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Oxy propane welding kit

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Peter Simpson 318/10/2021 20:00:27
122 forum posts
2 photos

Hs anybody got any experience of oxy propane welding sets. I would been keen to purchase one to silver solder my 5" gauge boiler.

noel shelley18/10/2021 20:34:17
2308 forum posts
33 photos

oxy propane is not the great and easy way to silver solder ! If you have no experience in silver soldering then Oxy P will lead you into trouble ! You will nead lots of general heating via air propane rather than the high spot heat that Oxy P will give you, the risk of overheating or burning the work is high. Then there is the costs to consider, the small sets will soon empty the small bottles, and larger bottles cost lots to rent or buy. where are you in the UK ? Good luck Noel.

Peter Simpson 318/10/2021 20:51:25
122 forum posts
2 photos

Alec Farmer does all of his boilers using Oxy Acetylene. It looks so more user friendly when doing the tube plates. Than a very large Propane torch.

fizzy18/10/2021 21:12:56
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1860 forum posts
121 photos

So does Nigel at Pendle Steam Boilers....but he wouldnt recomend them to the inexperienced either. The hobby bottles are useless for a 5" boiler. Even with full size bottles a very large nozzle is needed plus a big propane torch (this is why I dont often do big boilers these days) and a lot of either experience or luck.

Steve F18/10/2021 22:12:03
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101 forum posts
25 photos

Hello

There was a really interesting build on the modelenginemaker forum a few years ago. Sadly some of the photos have disappeared. It was about a Conway build. The thread is here **LINK** it's 83 pages. The chap doing the build used OxyPropane and wrote another article about the setup here **LINK**

regards

Steve

peak418/10/2021 22:28:15
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2207 forum posts
210 photos

I can't comment on whether it's the right tool for a boiler, but for my own local heating I use oxy-propane, but with the oxy derived from a medical oxygen concentrator.
Second hand off ebay/Gumtree/Preloved etc, you might get one for the deposit price of an oxygen cylinder.
Much loved by glass bead makers, there's info on sites such as Tuffnell Glass.
https://tuffnellglass.com/contents/en-uk/d103.html

I think I paid less than £100 for mine, and already had some cheap second hand valves, flashbacks, torches etc.
N.B. this is for heating only, not big enough supply for a cutting torch.

Bill

Brian Abbott18/10/2021 23:00:55
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523 forum posts
95 photos

So what's the real difference between oxy propane and oxy-acetylene?

Is it temperature?

noel shelley18/10/2021 23:17:30
2308 forum posts
33 photos

put very simply YES ! Noel.

Nicholas Farr18/10/2021 23:26:44
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3988 forum posts
1799 photos

Hi, another thing is, you can weld steel with oxy-acetylene, but not with oxy-propane.

Regards Nick.

Paul Lousick19/10/2021 05:34:50
2276 forum posts
801 photos

And price. Acetylene is much more expensive that propane. I uses the 20kg swap and go BBQ gas bottle and bought a D size Oxy bottle and only pay for the oxygen (cheaper than renting the oxy bottle)

I recently tried to silver solder 2 steel parts together with a Benzomatic MAPP gas torch and could'nt get it hot enough after 5 minutes and switched to oxy-propane witth my smallest nozzle and small flame and it took less than a a minute.

 

 

 

 

Edited By Paul Lousick on 19/10/2021 05:42:47

Gerhard Novak19/10/2021 09:27:08
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109 forum posts
114 photos

I suppose for a boiler you need a flame with a high energy output like a Sievert 7kW torch to heat the whole area (like one end of the boiler) to the necessary temperature. The advantage of having a larger area at temperature is avoiding tensions in the materials.

Don't underestimate the heat radiation from a red hot boiler and use proper leather gloves or you get nowhere near with the silver solder wire... (solutions are extension of the silver solder wire or positioning the solder together with the flux at the point where it should later be...)

A propane oxy torch (in modelers size like the oxyturbo 90) has very high temperature but rather low energy. So it is perfect for small, local heating or small parts. For my experience welding steel together with a propane oxy set is somewhat difficult. Azetylen would do it. Azetylen is not only more expensive but also more dangerous than propane.

Dave Halford19/10/2021 11:47:14
2536 forum posts
24 photos

BOC will not rent cylinders to private individuals.

I believe I saw Helen from Western Steam demo'ing soldering a boiler with a BOC Porta Pac at the Meriden show a good 5 years ago or longer. She made it look very easy.

martin haysom19/10/2021 12:36:30
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165 forum posts
Posted by Dave Halford on 19/10/2021 11:47:14:

BOC will not rent cylinders to private individuals.

I believe I saw Helen from Western Steam demo'ing soldering a boiler with a BOC Porta Pac at the Meriden show a good 5 years ago or longer. She made it look very easy.

i think you will find you can

Colin Heseltine19/10/2021 13:03:53
744 forum posts
375 photos

I have rented oxy acetylene bottles, Co2 and Argon from BOC as a private individual for the last 50 odd years.

Colin

donkey19/10/2021 13:40:24
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85 forum posts
5 photos

DAVE

I have rented from BOC as a private individual for 40 years.

brian

fizzy19/10/2021 13:58:48
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1860 forum posts
121 photos

BOC and Air liquide will no longer allow you to load acetylene into a car - has to be a commercial vehicle with an all steel cab partition.

Andrew Johnston19/10/2021 14:16:57
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7061 forum posts
719 photos
Posted by fizzy on 19/10/2021 13:58:48:

BOC and Air liquide will no longer allow you to load acetylene into a car - has to be a commercial vehicle with an all steel cab partition.

Don't know about BOC but certainly true of Air Liquide. However, it's a company rule not a legal requirement. The HSE website states there are exemptions for private individuals using private cars, albeit with quantity limits. It's one of the reasons I dumped Air Liquide as a supplier.

Andrew

Dave Halford19/10/2021 14:25:15
2536 forum posts
24 photos
Posted by donkey on 19/10/2021 13:40:24:

DAVE

I have rented from BOC as a private individual for 40 years.

brian

I was refused co2 at the Coventry depot about 5 years ago

File Handle19/10/2021 14:27:51
250 forum posts

Does anyone still make their own acetylene from carbide. Someone I knew many decades ago did, I was impressed with their set up. Or is obtaining carbide now not possible.

fizzy19/10/2021 17:29:29
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1860 forum posts
121 photos

My reason for not using acetylene anymore was the ramifications of having a workshop fire - a large human exclusion zone is put into place lasting i think two days. Lots of businesses would not be able to trade and lots of familied forced out their home - not something I could live with were it ever to happen.

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