I swear those hand held propane torche orfices clog even when they are
not being used. Whenever I need a torch, no gas comes out. I'm tired
of buying a new torch everytime I need one. Bernzomatic used to sell
replacemnt orfices but it appears they no longer do. I guess they want
to sell more disposible torches to us almost every year.

There is nothing that I have found, such as wire that will fit into
that extremely tiny hole. But I'm thinking there must be some sort of
solvent that will dissolve whatever builds up in them. (which has to
come in the gas itself).

Anyone know of any solvent for this?

On 1/2/2018 6:21 AM, wrote:
I swear those hand held propane torche orfices clog even when they are
not being used. Whenever I need a torch, no gas comes out. I'm tired
of buying a new torch everytime I need one. Bernzomatic used to sell
replacemnt orfices but it appears they no longer do. I guess they want
to sell more disposible torches to us almost every year.

There is nothing that I have found, such as wire that will fit into
that extremely tiny hole. But I'm thinking there must be some sort of
solvent that will dissolve whatever builds up in them. (which has to
come in the gas itself).

Anyone know of any solvent for this?

Don't know if this works on all torch models, but on my very old torch,
the original instructions were to remove the head and turn the orifice
upside down. Replace head and blow gas through it. Don't light it,
just let the gas pressure reverse clean the orifice. Then return is
back to the proper way. That has always worked for me.

wrote:
I swear those hand held propane torche orfices clog even when they are
not being used. Whenever I need a torch, no gas comes out. I'm tired
of buying a new torch everytime I need one. Bernzomatic used to sell
replacemnt orfices but it appears they no longer do. I guess they want
to sell more disposible torches to us almost every year.
There is nothing that I have found, such as wire that will fit into
that extremely tiny hole. But I'm thinking there must be some sort of
solvent that will dissolve whatever builds up in them. (which has to
come in the gas itself).
Anyone know of any solvent for this?

You can go to the welding store and get a tip cleaner. Some are different size wires and my favorite is tiny drill bits you choose the one you want, put it in the holder and rotate.

On 1/2/2018 4:27 PM, Frozen South wrote:


wrote:
I swear those hand held propane torche orfices clog even when they are
not being used. Whenever I need a torch, no gas comes out. I'm tired
of buying a new torch everytime I need one. Bernzomatic used to sell
replacemnt orfices but it appears they no longer do. I guess they want
to sell more disposible torches to us almost every year.
There is nothing that I have found, such as wire that will fit into
that extremely tiny hole. But I'm thinking there must be some sort of
solvent that will dissolve whatever builds up in them. (which has to
come in the gas itself).
Anyone know of any solvent for this?

You can go to the welding store and get a tip cleaner. Some are
different size wires and my favorite is tiny drill bits you choose the
one you want, put it in the holder and rotate.

It's unlikely this will work.
Solvent probably won't work either.
One thing that can work is to put the orifice in backwards
and turn on the gas. Do it outside, cause the joint will
leak.

On Tue, 02 Jan 2018 23:54:33 -0800, mike wrote:

It's unlikely this will work.
Solvent probably won't work either.
One thing that can work is to put the orifice in backwards
and turn on the gas. Do it outside, cause the joint will
leak.

If this is all it will take, why not just blow compressed air thru it
backwards. More pressure and less odor.

On 1/3/2018 7:31 AM, wrote:
On Tue, 02 Jan 2018 23:54:33 -0800, mike wrote:

It's unlikely this will work.
Solvent probably won't work either.
One thing that can work is to put the orifice in backwards
and turn on the gas. Do it outside, cause the joint will
leak.

If this is all it will take, why not just blow compressed air thru it
backwards. More pressure and less odor.


This is true and I'd probably do that now, but some don't have
compressors and when you are on a ladder, using the propane's pressure
works pretty well. BTW, I think that the propane today is 'cleaner'
than it was some 40 or 50 years ago. I used to have many more clogs
back then.

On 1/3/2018 4:31 AM, wrote:
On Tue, 02 Jan 2018 23:54:33 -0800, mike wrote:

It's unlikely this will work.
Solvent probably won't work either.
One thing that can work is to put the orifice in backwards
and turn on the gas. Do it outside, cause the joint will
leak.

If this is all it will take, why not just blow compressed air thru it
backwards. More pressure and less odor.


Would work just fine with compressed air. All you'd need do is
build a fixture to seal it up so that the pressure actually
gets to where it's needed. Or you could just reverse it temporarily
and be done with it.

On 01/02/2018 06:21 AM, wrote:
I swear those hand held propane torche orfices clog even when they are
not being used. Whenever I need a torch, no gas comes out. I'm tired
of buying a new torch everytime I need one. Bernzomatic used to sell
replacemnt orfices but it appears they no longer do. I guess they want
to sell more disposible torches to us almost every year.

There is nothing that I have found, such as wire that will fit into
that extremely tiny hole. But I'm thinking there must be some sort of
solvent that will dissolve whatever builds up in them. (which has to
come in the gas itself).

