Acetylene regulator issues

[Sebculb]

Hey everyone,

So recently I got a used oxy acetylene kit to fix an issue on my backhoe. Actually that was just the final excuse but it's a toy I've wanted for quite a while. It's a cool toy!

So the broken doohicky saga is resolved for now on the hoe, but towards the end of it my acetylene regulator started acting up. First it wouldn't allow pressure to pass through even though there was plenty of gas in the tank. I took it apart and cleaned it. Lotsa corrosion dust and a fine screen at the inlet that was gummed up.

Put it back together and now it let's gas through just fine, but only nominally regulates the pressure while the torch is on. If I turn the flow to the torch off the pressure starts rising rapidly in the hose to above 15psi which has me scampering across the work area to turn off the cylinder knob and then open the torch to relieve the pressure in the hose. Almost comical except for the whole blowing up part.

So is this common? Can I fix it? Did I ruin it? This is a cheap Chinese thing, not a fancy Víctor or anything and it had obviously been sitting around for a while. Also my oxygen regulator "chatters" and sorta squeaks periodically. Is that worth worrying about?

Alternately I'm going back to the states for a visit next week, should I just buy a new set? Are the cheap ones for $30 on amazon okay or should I buy "real" ones? Víctor costs close to $200 for a set of regulators. Lincoln electric has a whole set of tips and hoses for that much. Is that Lincoln stuff good? Last I looked they do arc welding stuff.

Thanks!

 

[hosspuller]

In my experience, regulators have become disposable... No one will work on them for liability reasons. Especially for acetylene, just get a new regulator. Depending on size, The Victor torch sets are very economical. My small Victor torch set has done just about everything needed for repair on my Deere 310c.

Remember the torch set is limited by your tank size. Too big a torch will over draw a small tank. Check your tank size before purchasing a torch.

 

[jjeff]

Dumb question but how far are you opening the valve on your acetylene tank? Bought a cheap regulator once broke where you screwed it on the tank. Never again.

 

[Sebculb]

In my experience, regulators have become disposable... No one will work on them for liability reasons. Especially for acetylene, just get a new regulator. Depending on size, The Victor torch sets are very economical. My small Victor torch set has done just about everything needed for repair on my Deere 310c.

Remember the torch set is limited by your tank size. Too big a torch will over draw a small tank. Check your tank size before purchasing a torch.

Thanks, I lucked into some pretty big tanks buying the used kit. The stuff is expensive here in Costa rica! I think a 3kg acetylene tank translates to 145 cf and it costs about $250 to trade them out here. The oxygen for a bigger tank only costs $100.

Thinking of getting torches and such for a oxy propane kit and using that for everything that's not specifically welding.

 

[Sebculb]

Dumb question but how far are you opening the valve on your acetylene tank? Bought a cheap regulator once broke where you screwed it on the tank. Never again.

I only open the cylinder knob like 1/2 to 1 turn.

Okay, one vote for buying the good equipment, thanks. I am paying attention.

 

[ljjhouser]

Due to the unstable nature of acetylene, i am with Hosspuller. I just tossed one last month. But then, no loss, it was 40 years old and was a victor gauge. I know you can send them in to be re-calibrated or repaired. But today - $50-$150 will buy another gauge, even some victor gauges. It is not worth the chance. And, of course you know, 15 is getting high enough to represent a problem - you were right to scramble back to the guage. Even if you get it behaving correctly, you cannot ever trust it again. It is not worth the worry. Also, the amount you open the tank is a safety shut-off practice. There is no difference in pressure presented to the gauge wide open or slightly cracked. Best wishes, Larry

 

[jjeff]

Due to the unstable nature of acetylene, i am with Hosspuller. I just tossed one last month. But then, no loss, it was 40 years old and was a victor gauge. I know you can send them in to be re-calibrated or repaired. But today - $50-$150 will buy another gauge, even some victor gauges. It is not worth the chance. And, of course you know, 15 is getting high enough to represent a problem - you were right to scramble back to the guage. Even if you get it behaving correctly, you cannot ever trust it again. It is not worth the worry. Also, the amount you open the tank is a safety shut-off practice. There is no difference in pressure presented to the gauge wide open or slightly cracked. Best wishes, Larry

I only open the cylinder knob like 1/2 to 1 turn.

