Mag-Torch any good?

[npalen]

Brazing/Cutting/Torch Kit at Menards
Wondering if anyone has tried this mapp/oxygen outfit? Seems reasonably priced considering the Mapp and Oxygen "bottles" are included.

 

[LD1]

let me start by saying no I havent tried it.

But how good it is just depends on your expectations. Dont go in thinking you are buying a "welder" or a real "cutting torch". What are you wanting to do with it??

 

[the old grind]

True MAPP has been extinct for 5 yrs and tho' it's replacements (MAPD, 'MAPP-Pro') aren't much hotter than propane 'in free air' adding oxygen better replicates the performance of the original. You don't want to weld steel with MAPP, MAPD, or MAPP-Pro as hydrogen absorption will make the welds brittle.

I worked at M__ Muffler 35 yrs ago. Propane with O2 cut clamps & shock mount bolts like butter and the acetylene cart was the dustiest and least used tool in the shop. (w/coat-hanger, but not much to weld there, actually) Plumbers still prefer MAPP with lead free solder for the extra hundred+ degrees and higher BTU. Most importantly, head/tip types are critical to getting the most from the pricier gas, as is using it with O2.

If you want to cut or braze with the above kit I doubt you'd be disappointed. Having the best tip on there it'd be my 1st chioice. Wouldn't cost much to prove me right or wrong about it for the task & it sure sounds easier to use than the carbon-arc torch I usually braze with. Give it a shot & tell us what YOU think. If it bombs we can always take up a collection to cover you investment.

 

[Arc weld]

It will cost you a fortune buying new cylinders for every 3 minutes of cutting time. What do plan to use it for?

 

[Advan]

I had a similar one years ago. Those little 1 cubic foot oxygen cylinders made the thing basically worthless. Sure you can get a hotter and more concentrated flame than a basic propane or MAPP/air torch, but I wouldn't waste my money on another one of those!

 

[k0ua]

The oxygen bottles will bankrupt you if you try to do much of anything with it.

 

[jwmorris]

I put together a kit like this for my portable needs.

Victor CutSkill PortableTote - Tools - Welding Equipment - Welding Accessories

I refill them with transfer tubes from my large tanks unless they are getting close to loosing cert, then I take them in and exchange.

 

[Arc weld]

You can't fill the acetylene from another cylinder. Unless you have to carry the torch up stairs or to some remote location you can't get to, get a 75 cu. ft. acetylene cylinder and an 80 or preferably a 122 cu. ft. oxygen. You'll have enough capacity for most jobs and standard regulators will fit this size cylinder. Even the little portable totes are only good for about 15 minutes of cutting at the most.

 

[jwmorris]

You can't fill the acetylene from another cylinder.

Sure you can or at least I do. You need to do it very, very slowly though. You want to transfer the acetylene only, not any of the acetone.

How long they last, depends on what you are doing with them. A rosebud, cutting torch and welding tips all use the gases at different rates, not to mention the different orifices you might have for any of the processes.

 

[Arc weld]

That's SCARY! I doubt your gas supplier is aware that you're filling acetylene from a larger cylinder. I work at a welding supply and all the acetylene cylinders are shipped to the main fill plant where they are filled in a controlled environment. Hopefully no one will follow your practice of transferring acetylene from one cylinder to another. I believe it's illegal. Oxygen and most high pressure gases can be transferred though.