Anyone know of any solvent for this?

I suspect some insect is building a nest in the orifice.Â* Maybe store the torch head in a Ziploc bag.Â* FWIW, the little phuckers clog up my natural gas fireplace pilot light as well.

replying to No-Email, Ken wrote:
My Bernzomatic torch clogged too, but it wasn't the gas orifice. My torch had
a clog in a tiny valve mechanism in the 3/16" dia. pin that fits into the gas
cylinder. I'm not sure what it was for and non of my other propane appliances
have it (gas grill, heater, camping stove, etc...). All those just have a
straight-through hole, so I used a 1/16" drill and bored through the pin to
clear the clog and it is working fine now!

--
for full context, visit https://www.homeownershub.com/mainte...h-1154735-.htm

replying to No-Email, small time buckboy wrote:
Aerosol carb cleaner works best. Though I also used my husband's pipe cleaner
which is fits into the gas valve and it worked. Carb cleaner goes into
crevices, melt gum and residue like it does to my riding mower carb.

--
for full context, visit https://www.homeownershub.com/mainte...h-1154735-.htm

Muriatic acid. BEST

--
For full context, visit https://www.homeownershub.com/mainte...h-1154735-.htm

In alt.home.repair, on Thu, 15 Apr 2021 12:31:01 +0000, Hjjgtg
wrote:

Muriatic acid. BEST

How does it get dirty?



BTW, I did some more propane testing today, looking for vacuum leaks,
and I did smell the propane some.

It turns out that one's sense of smell may weaken with age. It's been 3
years since I fiddled with the unlit propane, so maybe it's my age. I
never had a strong sense of smell, but that's irrelevant because I could
surely smell propane.

And the can is 3 years older, so IF the smell can weaken in 3 years,
that could be it too.

"Propane smells like rotten eggs, a skunk's spray, or a dead animal. [I
don't think so. I know what all of those smell like and propane doesn't
smell like any of them.] Some people may have difficulty smelling
propane due to their age (older people may have a less sensitive sense
of smell); a medical condition; or the effects of medication, alcohol,
tobacco, or drugs. On rare occasions, propane can lose its odor."

On Fri, 16 Apr 2021 03:17:58 -0400, micky
wrote:

In alt.home.repair, on Thu, 15 Apr 2021 12:31:01 +0000, Hjjgtg
wrote:

Muriatic acid. BEST

How does it get dirty?



BTW, I did some more propane testing today, looking for vacuum leaks,
and I did smell the propane some.

It turns out that one's sense of smell may weaken with age. It's been 3
years since I fiddled with the unlit propane, so maybe it's my age. I
never had a strong sense of smell, but that's irrelevant because I could
surely smell propane.

And the can is 3 years older, so IF the smell can weaken in 3 years,
that could be it too.

"Propane smells like rotten eggs, a skunk's spray, or a dead animal. [I
don't think so. I know what all of those smell like and propane doesn't
smell like any of them.] Some people may have difficulty smelling
propane due to their age (older people may have a less sensitive sense
of smell); a medical condition; or the effects of medication, alcohol,
tobacco, or drugs. On rare occasions, propane can lose its odor."
The torch orifice on some torches restricts the gas flow too much to
use it for testing properly. Does the torch still light? If so don't
screw with it. If not buy another one. Cleaning the "orifice" is
pretty mich a fools errand.
To convert the torch (one that won't light) for vac leak testing you
need to drill a really tiny hole in the plugged torch and NEVER use it
as a torch again.

On Sun, 18 Apr 2021 00:14:13 -0400, Clare Snyder posted for all of us to
digest...


On Fri, 16 Apr 2021 03:17:58 -0400, micky
wrote:

In alt.home.repair, on Thu, 15 Apr 2021 12:31:01 +0000, Hjjgtg
wrote:

Muriatic acid. BEST

How does it get dirty?



BTW, I did some more propane testing today, looking for vacuum leaks,
and I did smell the propane some.

It turns out that one's sense of smell may weaken with age. It's been 3
years since I fiddled with the unlit propane, so maybe it's my age. I
never had a strong sense of smell, but that's irrelevant because I could
surely smell propane.

And the can is 3 years older, so IF the smell can weaken in 3 years,
that could be it too.

"Propane smells like rotten eggs, a skunk's spray, or a dead animal. [I
don't think so. I know what all of those smell like and propane doesn't
smell like any of them.] Some people may have difficulty smelling
propane due to their age (older people may have a less sensitive sense
of smell); a medical condition; or the effects of medication, alcohol,
tobacco, or drugs. On rare occasions, propane can lose its odor."
The torch orifice on some torches restricts the gas flow too much to
use it for testing properly. Does the torch still light? If so don't
screw with it. If not buy another one. Cleaning the "orifice" is
pretty mich a fools errand.
To convert the torch (one that won't light) for vac leak testing you
need to drill a really tiny hole in the plugged torch and NEVER use it
as a torch again.

Fire in the hole!

--
Tekkie