On Wed, 19 Dec 2012 10:35:14 -0800, "Bruce L. Bergman (munged human
readable)" wrote:

[...]

I was about to suggest that he use Mapp gas. But wiki says it's been
discontinued for years. (I didn't know.. guess I should hang on to
the half bottle I've got.)
Is the propylene some inferior substitute?

George H. (living in the past)

MAPP is Methylated something Propylene. And it was available in bulk
and 20-pound BBQ style cylinders for a while through Welding Supply
houses and such, not sure what the current status is. If I need a
large quantity like that, Acetylene is more convenient because you can
weld with it too.

I just bought a couple 1-pound MAPP cylinders at Home Depot for a hand
torch not long ago, so it's still around. MAPP-Air gets hotter than
Propane-Air for little plumbing jobs where I don't feel like lugging a
B Acetylene.

Bernzomatic is pushing the little-baby 1/4-pound MAPP cylinders there
for hand torches, but that's stupid - they can't hold enough energy to
cover the cost of making the containers.


Yes, MAPP has not been around for a while. Still propylene is better
than propane and safer than acetylene. Also the 16.9 oz packaging
suited my needs just fine in terms of consumption and storage.

The Bernzomatic site no longer shows any other cylinders than the 14
oz ones. The ones where the valve would detach spewing gas and large
flames causing severe burns.

Interestingly the site no longer shows the 5.25 oz cylinders either.
You can still get them here but they cost $10 each while the Fat Max
costs $12 (the 14 oz $13 - go figure!). I deduced from this that the
Fat Maxs were too big to use attached directly to a torch. It was in
that mode that the previous version of 14 oz cylinders had their
failures. The 5.25 oz cylinders were presumably an interim measure
while trying to sort out the 14 oz cylinders.

Michael Koblic,
Campbell River, BC