Greetings,

What I can glean from past posts leads me to believe that most are
disappointed or frustrated with the MC sized portable rigs (Harris
Port-a-Torch, etc) on offer. I got a small rig because I can exchange
the tanks on foot if I have to. I'm trying to start/run a tiny
workshop in a major metropolitan area. Space is at a premium and I
have no car.

I'd like to hear if anyone is actually happy with their portable rig,
and from anybody that has advice on getting the most out of a
portable, but otherwise very limiting outfit. Any suggestions on
set-up, conserving gas, regulator quality, and safety, etc. would be
greatly appreciated. Thank you all.

-TIM

What are you doing? Welding bridges is different from making
jewellry or welding thermocouples.



On 27 Jul 2004 23:54:08 -0700, (Tim) wrote:

Greetings,

What I can glean from past posts leads me to believe that most are
disappointed or frustrated with the MC sized portable rigs (Harris
Port-a-Torch, etc) on offer. I got a small rig because I can exchange
the tanks on foot if I have to. I'm trying to start/run a tiny
workshop in a major metropolitan area. Space is at a premium and I
have no car.

I'd like to hear if anyone is actually happy with their portable rig,
and from anybody that has advice on getting the most out of a
portable, but otherwise very limiting outfit. Any suggestions on
set-up, conserving gas, regulator quality, and safety, etc. would be
greatly appreciated. Thank you all.

-TIM

Any suggestions on conserving gas,

This is the biggest problem I found. My small portable setup seems to
work fine (but I haven't used anything else for many years and dont
know if my torch etc is the same as what you are considering), however
the gas doesn't last long at all. If you need to do ony cutting, hope
your gas supplier is next door as you'll be going back a lot.

Hope this helps, Eric

"curly" wrote in message
m...
Any suggestions on conserving gas,

This is the biggest problem I found. My small portable setup seems to
work fine (but I haven't used anything else for many years and dont
know if my torch etc is the same as what you are considering), however
the gas doesn't last long at all. If you need to do ony cutting, hope
your gas supplier is next door as you'll be going back a lot.

Hope this helps, Eric

There are various size bottles available hear in UK. If you use the second
from smallest you will find them a lot more economical on gas and not much
heavier than the small ones.
Bought my gas set many years ago. Since MIG came along, it's only really
used for cutting and heating. Wouldn't be without it though.

John

On 27 Jul 2004 23:54:08 -0700, (Tim) wrote:

What I can glean from past posts leads me to believe that most are
disappointed or frustrated with the MC sized portable rigs (Harris
Port-a-Torch, etc) on offer. I got a small rig because I can exchange
the tanks on foot if I have to. I'm trying to start/run a tiny
workshop in a major metropolitan area. Space is at a premium and I
have no car.

I'd like to hear if anyone is actually happy with their portable rig,
and from anybody that has advice on getting the most out of a
portable, but otherwise very limiting outfit. Any suggestions on
set-up, conserving gas, regulator quality, and safety, etc. would be
greatly appreciated. Thank you all.

-TIM

I used to use a 'MC' sized rig for brazing up AC lines all the time,
but that was about all it's good for.

A 'B' cylinder and 50CF oxygen rig doesn't take up much more room,
can still be carried grunt! to a roof or basement for repair work
like the Port-A Torch (Or get a 50 foot hose!) but they last a whole
lot longer on a fill and do more useful work. I have two sets of
cylinders, so when one goes flat I can switch and keep going for a
while, and get refills later.

If you plan to go to the supply house on foot, get the special
little hand truck for the tanks that has the safety chains for the
bottles. You can roll the bottles to and from the supply house. (But
leave the regulators and other parts at home, those little bits will
bounce out of the tray if you go very far..) ;-)

If you plan to keep them for a while, go for good quality full-size
equipment like the Victor Journeyman or Super-Range kits, as opposed
to the mini-regulators on the Port-A-Torches or no-name Taiwan import
regulators and equipment - buying cheap equipment often (when it
breaks) can't beat buying good quality tools /once/ and using them in
good health for 30 or 40 years...