Okay, one vote for buying the good equipment, thanks. I am paying attention.

For some reason I was holding on to this cheap regulator, maybe to scrap or warn friends of this cheap stuff. Anyways how and why does anyone think using an Eclip for the process of securing this acetylene regulator to a tank is safe, or acceptable. Buyers beware!

 

[yomax4]

You may be pulling the acetylene out of the tank faster than it can deliver. Look up the old 1/7th rule. The gum you speak of is likely acetone. Once it gets out of the tank and into the hose your problems will persist

 

[Sebculb]

You may be pulling the acetylene out of the tank faster than it can deliver. Look up the old 1/7th rule. The gum you speak of is likely acetone. Once it gets out of the tank and into the hose your problems will persist

I'm new to acetylene but in reading up on it beforehand I got to understanding it pretty well. That's why I went for a used setup with big tanks instead of buying small new ones. The small ones just might not do it for some things.

Anyways, it may have upchugged a little but I've only used the small welding tip and a small cutting torch a little bit. Perhaps it got gummed up with the previous owner, it was a construction outfit that used it for cutting beams and they gave me some big ol' cutting torches and extra hose as a bonus.

 

[ljjhouser]

The small tanks will cost a premium for a cuft of gas. Good you went a little larger. I have a set of the very small tanks for HVAC work. But I never use them for anything else, they don't last long and the refill for both tanks I think is about $17 and $34.

 

[TractorGuy]

I've not had any trouble with my cheap regulators.

To avoid damaging ANY regulator you need to close the tank valve, bleed the pressure off, then back the regulator off after use. Always open the tank valve very slow sos not to blast the regulator with high pressure. Then set the regulated pressure.

I always follow the correct procedure for my oxy acetylene regulators.

Not so much on my mig regulator but I do open the bottle valve very slowly on it.

I read on another forum that you can buy kits for regulators for not much money and rebuild them yourself. If you have brand name regulators this might be an option.

 

[jjeff]

I've not had any trouble with my cheap regulators.

To avoid damaging ANY regulator you need to close the tank valve, bleed the pressure off, then back the regulator off after use. Always open the tank valve very slow sos not to blast the regulator with high pressure. Then set the regulated pressure.

I always follow the correct procedure for my oxy acetylene regulators.

Not so much on my mig regulator but I do open the bottle valve very slowly on it.

I read on another forum that you can buy kits for regulators for not much money and rebuild them yourself. If you have brand name regulators this might be an option.

The problem I initially had was tightening the nut that holds the orffice in the tank, the c, Eclip, or split washer (forgot what it had) came out of the channel in the orffice causing the regulator to fall off. Even if it would have held, you accidentally pull on your oxy acetyelene hoses to hard I feel it would have let go I can only think of the mess it would have caused if I was cutting or welding with it. Totally unacceptable and dangerous in IMHO.

 

[rScotty]

I bought several sets of good regulators 40 years ago. All dual stage type, they cost a fair amount more than single stage, but I used them daily for hours at both high and low pressure and they were very stable.

All of these, the Smiths, Victor, NCG, are equally good. The Victors and NCG are works of art in massive brass.

Never a problem. I sent them to a rebuilder about 8 years ago just because it seemed like a good idea. He said they didn't really need anything but he put in new parts anyway for a nominal fee.

So in my opinion good gauges are worth the money.
Same for good hoses. I also use a smaller diameter "whip" for the last ten feet of hose so I don't have to fight with heavy hose when doing delicate work.

BTW, for doing delicate brazing I use an old style "radiator tip". I recently found a new old one on Ebay to replace the tip I made up years ago. Both factory & homemade tipw work the same, so it is easy to make up your own.
rScotty

 

[kenmac]

I have a very old set (Probably 60's) large and made of all brass, and probably produced here in the states. The oxygen reg started leaking a while back, and I couldn't find anyone local to rebuild it. I'm sure the diaphragm had dry rotted.
So I went on line a bought one the the smaller cheaper brands, as I believe victor is even made in china these days

 

[rScotty]

I have a very old set (Probably 60's) large and made of all brass, and probably produced here in the states. The oxygen reg started leaking a while back, and I couldn't find anyone local to rebuild it. I'm sure the diaphragm had dry rotted.
So I went on line a bought one the the smaller cheaper brands, as I believe victor is even made in china these days

In 2014 I went to my local welding shop and asked the old guy behind the counter who he recommended for rebuilding regulators.
Edit: These are old Victor dual stage type.

