I gave up on Bernzomatic. I went to a plumbing supply house and bought a
torch made by Goss. It is a lot louder and much, much hotter.

I don't use handheld propane torches in my shop that much. I have a Magnum
rosebud that I use quite often. Those are great. They have a regulator, a
30' hose, and a trigger you pull to put the thing into hyperdrive. Really
kicks. I use it for general heating (e.g. welding preheating or heating
forged items prior to applying an oil or wax finish) and also to burn weeds.
The ability to burn weeds has removed some barriers for me. Soon we plan to
take out over 500 square feet of lawn and replace it with pavers. We hadn't
done this before because we didn't want to deal with weeds between. Now I
look forward to those little suckers coming up. Burn 'em and they don't come
back!

Grant Erwin

Richard Ferguson wrote:

I have been trying to use my Bernzomatic type propane torch for some
soldering, and it has been so frustrating that I have been grabbing my
Oxy-acetylene torch instead. The propane torch keeps going out,
especially when I invert the torch to solder something below the torch.

Is it typical to have problems if the bottle is above the torch?

Do I need a better torch? I am not sure about the brand of what I am
using, can't find a name, maybe a bad sign.

Would I be happier with a torch with a long hose connected to a large
bottle of propane? I have such a bottle in my shop, I have seen this
type of torch used by plumbers and others.

I am soldering sheet copper, around 0.020 inch to 0.040 (0.5mm to 1 mm)
thick, if that makes any difference. I do occasionally solder copper
pipes as well.

Thanks in advance,
Richard