You can get full-size two-stage regulators, and the adapters to
attach them to MC or B cylinders. You can always get small tips and
throttle down a big torch, but you can't crank the baby torch up past
it's limits.

Or you get a set of quick-connects for your hoses, and rig a second
mini-torch handle for those little jewelry jobs. The big regulators
don't care if you use a small torch. I also have a quick connect on
my Prestolite handle if I want to use Air-Acetylene for a bit of
plumbing work, and save on the oxygen.

And remember that you need big tanks for O-A cutting, you can't use
more than 1/7 of the acetylene cylinder contents per hour - meaning
for all practical purposes cutting is out with a MC cylinder rig, and
only small and quick cuts (hot-wrenching the occasional bolt off) with
a B. And forget about any big boys like a Rosebud tip. You'll need
to rent a set of full-size tanks if you want to do any heavy work -
and the full-size regulators will fasten right up and handle it.

-- Bruce --
--
Bruce L. Bergman, Woodland Hills (Los Angeles) CA - Desktop
Electrician for Westend Electric - CA726700
5737 Kanan Rd. #359, Agoura CA 91301 (818) 889-9545
Spamtrapped address: Remove the python and the invalid, and use a net.

Tim wrote:

Greetings,

What I can glean from past posts leads me to believe that most are
disappointed or frustrated with the MC sized portable rigs (Harris
Port-a-Torch, etc) on offer. I got a small rig because I can exchange
the tanks on foot if I have to. I'm trying to start/run a tiny
workshop in a major metropolitan area. Space is at a premium and I
have no car.

I'd like to hear if anyone is actually happy with their portable rig,
and from anybody that has advice on getting the most out of a
portable, but otherwise very limiting outfit. Any suggestions on
set-up, conserving gas, regulator quality, and safety, etc. would be
greatly appreciated. Thank you all.

What has served me well for many years is this:

Full sized regulators
Bottles next size up from MC
Used little Victor "aircraft" torch with tips starting at 000
Old full-sized used Japanese torch and gas axe

I've done jewelry, sheet metal, brazing, welding,
heat-treating and cutting and the limitation has
always been my skill level rather than the equipment.

If you get used equipment, invest a few
dollars in new tip o-rings and flashback
preventers. The welding store will know
what you're talking about.

I do look forward to getting a TIG someday and
trading the oxy bottle for TIG gas.

Tim wrote:
Greetings,

What I can glean from past posts leads me to believe that most are
disappointed or frustrated with the MC sized portable rigs (Harris
Port-a-Torch, etc) on offer. I got a small rig because I can exchange
the tanks on foot if I have to. I'm trying to start/run a tiny
workshop in a major metropolitan area. Space is at a premium and I
have no car.

I'd like to hear if anyone is actually happy with their portable rig,
and from anybody that has advice on getting the most out of a
portable, but otherwise very limiting outfit. Any suggestions on
set-up, conserving gas, regulator quality, and safety, etc. would be
greatly appreciated. Thank you all.
I worked my way up from Bernzomatic Oxygen tanks (about 10 minutes on
their TINY torch) through 20, 40 and now 80 Cu Ft tanks. The 80 Cu Ft
is about right for me. I can get a couple hours of light work out of
it. I have a cuting torch, but never use it. Oxygen is just too expensive.

As for fuel gas, I'm using Propylene. I can get all the heat I want,
and it is supposed to be much less likely to cause explosions,
backfires, etc. I don't weld with it, although I really can't see
any reason you couldn't, with the correctly adjusted flame. I braze
and heat metal for bending, primarily, with it. The Propylene
(generic form of MAPP) is stored as a liquid, so a small tank will
last forever!

Jon

Don Foreman wrote in message
What are you doing? Welding bridges is different from making
jewellry or welding thermocouples.

Well, let's say: sculpture in the expanded field. Jewelry, yes, on the
small end. Small work, most of the time, in fact. Then again, artwork
can get out of control, if you let it. I also find myself performing a
lot of small-time heat-treat operations as well. Punches and chasing
tools, etc.

