Bought a portable oxy/acy setup and need help understanding

[big bubba]

on the subject of safety, always keep in mind to keep oil related materials away from O2, highly flammable. in addition, if transporting acetylene tank horizontally, be sure to let it settle upright overnight so the acetone will settle to bottom of tank. acetone is very hard on regs.
& yes, get check valves for both lines & stand away from the line of fire when opening regs

 

[sixdogs]

All good advice. Thank you.

 

[rScotty]

Oxy/Acetylene....I made my living with it for a couple of decades. You can fix nearly anything with a handfull of tools, a big vise, and a torch. Get yourself some different size welding and cutting tips - many specialized tips you can make for yourself.
And don't be afraid to try some of the oddball rods. Back when Oxy/Acetylene was king, there were specialized rods for many steel and cast alloys. I like hi-nickel bronze for some brazing repairs and hi-zinc brass for others. You can find rods especially for 300 and 400 series stainless as well as pure copper.
There are few limits.... although one I always follow is to keep the pressures low. Understand how and why those gases are pressurized and stored and treat with respect.
rScotty

 

[jwmorris]

So the twin tanks aren't like a big tank and for heating? Just plumbing? How do I know if tanks are current. These things are new to me.

They have the same stuff in them, just a small fraction of it. You can still use them with a rosebud, just not as long.

It also costs more to fill them, as far as content per dollar goes.

The date will be stamped into the tank, often a number of them as they are restamped with a new date when they are recertified.

 

[rScotty]

They have the same stuff in them, just a small fraction of it. You can still use them with a rosebud, just not as long.

It also costs more to fill them, as far as content per dollar goes.

The date will be stamped into the tank, often a number of them as they are restamped with a new date when they are recertified.

Right. I think they are called "B" tanks. Often seen in jeweler's shops and such. They work identical and have the same gases as the much larger tanks. They do exactly the same work, same chemistry, same guages, and torches, only the cubic foot of gas storage capacity is less.

Oxygen tanks are always larger than the acetylene. If you were to burn a totally neutral flame, the tanks should theoretically run out at the same time. They never do...

rScotty

 

[yomax4]

If you want to heat with the small tanks ( MC or B ) I suggest only using your cutting attachment. I don't think you should light a rosebud. It will take about 20 seconds and you'll have acetone in your regulator, hose and torch. Nasty stuff when in the wrong place.

 

[rScotty]

If you want to heat with the small tanks ( MC or B ) I suggest only using your cutting attachment. I don't think you should light a rosebud. It will take about 20 seconds and you'll have acetone in your regulator, hose and torch. Nasty stuff when in the wrong place.

I always heat by using the cutting torch. The pre-heat is a sort of miniature rosebud and I find it to be more controllable. It produces plenty of heat to heat up a few inches of automotive single leaf spring to red heat for bending or shaping in the vise. That's about the max I ever do anyway.

 

[UncleW]

So the twin tanks aren't like a big tank and for heating? Just plumbing? How do I know if tanks are current. These things are new to me.

You can decode the stamped numbers/letters on the tank with the help of google. Then step 1 is to take them to one or more welding gas shops and see if they will refill them. I had a small rogue tank and the welding shop recertified it for not much $$

Safety note—you can’t safely pull more than 1/7 (some say 1/10) of the volume of the acetylene tank in cubic feet per hour. Check the acetylene burn rate for your rosebud, etc. to make sure it’s not too big

 

[sixdogs]

Thank you all. I have a friend that wants to buy the setup from me and I'm thinking about it since I already have a larger oxy/acy setup. What do you think my setup is worth? It would be the picture on the right in the first post that shows the three tanks and setup.