Hello again, I've been lookin' into getting a cutting torch, and am leaning towards a propane setup. I can't gas weld in the first place and I have a MIG, so it's welding capabilities aren't really a concern. I'll only be using it for cutting (I will be cutting some brackets with it) and heating/bending, and I am one seriously cheap bastard which is another BIG reason. I searched through some old posts and got some good general information, but have some specific questions. First, I can't seem to really find oxy-propane torches anywhere as a kit. I'd like to get something like the oxy-acetalene kits where you get the torch, some tips, a regulator and lines, etc. in a case. Anyone have a source, my usual tool haunts don't seem to have anything (cheap is good)? Also, you fellas with setups, what size oxygen tank do you use? I like the price of the small ones but if I gotta run to get oxygen every few days when I'm working on the car it's not gonna be the best setup obviously. Last question, this is kinda a dumb one... I know you can use the general BBQ gas tanks, which is nice 'cause I have a 24-7 supply about 100 yards down the road, but can you run natural gas in them? I have a natural gas line in my garage already, so it would be ideal if I could hook up to that. Thanks guys!
Dont waste time and money on inferior tools. Get the real thing--no matter how poor you are. You wont regret buying a oxy-acet rig
The propane doesnt get metal hot quickly like acetylene does. So by the time you get the metal hot enough to cut with the propane you have used more fuel than if you used acetylene, thats just my theory. Or you could try mapp gas.
I have used propane for years , all you have to do is buy a propane tip for your cutting head . Sure it doesnt get as hot , but it works fine for 3/8 or less steel . And your right track with the gas grill tank . You can save a lot of money on the acc. tank lease .
as was said all you need to do is buy a propane cutting tip for your acetylene setup, you can even do some brazing with the propane cutting tip like exhaust pipes as long as its not body panels or something like that where the big tip is gonna make to much heat and warp things like that, I got a small oxygen bottle for mine mostly for heating and bending if I cut stuff I have to get it filled after a short time but good enough for what I use it for, I'd go with the barbeque bottle and keep it portable, I don't use the littlest cutting tip cause it don't work right as in don't have a nice flame, I can look and see what tip size I use if you want that info
Thanks for the replies guys, I'd like to go OA but the price of both the equipment and of the gas just doesn't seem like it's gonna be in my range (I've been watching for used setups locally, but it's dry)... The only OA setup I can afford would be one of the little portable setups that have the big plastic carrying holder, and it just doesn't seem like that would hold enough gas. I figure I can get a nice used torch and regulator setup in the 50 dollar range, and they sell 80? cf tanks on Ebay for 140 bucks shipped (which would last for a long time I'm sure), so about 200 dollars plus either hooking into the gas line in the garage or a propane tank. I've been reading and as long as you have suitable enough pressure on your gas line it will hook to your residential connection, which is very appealling to me, I have a small garage and I could have an endless supply of fuel, one less thing to deal with. It seems like for what I'd use it for either would work, I won't be doing any welding with the thing, just cutting, heating, bending, I can barely MIG weld, let alone gas weld, and I have a nice selection of saws and grinders that I can use to clean up the rough torch cuts.
I don't know of any supplier that sells the torch set up with a Propane tip... I bought the O/A set up as most sell and then got a Propane tip from klocal Farm and Home store for under 15 bucks. I regularly cut heavy stuff up to 1-1/2" such as the cast spring perch mounts on a "spring ahead" radius rod....It will cut just fine -dont let the naysayers dissuade you...It will cost you approximately 1/3 per year for your propane gas-that Acetylene will run you. I personally use the BBQ grille 20 LB cyl on my setup and it[one] will almost run a year with about 5 -40lb bottles of oxygen used to go with that much propane/gas!
IVE USED PROPANE FOR YEARS no problem but now i got plasma so i only use it for heating. natural gas is only 5-7 lbs i think so it isn't enough.
I think I'll go with the propane setup, like I said its only gonna be for cutting and bending, and even the cutting I have enough cutting and grinding tools that I only need rough torch cuts and can grind in the rest. The initial investment and continuing costs just have it all over OA, not to mention the welding store in town is a bit on the expensive side and they're the only game in town... I'll be cutting alot of brackets out, for my split bones and bone-mounted spring, shock mounts, motor and tranny mounts, etc., so nothing SUPER thick, mostly 3/8" stuff. I just hate to buy a new damn oxygen tank when they're gonna trade it in when I go up there, I bought a cheapass tank for that very reason. Gonna see if I can find a second-hand one, like it to be in the 60cf range or so, and a used torch rig, and get this all in for about 100-150 bucks I figger. I've been lookin' into the natural gas pressure, I don't think it's gonna be high enough either. It'd be nice but it's no big deal to get a propane tank.
I have a friend who Scraps old Farm equipment all the time. He uses Oxy-Propane, and it does everything he needs to do. If it wasn't, he wouldn't be using it. Last time I talked to him, he was cutting an old bulldozer into manageable sized pieces, so the temperature difference must not be that much of a handicap.
Howdy Never Die , bin using propane for over 30 + years cutting and bending in my shop , get a couple of different size tips ( type 44 propane ) to use on the thickness you want to cut , I regularly cut 3/16 to 5/8 and up to 2 inch on my profile cutter , just a matter of using the right size tip .......far cheaper than acetylene .....Have fun
here is what i did - first i bought a Sears cutting/welding outfit, and a Propane tip ($12) used a 100# Prop tank (cause I had it) / lrg oxy tank until I needed to do some gas welding,I bought a big Acet tank at that point,later I needed to do some cutting out at the farm so I got a sml oxy tank and grabbed my grille prop tank even later I got a sml acet tank now I have 1 lrg and 1 sml of both acet + oxy and 100# cyl of prop for BIG cutting jobs ,BUT prop is on the rise $$$ and has alot more slag(translates to more grinding discs $$), so it really makes no sense to go to propane now if you are starting from scratch.
I use oxy-propane at work. Have for years. It is cheaper. But at home I use oxy-acet. If you do use propane, get an older bottle without the OPD. and stencil TORCH USE ONLY on the bottle in red. Or you won't be able to get it filled at most places. One with OPD won't pull enough when you go to heating.
I'm tryin' to ask this without sounding like a dick, so nobody take it wrong, but to the guys that vote against oxy-propane torches, have you used one and still don't like it? What advanatage would OA have over OP in a cutting/heating/bending situation of a reasonable thickness metal (say 3/8's). Just extra heat? Honestly if thats the only advantage it's not enough of one for me to spend $200 bucks on an acetylene tank and about 4 times as much every time the bottle needs filled, since the OP apparently cuts just fine. Thanks!
Which gas you use for your torch really depends on what you want to do with it. If 90% of what you are going to do is cut, its real hard to beat the Propane. If what your going to do is 90% heat and bend, that propane is going to be a huge pain in the ass. Propane is real slow to heat things up when compaired to accetline. If your planning on heating a 3" wide 3/8" piece of steel to bend it in a 90* bend, I'm not real sure you will even be able to get that piece of steel hot enough to bend it with the propane. When I opened my shop, I started with a propane torch. After a few years I went to accetline, the propane cylinder is still sitting down in the other garage. Cutting was great, to heat and bend things took too long. Gene
It sounds like you already made up your mind. Save your sheckles and get good quality tools you will never regret it. I know this because my crescent now only works as a hammer cause I bought the cheap one, I also have a whole carton of cheap screw drivers that are only good for yard art. They worked they were cheap and they all had to be replaced with something better
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