old oxy regulators- are they still usable

[shocker]

I havent done any oxy-acet or oxy-fuel stuff for years ...YEARS....and I am wondering if my old murex/saffire/BOC oxygen regs are up to the job.

I am aware that regulators should be serviced or replaced regularly but I have also recently been told that due to increased input pressure the old regs are redundant.

The independent suppliers that I am looking to use for my gas rate their oxygen bottle output at 200bar.

If you were to ask just HOW old my regs were,Id have to take some guesses.....Ive older BOC ones with the brass crossbar tap and more recent ones,maybe 1980s,with the white plastic drum with black rubber band tap.

If I need to buy new regs,so be it....but I would rather not throw out these well made chunky brass ones if they can be safely used or serviced up to spec.

Any ideas out there?

 

[shocker]

Nobody?Not even Weldequip?

 

[brightspark]

Nobody?Not even Weldequip?

im gonna get shot down here .seing no one else will show there hand untill sumone posts ive used the same boc regulators on my gear for 25 years . when ive finished with them i allways purge the lines and slacken the reg dial off. i check the flashback arestors regular and the one way check valves on the gun and everything works fine . i also have had reg on a propane torch for 35 years and was second hand when i got it

 

[the snooper]

im the same ive got some old regs and still working perfectly well including a propane reg plus a few i havent used in a long time

 

[brightspark]

the oxygen bottles are filled to 230 bar and acetylene to 15.5 bar

 

[shocker]

Thanks guys! I appreciate you going out on a limb and risking a flaming to give me some answers.Didnt want to mess about with oxy though....too many cruise missiles around already without me launching any ..........

....so,off I go to get bottled up and a cuttin' and a brazin' I shall be....again!

thanks again

shocks

 

[shocker]

However,this thread does mention the pressure thing....

http://www.mig-welding.co.uk/forum/showthread.php?t=11830

 

[brightspark]

However,this thread does mention the pressure thing....

http://www.mig-welding.co.uk/forum/showthread.php?t=11830

christ they deffo want putting in the bin or the museum

 

[shocker]

Yeah,I got some similar,maybe older....but strictly museum pieces !

I'd like to know when the input pressures and hence the regulators changed.I know,as you say,that BOC go 230bar. The independent place Im using go 200.

 

[shocker]

When I find time I reckon I shall have to post up some pics of my most recent regs.....see if that jogs anyones memory ......or enthusiam ! Or pity.....

 

[brightspark]

havent they got it stamped on or the max pressure the gauges go 2 ??

 

[shocker]

OK.....on the oxy reg in front of me the left hand gauge is marked from 0-30 lbf/in2 and 0-2 kgf/cm2........whilst the right hand gauge is 0-4000 lbf/in2...and 0-280 kgf/cm2.......

....theres no other markings apart from BOC ltd london & use no oil anywhere on the dials or body....

....given that 3000 psi (the same as lbf/in2 [?] ) roughly equals 200 bar.....where does that leave me?

Im getting nowhere with the local suppliers as they all want to sell me a new one and the farmers I know say "he'm be right,dont ee tek on zo!" and the fabricators I know say "oooh,you've gotta have new everything,you can buy my one Ive had for a coupla years ! ".......

 

[shocker]

Had a look at my dads new reg and it goes up to 6000psi......this would be approx double the output pressure of the bottles I will be using.Is 2000psi enough headroom?Since my reg only goes up to 4000?

 

[shocker]

Now I have found a Sealy oxy reg that is marked 230bar .....but the dial only goes up to 4000psi not the 6000psi seen on the ones on sale today.....is this going to be any problem?

I found a pertinent section in a BOC pdf doc that says that regs with non-captive pressure screws or no maximum pressure markings,amongst other things,should not be used.

Fair enough,Im all for safety,but how much of this is overkill in fear of litigation and to sell new products?
Before anyone starts shouting "For christs sake,how much is your life worth to you?Buy a new one you miser ! " I should explain myself.....

