Portable oxy-acetylene tote outfits? Worth having?

[HCJtractor]

I occasionally need to cut steel at the farm, such as cutting off bent lift arm pins (7/8" diameter), or cutting off bolts or small pieces of steel, etc. I have a larger oxy/ace set, but I hate to transport it. Would one of the little totes work for occasional cutting of thicker steel like this? I realize they are limited in flow and volume, and not designed for applications like this, but would it work for occasional use like this? Is it worth having? Do any of you guys use these regularly for cutting steel (not sheet metal) and if so, what applications do you use it for. Or is is it a $400 waste of money.

I don't have electricity there so its either carry the generator there and use a angle grinder, or load up the heavy torch set and transport it, neither of which is quick and easy. I was thinking if I could just grap a tote and torch, I could see how it would be useful, if it worked on thicker steel. Again, I am not talking about using it a lot. There are also several old implements laying around that I would like cut pieces of of to use to build other stuff in the shop.

 

[grsthegreat]

I occasionally need to cut steel at the farm, such as cutting off bent lift arm pins (7/8" diameter), or cutting off bolts or small pieces of steel, etc. I have a larger oxy/ace set, but I hate to transport it. Would one of the little totes work for occasional cutting of thicker steel like this? I realize they are limited in flow and volume, and not designed for applications like this, but would it work for occasional use like this? Is it worth having? Do any of you guys use these regularly for cutting steel (not sheet metal) and if so, what applications do you use it for. Or is is it a $400 waste of money.

I don't have electricity there so its either carry the generator there and use a angle grinder, or load up the heavy torch set and transport it, neither of which is quick and easy. I was thinking if I could just grap a tote and torch, I could see how it would be useful, if it worked on thicker steel. Again, I am not talking about using it a lot. There are also several old implements laying around that I would like cut pieces of of to use to build other stuff in the shop.

I don't have that real small setup that they sell at places like Home Depot, but i have a small oxy/acetylene torch setup that wheels arround on a small garbage can dolly setup that i made years ago. Very east yo transport. I used this to cut off anchor bolts and wall form straps for years on construction sites. Easily cuts rebar, etc. The Acetylene tank is about 3 ft tall and the oxygen maybe 4' tall. LOVE this setup. Ive had it for over 16 years.

 

[dusty3030]

I had a portable Victor set I used the snot out of years ago. I used it 99% soldering as I was in the refrigeration industry (Walk in coolers, chillers, etc.) Occasionaly I did cut with it and it would cut as well as anything else, you just blew through gas a lot faster.
For the occasional cutting off bolts etc. it would work great. Capability was fine / run time was short.

 

[Case485Guy]

Thats what I am currently using at our property, kind of same situation. Easy to transport and handy as a pocket on shirt. Starting bigger projects and fixing to upgrade to full size bottles or propane to keep at our place. Still keeping the little setup, just to handy to get rid of.

 

[ultrarunner]

I keep a small set in the truck...

Have a mid size set on a hand truck and a full size set in the shop...

Only use the mini rarely... when I do, it sure is nice to have.

They use to allow me to use it at the auto salvage yard... now, they don't let anyone accept the yard employee use torches.

I also have a manifold to fill my small O2 cylinder from my big one...

The Acetylene has to go in to be filled.

Remember to never draw acetylene form a tank unless it is in the upright position...

 

[deereman75]

I HATE those things. We bought one, and when we took it to air liquide to get it filled, they said it was illegal to fill or transport in canada, because the o2 tank didnt have a cap, and the acct tank was unmarked. We returned it, and wrote a very bad review, and about 3 weeks after, they removed them from the canadian website, and removed them from all the stores. So if you live in canada, they are just a big paper weight. Also, the mc size tank is actually technicaly too small for using any cutting tip, but it might work.

 

[grsthegreat]

I HATE those things. We bought one, and when we took it to air liquide to get it filled, they said it was illegal to fill or transport in canada, because the o2 tank didn't have a cap, and the acct tank was unmarked. We returned it, and wrote a very bad review, and about 3 weeks after, they removed them from the canadian website, and removed them from all the stores. So if you live in canada, they are just a big paper weight. Also, the mc size tank is actually technicaly too small for using any cutting tip, but it might work.

weird... mine have caps for both bottles. i do believe it is illegal to transport those things uncapped...little missals.

 

[yomax4]

Everyone I know has a porta-torch. and that's just what they are. They cut ok. Or should I say my Victor one does. I cut up a Steel Boat Dock with it. 20 cf 02 don't last too long but long enough to do an emergency or hard to reach job. ( I have extra tanks too ) Still use the big set or better yet plasma most of the time.

 

[IslandTractor]

I'd say those little portatorch thingies are designed for soldering, brazing and welding sheet metal. It is rediculous that they include a cutting tip as the 10cf acetylene tank cannot safely run even a zero cutting tip. Recall that the rule of thumb on maximum use of acetylene is 1/7th of the tank size per hour as a consumption rate (not 1/7 of the tank per hour but rather the rate). 1.4 cubic feet per hour of acetylene is not enough to run a #2welding tip much less a cutting torch. If you ask Lincoln or the other manufacturers what they recommend these things for they immediately talk about thin sheetmetal as in HVAC. It would be nuts to think you could weld or cut even 1/8 inch steel and meet the safety requirements on acetylene consumption. Again, because of the risk of allowing acetone to reach the regulator, the maximum draw on acetylene at any time is 1.4 cubic feet per hour. You cannot run it faster than that for part of an hour and consider it safe. Check out the welding sites where this is frequently discussed.

Even the acetylene B tanks, the ones that are about two and a half feet tall and 8 inches or so in diameter, are not recommended for use with even the smallest rosebud tip and they max out with a #1 welding tip and zero cutting tip.

Bottom line is that the little portatorch set ups are meant for HVAC and plumbers. Definitely not intended for even hobby welding and certainly not for cutting steel plate.

 

[IslandTractor]

I don't have electricity there so its either carry the generator there and use a angle grinder, or load up the heavy torch set and transport it, neither of which is quick and easy. I was thinking if I could just grap a tote and torch, I could see how it would be useful, if it worked on thicker steel. Again, I am not talking about using it a lot. There are also several old implements laying around that I would like cut pieces of of to use to build other stuff in the shop.

Plan B: load up the small generator and your 10lb Hypertherm PowerMax 30 and a pancake compressor. That will give you 3/8 inch cutting capacity safely on 110v and much greater precision than oxyfuel.

Plan C: Make it a 5000W generator and plug the PowerMax30 into the 220V circuit for half inch cuts.

Plan D: Spend $2000 on a Multiplaz water cutter and run it off the generator. You can weld with it too.