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Post by rockjunquie on Jan 23, 2020 9:01:20 GMT -5
Anyone here use one? I am planning to get one and a Smith's Little torch. A friend uses the two and loves it.
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Post by lpl on Jan 23, 2020 10:21:10 GMT -5
I don't but I read a lot about that combination being a great choice. Seems as if the used concentrators can be found readily easily on craigslist for a fraction of the cost of new ones.
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Post by knave on Jan 23, 2020 10:24:22 GMT -5
I’m not a silversmith yet but I use oxy/acetylene brazing extensively at work. The holy grail would be a “B” tank and no oxy but that won’t burn hot enough. Very interested in this.
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Post by rockjunquie on Jan 23, 2020 10:29:14 GMT -5
I've been looking at them for a long time. Almost got one when I was glassblowing, but it was all new and much more expensive. I'll be looking at CL and eBay when I have the cash, but this site looks good. www.oxygenplusmedical.com/ My friend went from an Orca to Smith Little and has never looked back. I currently have the Silver Torch, but I have to replace it because I accidentally sprayed something on it and didn't realize it. It is really corroded and probably not safe. Not thrilled with it anyway. Acetylene/air. Need more heat. |
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Post by knave on Jan 23, 2020 10:32:52 GMT -5
Who knew. Had no idea when I joined a rock tumbling forum, we would ever be discussing brazing, motors, etc.
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Post by stardiamond on Jan 23, 2020 12:48:58 GMT -5
My wife has COPD and is on oxygen most of the time. I have 3 portables (one not working) and a large non portable supplied by our HMO that fills tanks and supplies oxygen directly. I have extensive experience with them and they fail quite frequently and are expensive to have repaired. Usage would be a lot less in activities not involving breathing and they would probably last longer without need of repair. Every portable I have purchased has failed before the warranty is up and the HMO supplied Unit has been replaced every few years; either the generator or the tank filler.
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jasperfanatic
spending too much on rocks
Member since January 2019
Posts: 463
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Post by jasperfanatic on Jan 23, 2020 13:02:16 GMT -5
I've been looking at them for a long time. Almost got one when I was glassblowing, but it was all new and much more expensive. I'll be looking at CL and eBay when I have the cash, but this site looks good. www.oxygenplusmedical.com/ My friend went from an Orca to Smith Little and has never looked back. I currently have the Silver Torch, but I have to replace it because I accidentally sprayed something on it and didn't realize it. It is really corroded and probably not safe. Not thrilled with it anyway. Acetylene/air. Need more heat. I also bought the silver torch (acetylene/air) last year, mostly because I didn't want to fuss with two tanks. I'm curious about what you're doing where you don't get enough heat? I haven't run into that really and would appreciate the heads up. I will say the amount of heat is dependent on which tip I'm using, but haven't found a situation where it didn't cover what I was doing with one tip or another, from soldering small stuff to smelting scrap for ingots to roll. |
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Post by rockjunquie on Jan 23, 2020 13:04:43 GMT -5
Thank you, stardiamond. That was helpful. The units that are sold for solder and glass are not up to human specs. |
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Post by opalpyrexia on Jan 23, 2020 13:08:15 GMT -5
Never used a concentrator, but I like having an oxygen tank because it's silent and has a small footprint. There's no maintenance with a tank other than an infrequent swap at a welding store.
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Post by rockjunquie on Jan 23, 2020 13:11:47 GMT -5
I've been looking at them for a long time. Almost got one when I was glassblowing, but it was all new and much more expensive. I'll be looking at CL and eBay when I have the cash, but this site looks good. www.oxygenplusmedical.com/ My friend went from an Orca to Smith Little and has never looked back. I currently have the Silver Torch, but I have to replace it because I accidentally sprayed something on it and didn't realize it. It is really corroded and probably not safe. Not thrilled with it anyway. Acetylene/air. Need more heat. I also bought the silver torch (acetylene/air) last year, mostly because I didn't want to fuss with two tanks. I'm curious about what you're doing where you don't get enough heat? I haven't run into that really and would appreciate the heads up. I will say the amount of heat is dependent on which tip I'm using, but haven't found a situation where it didn't cover what I was doing with one tip or another, from soldering small stuff to smelting scrap for ingots to roll. I had a hard time with it. It just didn't seem to focus the heat as well as I wanted. It was big and heavy, too. Stepping up to a gas/oxy mix should provide a hotter flame, too. Maybe that's just me, though. I dunno. Just speaking from what little exp I have with a torch- excluding years lampworking glass.
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Post by rockjunquie on Jan 23, 2020 13:13:17 GMT -5
Never used a concentrator, but I like having an oxygen tank because it's silent and has a small footprint. There's no maintenance with a tank other than an infrequent swap at a welding store. I work in the house. I did have a bottle in the shed for glassblowing. But, I don't want one in the house and the shed is full now. |
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jasperfanatic
spending too much on rocks
Member since January 2019
Posts: 463
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Post by jasperfanatic on Jan 23, 2020 13:17:37 GMT -5
I also bought the silver torch (acetylene/air) last year, mostly because I didn't want to fuss with two tanks. I'm curious about what you're doing where you don't get enough heat? I haven't run into that really and would appreciate the heads up. I will say the amount of heat is dependent on which tip I'm using, but haven't found a situation where it didn't cover what I was doing with one tip or another, from soldering small stuff to smelting scrap for ingots to roll. I had a hard time with it. It just didn't seem to focus the heat as well as I wanted. It was big and heavy, too. Stepping up to a gas/oxy mix should provide a hotter flame, too. Maybe that's just me, though. I dunno. Just speaking from what little exp I have with a torch- excluding years lampworking glass.
