Cami
Silver Member
- Joined
- Oct 31, 2009
- Messages
- 183
- Location
- Ladysmith, British Columbia
- Tractor
- Don't have one of my own! I work on other people's machines.
The advice I generally give is, if you don't consider leasing costs, get the largest cylinders you can handle.
If you feel the need to go smaller, then size your acetylent tank to the cutting tip size you use. To store the acetylene in a stable manner, it's disolved in acetone. If you use too large of a tip, you'll draw out the acetylene too quickly and pull acetone out of the cylinder too; you'll notice a purple flame. I think the old rule of thumb was to draw no more that 1/6th-1/8th of the tank capacity per hour; a tip chart will tell you how much gas the torches use.
Generally, it's hard to go too small if you're just cutting with a small tip. Large cutting tips and heating tips of almost any size can pull a lot of acetylene and you need to check it out with a tip chart, or just ask the guys selling the gas.
I've never heard of an oxygen cylinder freezing with a simple torch of any sort, but I've never used baby cylinders either; maybe with an oxygen lance, but you usually have a LOX or manifold system for those...and it's the regulators that end up freezing.
If you feel the need to go smaller, then size your acetylent tank to the cutting tip size you use. To store the acetylene in a stable manner, it's disolved in acetone. If you use too large of a tip, you'll draw out the acetylene too quickly and pull acetone out of the cylinder too; you'll notice a purple flame. I think the old rule of thumb was to draw no more that 1/6th-1/8th of the tank capacity per hour; a tip chart will tell you how much gas the torches use.
Generally, it's hard to go too small if you're just cutting with a small tip. Large cutting tips and heating tips of almost any size can pull a lot of acetylene and you need to check it out with a tip chart, or just ask the guys selling the gas.
I've never heard of an oxygen cylinder freezing with a simple torch of any sort, but I've never used baby cylinders either; maybe with an oxygen lance, but you usually have a LOX or manifold system for those...and it's the regulators that end up freezing.