Oxy/propane cutting

[Pete.]

One huge benefit of using propane is that you can get it easily and the canisters are light enough for one person to move them easily too. Acetylene is much more difficult to source comparative and the bottles are unwieldy and heavy and have additional handling restrictions.

 

[Porkypine]

I've got the allbee rent free cylinders for O and A, they're small and easy enough to chuck in a van, though wouldn't last any way near as long as the J and Y size cylinders for instance . i gave up on BoC years ago when the rent price got stupid, those cylinders were a pain to lug about, tho we did it of course.
Certainly propane is the easier option in many ways as people have stated, it wouldn't do for me as I generally want to weld more than cut, and gives you that option. If you 100% only ever want to cut then propanes likely your best bet on reflection.

 

[Kayos]

It's not a rant, its just a statement of fact. There was a prohibitive Fire Brigade guideline a good few years back which stated something along the lines of 500m radius of evacuation for 48 hours for any acetylene cylinder involved in a fire.
Obviously it can rack up hundreds of thousands of pounds worth of business in some areas if this was enforced, from offices to continuous production lines having to emergency-shutdown, etc.

I believe that this guidance was revoked a few years ago but you never know what the fire marshalls will do in your area, how up-to-date they will be, or how cautious they will be.
Would you really take a chance on having one of your cylinders involved in a fire if it meant costly disruption to a whole bunch of other people/businesses? Who will then claim their losses from you?
It's no good downloading a copy of the latest guidelines and shouting at the marshall, if he's made his mind up and telling you "this is how we do it here mate"

It's not so much the actual risks of using acetylene, as much as the risks of what a 3rd party may do in the event of an incident.

If you can use propane instead, it takes a lot of these nasty possibilities out of the equation completely.

Like I said, give me a valid reason and up to date RAMS and you can use that.

If the fire brigade require an evacuation following a fire then it must be part of your procedures

Cost is not a factor with things like this, safety is

I have recently had teams working in fire stations, its not as bad as you might think.....

 

[brightspark]

Like I said, give me a valid reason and up to date RAMS and you can use that.

If the fire brigade require an evacuation following a fire then it must be part of your procedures

Cost is not a factor with things like this, safety is

I have recently had teams working in fire stations, its not as bad as you might think.....

some of the fire chiefs are little hitlers and make it up as they go along and they dont like been told if there wrong

 

[Paul.]

Can we keep this on topic please,

 

[roofman]

Good info so far lads..cheers..I have the W bottle with 200 bar and regards to propane i normally get through 2 x 47kg,s and a few 19,s a week so its in abundance around here. I will just purge some into a small bottle as its handy to tuck into a corner in the workshop at home.

 

[Hitch]

Always used propane at my last place. Anything from about 5mm to 100mm. Bottles are easier to handle, you can move them around laid down then stand them up and use straight away too. Which is a no no for acetylene.

If youre cutting straight lines, get yourself a bit of chunky flat to guide to torch.
My best bit ever was a bit of 30mm hex bar about 500 long.
Weighty enough to hold itself in place, chunky enough not to warp, and minimal friction on the nozzle from the edge of the hex.

Harris nozzles and torch always seemed about the best.
In the hand torches a 0VVC nozzle was a good all rounder, 12-20mm, a faster or slower technique and flame adjustment would allow anything from about 4-5 to about 30mm- would cover most things going through the workshop.

The profile cutter we tended to use the right nozzles. With the flame set nice, and the speed right, you could get a very nice edge.

One of the mistakes I often see is the preheat flame set way too hot.

Upload a few pics of a cut edge and we may be able to point you in the right direction.

 

[roofman]

Always used propane at my last place. Anything from about 5mm to 100mm. Bottles are easier to handle, you can move them around laid down then stand them up and use straight away too. Which is a no no for acetylene.

If youre cutting straight lines, get yourself a bit of chunky flat to guide to torch.
My best bit ever was a bit of 30mm hex bar about 500 long.
Weighty enough to hold itself in place, chunky enough not to warp, and minimal friction on the nozzle from the edge of the hex.

Harris nozzles and torch always seemed about the best.
In the hand torches a 0VVC nozzle was a good all rounder, 12-20mm, a faster or slower technique and flame adjustment would allow anything from about 4-5 to about 30mm- would cover most things going through the workshop.

The profile cutter we tended to use the right nozzles. With the flame set nice, and the speed right, you could get a very nice edge.

One of the mistakes I often see is the preheat flame set way too hot.

Upload a few pics of a cut edge and we may be able to point you in the right direction.

Cheers bud..and sounds like a plan

 

[James1979]

You can put a jubilee clip around the nozzle to maintain a constant height against a cutting edge. I have a hefty bit of equal angle but I am liking the hex idea

 

[Pete.]

By god those Harris torches and nozzles are nice to use.

 

[The_Yellow_Ardvark]

some of the fire chiefs are little hitlers and make it up as they go along and they dont like been told if there wrong

One of the best part of my job, is telling they are not certified to give advice on Fire gear.
They can use and say you need, but not howe many or what.

 

[Hitch]

You can put a jubilee clip around the nozzle to maintain a constant height against a cutting edge. I have a hefty bit of equal angle but I am liking the hex idea

I found using angle or flat, if you get a lump of dross jump up it sits on the edge of the flat and makes the nozzle stick a bit rather than running smooth. Running it along the arris of 2 faces on the hex minimises that.

 

[roofman]

By god those Harris torches and nozzles are nice to use.

They look nice..even the gauges are brass and chrome,looking all blingy

 

[8ob]

I found using angle or flat, if you get a lump of dross jump up it sits on the edge of the flat and makes the nozzle stick a bit rather than running smooth. Running it along the arris of 2 faces on the hex minimises that.

I milled off one edge of a bit of angle iron to make the perfect gas axe guide, first time I used it bent like a banana

Bob

 

[Pete.]

I used to have 4 foot of small box section with 2 halogen lamp magnets on it one each end. I had it spaced up dead right for a cutting guide for doing nice demo cuts in steel joists and box section. Went missing from site one day and about 4 years later I grabbed it back off the guy that nicked it (one of our guys). Silly sod tried to claim that it was given to him by some random dude on site but he had to come clean when I pointed out that 1, I actually made it and 2, the site he reckoned he was working on when he got 'given' it was the same site that I lost it from.

 

[roofman]

Managed to play for 10 mins earlier...I have my propane set at 14psi and the oxy at 50psi burning through a 3/64 nozzle and cutting 10mm plate. I think i hung around to long at the beginning of the cut Can anyone give me feedback from this solitary one pic, will have more time over weekend to try improve.

 

[123hotchef]

dam looks good for 1st attemt mate, I hope mine look that good when I get me gas

 

[Hitch]

Looks pretty decent.

Are you pushing or pulling the torch? I always got on better pulling it towards me.

I'd say perhaps turn the flame down a bit and just a bit more practice at moving steady along the cutting bar.
You're not far off the mark

 

[Pete.]

I agree looks ok especially if that's your 1st go at it I'd say very good. I always angle the torch to point slightly into the direction of travel so that you're heating more in front of the cut.

Just like tig welding if you can support your hand you'll get a much nicer cut.

 

[Barking Mat]

It's just like using a plasma cutter, except obviously you heat it till it's yellow, and pull the trigger.

The smooth cuts come from practice, maintaining a constant cut speed gives a cleaner cut.