I did have to bump up to the next biggest tip from what came with it because I was too impatient, so I guess that is kind of a "not enough heat" thing. I know next to nothing about any of this so I was just curious what you were bumping into so I could try and stay ahead of the game. |
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Post by rockjunquie on Jan 23, 2020 13:24:19 GMT -5
I had a hard time with it. It just didn't seem to focus the heat as well as I wanted. It was big and heavy, too. Stepping up to a gas/oxy mix should provide a hotter flame, too. Maybe that's just me, though. I dunno. Just speaking from what little exp I have with a torch- excluding years lampworking glass.
I did have to bump up to the next biggest tip from what came with it because I was too impatient, so I guess that is kind of a "not enough heat" thing. I know next to nothing about any of this so I was just curious what you were bumping into so I could try and stay ahead of the game. I read somewhere today that when you use a flame too long is when you start getting the fire scale. I want to get in and out as quick as possible. |
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Post by stardiamond on Jan 23, 2020 13:40:06 GMT -5
Never used a concentrator, but I like having an oxygen tank because it's silent and has a small footprint. There's no maintenance with a tank other than an infrequent swap at a welding store. I work in the house. I did have a bottle in the shed for glassblowing. But, I don't want one in the house and the shed is full now. I have a massive amount of oxygen tanks in the house to deal with power outages. None are stored anywhere an open flame. If a significant fire broke out, oxygen would be the least of my concerns. The oxygen generator and tank supply company gave me some signs to place on the front door with an oxygen warning, but no one smokes inside. |
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Post by knave on Jan 23, 2020 13:51:14 GMT -5
Combustion. Chemical reaction actually.
Requires HC (hydrocarbon, fuel) and O2 (oxygen)
Oxygen by itself is not flammable.
During combustion the molecules get rearranged to form (generally) CO2 and H20 (carbon dioxide and water vapor) Obviously releasing a lot of heat in the process.
In other words, the danger of oxygen in a home would be accelerating combustion of an existing fuel and ignition source.
Not trying to change anyone’s mind on what is safe. But there is a misconception out there that oxygen is explosive.
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Post by rockjunquie on Jan 23, 2020 13:56:22 GMT -5
I still prefer not to have a big bottle in the house. I don't remember the size of the one I had for glass, but it was pretty big and heavy. I would burn through a lot of oxygen and it was a PITA for me to swap out the bottle. I would use a small bottle, but I know that I would go through them pretty quickly. I think the concentrator will save me money.
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Post by toiv0 on Jan 23, 2020 13:56:37 GMT -5
I used to use old medical oxygen tanks, got a few at a sale. You can't get them refilled as they are owned by a company and no one will refill them. I just set mine on 3 and they worked for years. I have been meaning to try a concentrater but I don't like the size or noise. So a regular bottle for me, and I also use propane vs Acetylene. The propane isn't quite as hot but I am not doing Platinum which requires more heat. I think you got your flame mixed up, you want a reduction flame instead of an oxidizing flame. A tight flame that roars will introduce oxygen into your piece and cause fire scale. A longer flame with a touch of yellow on the end will help reduce the fire scale. Here is kind of a better explanation by the experts. orchid.ganoksin.com/t/when-do-you-use-different-types-of-flames/31738/3 |
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Post by rockjunquie on Jan 23, 2020 13:59:23 GMT -5
I used to use old medical oxygen tanks, got a few at a sale. You can't get them refilled as they are owned by a company and no one will refill them. I just set mine on 3 and they worked for years. I have been meaning to try a concentrater but I don't like the size or noise. So a regular bottle for me, and I also use propane vs Acetylene. The propane isn't quite as hot but I am not doing Platinum which requires more heat. I think you got your flame mixed up, you want a reduction flame instead of an oxidizing flame. A tight flame that roars will introduce oxygen into your piece and cause fire scale. A longer flame with a touch of yellow on the end will help reduce the fire scale. Here is kind of a better explanation by the experts. orchid.ganoksin.com/t/when-do-you-use-different-types-of-flames/31738/3Thanks! I'm still a newbie. I've never had a lesson or nothing. Just watched some videos and I read a lot. I picked up some firescale on a really nice piece and was working through it before I had to pack my stuff away for awhile. |
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Post by toiv0 on Jan 23, 2020 14:01:09 GMT -5
To add a little more I use the smiths little torch and also have a B bottle of Acetylene I use when I need more heat. I have a 40 cu ft bottle and it will last me several years. Bottle cost about 100 and refill around 30 bucks. I would think a 20 cu ft would last a year or more.
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Post by rockjunquie on Jan 23, 2020 14:05:19 GMT -5
To add a little more I use the smiths little torch and also have a B bottle of Acetylene I use when I need more heat. I have a 40 cu ft bottle and it will last me several years. Bottle cost about 100 and refill around 30 bucks. I would think a 20 cu ft would last a year or more. Do you mean on oxy or acetylene? I do have a little bottle of acyl. |
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