....its not so much I dont want to buy a new one its more that I deplore the throw away mentality that has robbed us of a couple of generations of engineers that are replaced by "fitters" who just change out a part for new as a matter of course.If my regs are SAFE for me and everyone else then I think that they should be continued to be used.These older tools are usually built to a higher standard with superior materials and built to last,if cared for.I could go on all day to the yawns of everyone,but I will just leave one case in point of the fitter mentality.

A friend,ex RN,retirement age was working on a tipper trailer.He hired a neighbour,a lad of 19 or so with NVQs and so on in motor mechanics.He asked him to replace the 4 wheels with another set with new tyres and left him to it while he ent off elsewhere.That afternoon he hitched up the trailer and went to tow it out of the yard.....in the mirror he saw a wheel wobbling so he stopped and had a look.The whelnuts were on finger tight,no more.
After tightening and torquing he went to see said lad to ask what had happened.The lad calmly said that he was told to put the whels on.....not to tighten them.My friend asked what would have happened if he had gone down the road and lost a wheel and a load.The lad told him that it would be my friends fault as he had not instructed him to tighten the nuts.My mate then asked what would be the case if the same thing had happened at Kwik Fit where the lad was soon to start (he got the job by his qualifications).....lad told him it would be his immediate superiors fault as he was not specifically instructed to finish the job.

This begs two questions.....1 ) what happened to common sense
2 ) what did he think the wheelbrace & torque wrench he was handed as he was left to the job were for?
.....rant over......

So....anyone got any answers for me on the oxy regulator front?

 

[shocker]

So.......still no reply on this ?

 

[brightspark]

my oxy regs up to 200 bar and its been on donkeys years so i wouldnt worry , in industry they would have u changer them every few years but we arent in industry new standards and regulations come out all the time but it doesnt mean u bin everything that isnt up to the latest standards . theres bringing new electrical regs out all the time but it doesnt mean u have to change everything when something new comes out

 

[Robotstar5]

theres bringing new electrical regs out all the time but it doesnt mean u have to change everything when something new comes out

Much to the disgust of the electrical retail industry who seem to be half of the advisers to the regs

 

[dannyp]

put them on a botteland give them a squeek if they work they work. then just set the pressure and lave them a bit to see if they creep, if they don't imo there fine to use.

ive got a couple of old oxy regs that i "updated" for new regs new regs gave up and started crreping up to silly pressures on the outlet within a year and blowing the vent valve, got them swaped and the replacements started doing the same and were generaly crap.

dug the old ones out put on a bottel and it worked fine still there, much much better presssure adjustment, dosent creep and holds pressure much better when useing big cutting nossels.

i i new anywhere that would service or test them so they chould be stamped as in date i would even if it cost more than the new regs

 

[shocker]

Thanks guys , Im going to go with common sense on this one following your input . My Sealey (newest) reg has disappeared , I reckon my old dad has had it - he is getting on a bit amd is a bit rattly upstairs . If he sees anything remotely connected with anything he has evr done...its his , its been stolen by me and he is recovering his property to vex my evil plot to etc etc . Whereupon he hides said item and promptly forgets . Sounds amusing , can be at times but he once took my landrover engine to an engineer "somewhere near-ish" and it took me 14 months to find , phoning and e mailing every business in cornwall and devon remotely concerned with engineering . I found it at a place where they machine aerospace components - they said this stroppy old bloke unloaded it into their back door one day unannounced and left no instructions , name or contact number . They were quite pleased to have the mystery solved . All it had was a sheared off stud .

However , this may be a very well disguised gift horse as the next in line is a much chunkier ButBro that has a captive adjuster and is rated to 230 . It looks like an 80s or later model to me but seems sound , just missing the plastic knob off the front which might take a domestic radiatior knob.....maybe . I am a bit happier with this chunkier reg than the sealey as I had a distressing incident with a bottle of Argo Lite that fell over snapping off the sealey reg at the stem , falling through a pile of sheet glass that my boss had helpfully leant next it at the same time as he removed the safety chain from the back of the welder as he didnt understand what it was for . If he decides something doesnt make sense , he throws it away . Still , I had fun wrestling the potential cruise missile into submission in the pile of broken glass .....

so , its on with the Butbro and hey ho , lets go ! If I survive , I will let you all know . And thanks for the replies , all .