Major industrial applications are certainly out of scope for the
space, not to mention the rig.

Jon Elson wrote in message

I worked my way up from Bernzomatic Oxygen tanks (about 10 minutes on
their TINY torch)... As for fuel gas, I'm using Propylene...stored as a liquid, so a small tank will
last forever!

As far as I'm concerned, that tiny Bernzomatic set up got me into
college.
I never thought of propylene. What do you get that in, a b-tank? Have
you been able cut with it?

OK. I started out with an MC acetylene, R oxy (20 cu ft I think)
and an aircraft torch. Even with light use I ran out of gas
quickly.

I upgraded to a B acetylene (40 cu ft) and 40 cu ft oxy. Those fit
nicely on a light hand truck you can buy for about $20. It wheels
easily and you needn't be a gorilla to lug the rig up a couple of
flights of stairs if necessary. I now also have full-size tanks,
but I still use the little tanks with the "Lil' Torch" because they'e
handy and last a long time with the Lil' Torch.

Those little rigs can be very handy. My son needed a car part (don't
recall what), had located one at a junkyard but the proprietor of said
junkyard was about as accomodating as his junkyard dog. "It's in
that wreck, kid, if you can git it out."

Kev asked me for a quick training session with a cutting torch. Duly
done, with safety training being most of it. He packed up the kit,
returned to the junkyard. "Can I bring my tools in to remove the
whatzit I need?" "They don't untie like a shoe, kid, and ya won't be
borrowing any tools from me!"

Right, thankyouverymuchsir. He wheeled in the torch kit when the
guy wasn't looking, torched a rear axel in half in two places, and
returned to the counter with the still-smoking bit he needed. "How
much?"

The junkyard guy went ballistic, but the Saturday hangabouts in the
office were laughing so hard the guy finally said "Kid, take yer part,
get the hell out of here and don't come back!" So he did.



On 28 Jul 2004 11:28:29 -0700, (Tim) wrote:

Well, let's say: sculpture in the expanded field. Jewelry, yes, on the
small end. Small work, most of the time, in fact. Then again, artwork
can get out of control, if you let it. I also find myself performing a
lot of small-time heat-treat operations as well. Punches and chasing
tools, etc.

Major industrial applications are certainly out of scope for the
space, not to mention the rig.

Don Foreman wrote:

OK. I started out with an MC acetylene, R oxy (20 cu ft I think)
and an aircraft torch. Even with light use I ran out of gas
quickly.

So did I (back in '74) and, like you, added a Little Torch. I also
leased big tanks and kept the small rig for carrying. I turned in the
big tanks when we moved and haven't replaced them since I by then I had
TIG and a plasma cutter. Still find use for the O/A outfit but not
enough to warant investing in big tanks.

Those little rigs can be very handy.

Especially when you a buy a couple 20' lengths of something too whipy
for the car top rack.

Ted

Tim wrote:
Jon Elson wrote in message


I worked my way up from Bernzomatic Oxygen tanks (about 10 minutes on
their TINY torch)... As for fuel gas, I'm using Propylene...stored as a liquid, so a small tank will
last forever!


As far as I'm concerned, that tiny Bernzomatic set up got me into
college.
I never thought of propylene. What do you get that in, a b-tank? Have
you been able cut with it?

Propylene is a liquid stored under moderate pressure. The tank looks
pretty much like a propane tank. I'm positive you can cut with
propylene to get it started. Oxygen is just to darn expensive for me
to waste it cutting, when I have a lot better ways to cut metal.
Also, the Oxygen-cut ends are impossible to work with other than
grinding. So, I use a Hor-Vert bandsaw as my most preferred cutting
machine, and have a few other methods for things that are not amenable
to the bandsaw.

(I saw the rig they used to cut up our old Cyclotron at Washington
University. Several hundred tons of magneto steel. They rolled in this
huge thing with about 20 giant oxygen bottles on it plumbed to a
manifold. They replaced the whole trolley every day, too. The floor of
the room was ankle deep in cast-off bits of burning lances by the time
they were done.

Jon