switching from acetylene to propane?

[chunkolini]

Ive just received a big bill for my OA cylinders.
the acetylene bottle is a huge great thing that I rarely use but like to have as a back up for brazing jobs.
Im looking to downscale both bottles.
I can buy them from Hobby weld but it costs a bomb. Over a few years it would equal the current spend but a lot of fannying about.
What alternatives arethere?
I think you can braze with propane,.
Do I need new regs, torch and pipes? or can I use the existing kit?
I will only be brazing and very rarely heating small components no need for OA cutting

 

[knighty]

I swapped to propane years ago when my acetylene ran out

never tried welding with it, but I do a decent amount of brazing, big thick walled copper pipes that love to suck the heat away... never had a problem with it not getting hot enough etc.

used it for heating stuck bolts up etc..

used it a few times to heat stuff up bend etc.

works just like acetylene for me... but way cheaper :-)

 

[Shedendman]

You can braze just as good with propane
As for kit,thats a topic few agree and disagree with,me,i've used the same gear i had with OA for a long time and things are still as good as before(yes thats including the hoses)
My advice,just make sure you fully de-purge all the lines after use,simple

 

[chunkolini]

ok that sounds like a start and do Acetylene regs fit propane bottles

 

[Agroshield]

Propylene (one of the components of MAPP gas) is a halfway step between acetylene and propane.

See:

D

Thread 'Anyone used Propylene Fuel Gas instead of Acetylene'

May 11, 2021

Morning Chaps. As per title, not wanting to keep acetylene in my domestic garage any more really. BOC won't deliver, I don't like having it in my car even when ratchet strapped down.

I would use it more if I was happier with the safety aspects but as it is it really is only an emergency set, so kind of pointless really. I was considering an Oxy-Propane set but reading about them it seems they are a compromise, especially for flame cutting of steel, whereas this Propylene Fuel Gas seems to have a lot of advantages. Not least of which it does seem to be available in the rent free bottles...

• Domdom
• Replies: 19
• forum: Other Types of Welding

You will need a new regulator for the propane. It is bottled at a different pressure to acetylene.

 

[knighty]

ok that sounds like a start and do Acetylene regs fit propane bottles

no, there's way way way lower pressure in the bottle

iirc there's about 150psi/10 bar?

regs are pretty cheap tho :-)

 

[Erie Fred]

no, there's way way way lower pressure in the bottle

iirc there's about 150psi/10 bar?

regs are pretty cheap tho :-)

I simply changed the inlet fitting on the regulator.......

 

[frank horton]

times I've used Propane have been a real pain.....I found it very diff to get the oxy propane mix right....
seem to be blowing out the flame most times.....
At school 60 years ago there was a town gas and an electric air pump (brazing hearth) we used a lot...
anyone know if it's anything special....just for heating stuff up to bend.....
I did think about one of electric coil thinga ma bob's, made from a Micro wave but got scared to try it............

 

[Pond frog]

I ditched acetylene for propane years ago it’s a sensible move but OA nozzles can be a pain to light with propane, you may find that you need point the nozzle against something to force the flame onto the tip.

 

[knighty]

yeah, it took me a min to get the hang of lighting it, I find it much easier with a tiny bit of oxygen running when lighting it... easy to blow itself out when it's pure propane

 

[Shedendman]

Propylene (one of the components of MAPP gas) is a halfway step between acetylene and propane.

See:

D

Thread 'Anyone used Propylene Fuel Gas instead of Acetylene'

May 11, 2021

Morning Chaps. As per title, not wanting to keep acetylene in my domestic garage any more really. BOC won't deliver, I don't like having it in my car even when ratchet strapped down.

I would use it more if I was happier with the safety aspects but as it is it really is only an emergency set, so kind of pointless really. I was considering an Oxy-Propane set but reading about them it seems they are a compromise, especially for flame cutting of steel, whereas this Propylene Fuel Gas seems to have a lot of advantages. Not least of which it does seem to be available in the rent free bottles...

• Domdom
• Replies: 19
• forum: Other Types of Welding

You will need a new regulator for the propane. It is bottled at a different pressure to acetylene.

I didnt,still does what its meant to do

 

[Shedendman]

When lighting propane,hold the tip of the torch on a flat surface,open valve a little and light away from tip,raise torch up and adjust the O from there,not good if theres a strong breeze about

 

[trigger3]

we use propane for cutting. the regulators are different. the hoses are different. not sure if the torch handle is different but i think the tip is different.

 

[Turbo]

You only really need a different cutting nozzles and rosebud heating nozzles. Every else should be ok.

If you were going from propane to acetylene you would need a new hose and regulator. The acetylene is dissolved in acetone in the cylinder and it will rot a propane reg and hose.
The acetylene gear should be ok with propane but if the hose is showing its age replace it with an range propane hose.

It can be tricky to light but once you get the hang of it it's easy enough.

You do use a bit more oxygen to get the same heat as you had with o/a but the saving in the cost of acetylene is worth it.

You cannot weld with o/p but everything else is possible.

 

[Dapph2]

Interesting to read the post saying they used compressed air . I only have a 10 cu foot compressor . that got me thinking . I have a large 24 inch 230 volt high speed industrial fan ( EX plant growing device acquired at public auction )

Might it be posible to enclose the fan in a ply case and get sufficient pressure out to the sight glass / meter ,instead of buying in oxygen or dried air ..

I already have a variable propane gauge & I'd only want to use the propane for heating a few things to bendable orange or red and do some silver soldering or silicon brass brazing .

Any sensible thoughts on this guys & gals .

 

[500e]

Why not propane and compressed air, used it a lot for heating big things, but not with small jets
We have propane and oxy for cutting till we got 3 phase plasma cutter

 

[knighty]

Interesting to read the post saying they used compressed air . I only have a 10 cu foot compressor . that got me thinking . I have a large 24 inch 230 volt high speed industrial fan ( EX plant growing device acquired at public auction )

Might it be posible to enclose the fan in a ply case and get sufficient pressure out to the sight glass / meter ,instead of buying in oxygen or dried air ..

I already have a variable propane gauge & I'd only want to use the propane for heating a few things to bendable orange or red and do some silver soldering or silicon brass brazing .

Any sensible thoughts on this guys & gals .

A fan won;t make the pressure you need, a compressor would

no idea how well it would work... at school I'm pretty sure we used mains gas and compressed air too

 

[Cobbler]

A fan won;t make the pressure you need, a compressor would

no idea how well it would work... at school I'm pretty sure we used mains gas and compressed air too

We did, used a gas & air torch too. Wouldn’t be allowed in schools today, along with a coke forge, Health & Safety!

 

[Fazerruss]

Speaking from experience here.
First of all using compressed air and propane will not get anywhere near as hot as oxygen propane. Bare in mind air is made up of oxygen, nitrogen, Argon,.co2 etc. All these extra gasses lower the flame temp.
The town gas braziers were the FlameFast brazing hearths. They're ok but still don't get nowhere near as hot as oxy/propane.
You can't weld with oxy propane bur you can do everything else. I use all my oxy acetylene gear and just use an adjustable propane reg. I use a BOC saffire torch with the acetylene tips and they light just fine and are very controllable.
I also have some rose bud tips on an extension for some serious heat on big stuff.

Propolene or Mapp gas is a waste of money because you still can't weld with it either so may aswell use propane which is a hell of a lot cheaper

This is running on oxy propane

 

[Bornfree]

I braze with oxy propane using acetylene nozzles. Just use a larger one