cutting torch

nodlenor · Mar 5, 2015

Anyone have any experience with one of those portable cutting/welding torches. (The ones with the small bottles) I need a cutting torch but I really don't need a large one as I won't be using it all that much. I already have a stick welder so the welding part is taken care of. I just need something I can heat something up with and maybe do some small cutting jobs. How hard is it to find a place to fill the bottles? What brand would you suggest? I saw a Victor at Tractor supply ($359), that is a well known brand or at least used to be. Can parts be purchased for these at a reasonable price and time?

Shield Arc · Mar 5, 2015

I would go and talk to your local welding supply, before buying bottles. Every area is different when it comes to filling bottles.

Complete Turf Care · Mar 5, 2015

I use the small setup in my landscape business. It fits my needs much better than the full size bottles. The small rigs are getting more common and I think you will be able to find parts easily. The gauges attach to the bottles differently, but beyond the gauges, everything is the same as a full size torch.

Most of the oxygen and acetylene suppliers don't want to sell you a bottle anymore. You have to rent them. I just paid my annual rent on a small oxygen bottle and it was about $55 for a year. I own 2 acetylene bottles and one oxygen bottle from a few years back, before they quit selling them. I have 2 sets in case one runs out. I just have to go exchange when one runs out. And, they don't last very long, but for me that's OK because I don't use them much.

k0ua · Mar 5, 2015

nodlenor said:
Anyone have any experience with one of those portable cutting/welding torches. (The ones with the small bottles) I need a cutting torch but I really don't need a large one as I won't be using it all that much. I already have a stick welder so the welding part is taken care of. I just need something I can heat something up with and maybe do some small cutting jobs. How hard is it to find a place to fill the bottles? What brand would you suggest? I saw a Victor at Tractor supply ($359), that is a well known brand or at least used to be. Can parts be purchased for these at a reasonable price and time?

I don't think you would have any problems finding parts, I have the Harris set. Good for heating, and it will do some cutting, just not much of it. Cutting emptys the O2 bottle pretty quick, and the little MC ace bottle does not last that long either, but if you just need to heat and bend something or cut something small, they are fine. I exchange the bottles at the local plumbing supply. Just bring in the empty and walk out with a filled one. It is pretty easy.

CNC Dan · Mar 5, 2015

check Craigslist first. many people buy them and then don't want them once they find out how small they really are.

2458n · Mar 5, 2015

I do not like Craigslist for things like this. It is to easy to have someone sell you a stolen bottle,without proof of ownership you will never get it filled. More stuff should be like this. if you are just going to be cutting go with a different gas. Shield Arc is giving you the best advice.

truckdiagnostics · Mar 5, 2015

In a similar situation as the OP, purchased the smaller tanks, wished I would have gotten bigger, you'd be surprised how much acetylene you use when trying to heat something with a rose bud tip.

k0ua · Mar 5, 2015

truckdiagnostics said:
In a similar situation as the OP, purchased the smaller tanks, wished I would have gotten bigger, you'd be surprised how much acetylene you use when trying to heat something with a rose bud tip.

Not to mention you cannot use even a small rosebud tip on an MC tank without violating the old 1/7 rule, not to mention the new 1/10 rule.

If you didn't follow all of that, you CANNOT in any way use a rosebud tip on one of the small oxy/ace kits we are talking about. you can use a welding tip or cutting tip to heat smaller pieces of metal with. But no rosebuds.

Hedgepeth · Mar 6, 2015

the old saying you get what you pay for. as a professional welder, I prefer victor. bought from a welding supplier. Then you have purchased
an industrial use torch better quality. a victor super range combination is what I like. it's small and lite well balanced.
purchase your tanks from a welding supplier also. you will want a bigger bottle of oxygen and a mid size bottle of acetylene. you will use the oxygen up faster than the acetylene.
ask the welding supply if they give life time rights on the bottles.it cost more up front.but it is cheaper than 1 yr. or 5 yr. rights.

