Acetylene gone!

[Robotstar5]

Our H&S chap has had to get rid of our Porta Pak on the advice of the fire service, so he's replaced it with a shiny new Hypertherm for cutting and an Oxy/Propane for heating.
Trolley arrived today so we put the O2 cylinder on it, still waiting for small propane cylinder.



Maybe they're hoping the cylinders will "grow" into it?

It will be going back Monday and we'll modify the old Porta Pak trolley to suit.

 

[brightspark]

im glad im the age i am 21 i couldnt face all the beurocracy and crap thats fiested on to us for much longer its ok for the youngsters they know no difrence so accept it

 

[Hitch]

Didnt you tell them you can use the propane for cutting aswell?

 

[Robotstar5]

Didnt you tell them you can use the propane for cutting aswell?

It must have slipped my mind while looking at the Hypertherm catalogue

 

[Welderpaul]

Brilliant. Who ordered the trolley?

Lad who works near us was advised by the fire service to get rid of his acetylene, he said no, they said ok then. Simples.

Propane's not quite as good as acetylene for cutting/heating

 

[Paul.]

I reckon you need a plate with a ring welded to it in the bottom of that trolley, and a mod to the chain mount to make it fit the cylinder properly.
Everyone's getting rid of DA cylinders, I saved nearly a grand on insurance when I sent mine back, even the fire brigade workshops no longer use acetylene,

 

[Robotstar5]

Brilliant. Who ordered the trolley?

The chap who runs the welding dept. ordered the correct trolley from our usual welding supplier, then the finance dept. got involved and requested a cheaper one!

 

[Hitch]

Propane's not quite as good as acetylene for cutting/heating

No, but better than a Plasma
By the time ive found a 3ph extension, airline, set the plasma up, i could have wheeled the gas over, cut and packed away again

 

[Drains]

Do us a pic of the Hypertherm Stu. I could do with some excitement in my life.

 

[Weldingartisan]

So what's wrong with acetylene? It's only dangerous in the hands of idiots (like most things). In some respects it's safer than propane. An overheated acetylene cylinder should burn at a contolled rate and can be cooled to prevent explosion. If you ever find the remains of an overheated propane cylinder............ It's the oxygen that goes with a big bang in a fire. W/A

 

[brightspark]

So what's wrong with acetylene? It's only dangerous in the hands of idiots (like most things). In some respects it's safer than propane. An overheated acetylene cylinder should burn at a contolled rate and can be cooled to prevent explosion. If you ever find the remains of an overheated propane cylinder............ It's the oxygen that goes with a big bang in a fire. W/A

im not saying it doesnt happen
but in 35 years of having welding bottles and know a lot of people that have them. if stored in the right place and used correctly ive never seen a problem with them ive seen a lot of people whilst working in houses storing butane heater and baRBEque bottles in attics and atatched garages amongst the petrol and paints with all other combustible gear piled on top of them that does frighten me

 

[Weldingartisan]

I think you missed my point, I'm not implying that gas cylinders are not safe - quite the opposite (I've been using them for 45 years), it's just that acetylene is always judged as the bad guy when other gases can be far more dangerous when used/handled incorrectly. W/A

 

[brightspark]

verry true its generaly people that havent got them that condem em

 

[zardoz]

The firemen these days are brainwashed into worse case scenario by the H&S from training onwards. My pal is a trainee fireman and this Acetylene storage depot explosion in the USA was one of the vids they were made to view.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Wg5CgNx_sJI

I bet there were a few brown trouser moments from some of the drivers on the road past the factory that day!

Then you get idiots like these brainless morons in the link below. The ones who give the H&S people jobs in the first place! And make it harder for the rest of us to get gas to use even in a safe fashion.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=QgaE2axsfgc&NR=1&feature=fvwp

 

[Robotstar5]

It was the mention of the 200m exclusion zone that panicked our company as it would stop production of other factories on the same estate and apparently they could sue us for lost production!

 

[bump]

It was the mention of the 200m exclusion zone that panicked our company as it would stop production of other factories on the same estate and apparently they could sue us for lost production!

Yep, happened at the BOC depot in St. Phillips in Bristol this year. Caused complete chaos with the roads and rail (the mainline East and North runs next to the depot). From that POV alone I can see why companies are dropping (sic) it.

However it is a shame to see another old method go.

 

[Robotstar5]

Do us a pic of the Hypertherm Stu. I could do with some excitement in my life.

Here you go Si, "fill yer boots" - sorry for delay, had a weekend off for a change!

 

[Robotstar5]

Well, the BOC wagon came today to take away the Acetylene cylinders and a few other Ar/CO2 we no longer require. The storeman decided he could sort it out without telling us so the wagon took our O2 bottles needed for the new portapak and failed to collect a couple of size W's we had in the maintenance dept.!
We even found a full bottle of Ar pureshield, shame we don't have a tig torch for the inverter.

 

[Robotstar5]

While waiting for the accounts dept to sort out the Propane I've built a trolley more suitable for the cylinder sizes we use.



Mostly re-cyled bits, wheels from old cylinder dolly, chrome handle lying at back of workshop for a couple of years, steel from some old frames, the only new bit was the 5 bar plate!

 

[madkayaker]

nice trolly