He said they always liked to send regulators to a guy in Wyoming when they could. The guy didn't have a retail store; he just worked in his shop. He also cost a little more and didn't give estimates. That all sounded real good to me, so off they went UPS.

They came back in a couple of weeks looking and working better than new. BTW, tanks and regulators live outside and always have, but I do keep them covered against moisture and sunlight. For protection, each regulator has an old winter jacket tied over it with binder twine and an old raincoat covers all.
rScotty

 

[jaxs]

It appear's that various people have varied experience with regulators. I had a set Victor regulators rebuilt a few months ago for less than $60. There are no parts available for knock-off regulators so I see no reason to buy them unless it's for once and done. If it's a matter of money used quility brands beat new low end junk any day.

 

[panamaguy]

Something you need to remember is to let a acetylene tank sit a few hours if it has been laying down or you risk the chance of the Portland cement not being settled and messing up the reg. Maybe that the dust you mentioned when you took the reg apart

 

[Sebculb]

Something you need to remember is to let a acetylene tank sit a few hours if it has been laying down or you risk the chance of the Portland cement not being settled and messing up the reg. Maybe that the dust you mentioned when you took the reg apart

Thanks I was careful about that. Stood them up and left them alone until my heavy equipment mechanic buddy came over and showed me how to use them. That dude is a wizard, at least on the street smarts level but also a lot on the formal level.

The dust was like bluish white corrosion dust. I'll just be getting new ones. Gonna continue finding excuses to "steer my career" in this direction.

 

[JBF43]

Hey everyone,

So recently I got a used oxy acetylene kit to fix an issue on my backhoe. Actually that was just the final excuse but it's a toy I've wanted for quite a while. It's a cool toy!

So the broken doohicky saga is resolved for now on the hoe, but towards the end of it my acetylene regulator started acting up. First it wouldn't allow pressure to pass through even though there was plenty of gas in the tank. I took it apart and cleaned it. Lotsa corrosion dust and a fine screen at the inlet that was gummed up.

Put it back together and now it let's gas through just fine, but only nominally regulates the pressure while the torch is on. If I turn the flow to the torch off the pressure starts rising rapidly in the hose to above 15psi which has me scampering across the work area to turn off the cylinder knob and then open the torch to relieve the pressure in the hose. Almost comical except for the whole blowing up part.

So is this common? Can I fix it? Did I ruin it? This is a cheap Chinese thing, not a fancy Víctor or anything and it had obviously been sitting around for a while. Also my oxygen regulator "chatters" and sorta squeaks periodically. Is that worth worrying about?

Alternately I'm going back to the states for a visit next week, should I just buy a new set? Are the cheap ones for $30 on amazon okay or should I buy "real" ones? Víctor costs close to $200 for a set of regulators. Lincoln electric has a whole set of tips and hoses for that much. Is that Lincoln stuff good? Last I looked they do arc welding stuff.

Thanks!

Interesting thing about Lincoln Electric. I just bought one of those sets to replace a 40+ year old Harris set that I originally purchased at Montgomery Ward. My cutting torch had somehow been eaten through on the lines that carry the gas to the cutting tip. Since I couldn't buy just another cutting torch, I had to get a set. Went to Lowes and got a Lincoln Electric for $200. Got it home and opened it up. Guess who's name is on every component in there? HARRIS. Oh well, the last one lasted over 40 years so maybe this one will too.

 

[JBF43]

I only open the cylinder knob like 1/2 to 1 turn.

Okay, one vote for buying the good equipment, thanks. I am paying attention.

1000 years ago when I took metal shop in school, they told us to always open the valves all the way because running gas through a partially opened valve can/ will destroy it. Don't know for sure if it's right or wrong, but I always open the valves all the way because of being taught that rule.