Ed of all trades · Mar 6, 2015

muddstopper said:
I think for the limited amount of use you expect out of that cutting rig, i would just go with propane and a small oxy bottle. Youll get tired pretty quick of having the small act tank filled and with propane, if you run out, you can just rob the tank off the bbq grill, or run down to the local convience store and pick up a fresh bottle. And with propane, you only renting or buying one high dollar tank instead of two.

I agree. That is what I did and am happy with it. You do have to buy a propane tip but I think it was about $5. That way I only had to rent one bottle and here size don't matter. On my lease a bottle is a bottle. I can refill a larger bottle for just a little more than a small one, it pays to go big.

nodlenor · Mar 6, 2015

Thanks all for your advice, thoughts and suggestions. I had thought about using propane but didn't know all the particulars. I guess I've got some thinking to do about which direction I will go. I'll use your advice and check with a local supplier and get some info from them, and also find out what they can supply. I don't want to buy something that no one locally will service so I will purchase it through a local dealer instead of mail ordering one just because it is cheaper. Thanks again you've all been helpful.

k0ua · Mar 6, 2015

nodlenor said:
Thanks all for your advice, thoughts and suggestions. I had thought about using propane but didn't know all the particulars. I guess I've got some thinking to do about which direction I will go. I'll use your advice and check with a local supplier and get some info from them, and also find out what they can supply. I don't want to buy something that no one locally will service so I will purchase it through a local dealer instead of mail ordering one just because it is cheaper. Thanks again you've all been helpful.

The deal with the propane is you cant use it for welding, but for heating and cutting, from what I understand it can save a lot of money. Also no 1/7 rule about draw rates with propane. Since you have the welding base covered elsewhere, perhaps you should investigate getting a propane rig. They use different cutting tips, I don't know about the rosebuds if they are the same or not.. perhaps others can say.

nodlenor · Mar 6, 2015

Please forgive my ignorance but what is the 1/7 & 1/10 rule mentioned earlier?

mikehaugen · Mar 6, 2015

nodlenor said:
Please forgive my ignorance but what is the 1/7 & 1/10 rule mentioned earlier?

If I remember correctly, you cannot draw (cfm) more than 1/7 of the tank capacity (cf). If your tank is 70cf, you cannot draw more than 10cfm from it. I may have the units messed up however. Drawing too fast from a small tank will cause acetone to come from the tank.

EddieWalker · Mar 6, 2015

I bought one of those kits from Home Depot at least ten years ago, maybe a bit more. For my needs, it's been great. When the bottles run out, I just bring them in to the welding supply place and exchange them for full bottles. I think the cost for this is around $34 for both. I always change them both at the same time, even if there is a little left in one. It's not worth the time to try and use that little bit left and then make another trip. I can go a year without using them, and I can get into something where I'm refilling the bottles every week.

Eddie

muddstopper · Mar 7, 2015

Over the years, I have bought several used cutting setup, each time they included the bottles. I dont need two bottles of everything so I took the bottles and traded them at my LWS for bottles i didnt have. I now own two sets of small oxy/acet bottles, 1 larger set, a large 75/25 argon and a large 100% argon. I still keep my eyes open for someone selling a old set of torches that come with sometimes half full or empty bottles. Last set of torches i bought came from an estate sale. Torches and gauges where harris, hoses where rotten, but i also got to half full bottles and a cart, all for $100. $50 for hoses and I was ready to cut. When the bottles where empty, I traded them for a full set at my LWS. My point is, if you take the time to look and have a little patience, you can find a good deal on used torch sets.

nodlenor · Mar 14, 2015

I found a used cutting/welding torch with medium sized bottles(1oxy. & 2 act) with cart. Actually the only thing used about it is the bottles, hose, and cart. The gauges, cutting/welding tips and goggles were new. All Victor. One act. bottle is empty but the others are nearly full. I'm not sure how good a deal I got on it but I,m satisfied. I gave $300 for it.