bonneyman]

My set up has been used since the early 90's and only one regulator rebuild. (Don't remember the brand - it was the standard contractor supplies model at the time). Solid system. used it during the day for brazing refrigerant lines, then on the weekends cutting and welding. Just by swapping tips. Great jig.

And local service is sqwat! I found this place on-line - they are superb! You pack up the reg and pay to ship it to them. For their fee they repair it and ship it back. 2-3 day turn-around. Outstanding!

http://www.billswelderrepair.com

Here's my jig in it's current form. Starter kit (with two tank deposit) cost me around $450 in 1991. Still polishes up real nice if I'm trying to show off.

[fatfillup]

As stated above, make sure you can get the tanks filled. 

Don't use mine often but mainly for heating for bending metal straps

[DeadNutz]

I have 2 large sets and 1 smaller set. I would say that I use a rosebud more than the cutting torch. My big set has PowrKraft regulators on it that still work well. Victors on my slightly smaller set and Harris on the small set.
I stopped by the wife's shop yesterday and the foreman showed me a large Victor cutting torch that just came back from rebuild which cost $140 to have done. They go through plenty of gas with rosebuds, welding tips and cutting tips in use all day long.

[gtermini]

Cutting, spot heating, bulk heating, cooking grease out before a weld, stuck bolts, gouging with a tip for it, brazing occasionally, silver soldering, heat shrinking and straightening. I never hesitate to go for gas ax/smoke wrench.

I have a couple big sets. I leave one with a gas eater rosebud and the other with a cutting torch. I have a small set of burglar bottles that are handy as a shirt pocket. It's an oxy-propane setup with some funky little feather tip flame torch. Perfect for small silver solder joints or when I want a little more oomph than a plumbers propane torch.



Greyson

[DeadNutz]

You might want to make sure you use flashback arrestors. I have a large Victor torch that has them built into the torch. Here is some interesting reading for you:

https://www.harrisproductsgroup.com/en/Expert-Advice/Articles/Flashback-Arrestors.aspx

[stokester]

Good topic.

I've used torches in the past while in school and working in shops but never paid too much attention to brands or types.

This oxygen regulator was given to me in a box many years ago and I've never gotten around to either obtaining the necessary parts for my own OA torch.

So is this Meco worth saving or should I just pitch it?

[goodfellow]

Good topic.

I've used torches in the past while in school and working in shops but never paid too much attention to brands or types.

This oxygen regulator was given to me in a box many years ago and I've never gotten around to either obtaining the necessary parts for my own OA torch.

So is this Meco worth saving or should I just pitch it?

Depends if it will hold pressure Nick. I've heard of Meco, and they still make equipment, but don't know if they still make O/A equipment. If you have to get it rebuilt, then it all depends on the availability/cost of replacement parts. 

[Lookin4_67GalaxieConv]

This is the setup.  He said the tanks are mostly full.

[goodfellow]

Does he own the tanks (have receipts?), and what brand is it. From afar it looks like a generic single stage Asian-sourced Victor style knock-off; nothing wrong with that, but the price should reflect that.

Cylinders are the issue. Are they in test? Except for the very small MC tanks (in portable outfits), in my area if you can't prove ownership or lease, many suppliers  won't even talk to you anymore. It's different in other parts of the country, but it doesn't hurt to ask to see if he has proof of ownership.