Using propane instead of acetylene

[Furu]

Finally hooked up my new propane rosebud, cutting tips/regulator to try out propane for heating and cutting instead of acetylene. Really surprised at how little propane flow can be used (knob on torch) versus acetylene and how much more oxygen is needed to get a neutral flame. The other thing that I initially was confused by was the quantity of water that was showing up on the steel. I wish I remembered my chemistry just a bit more but presume that propane just creates water in the burning process.
One thing I was very surprised at was how clean/smooth the cut was using propane. I did find that I had to slow down my tip speed to get a full through and through cut however. Seemed to take a bit longer to get the cut started as well.

Of course now propane has just jumped in price significantly.

 

[deerseeker001]

I have been using propane for many years i like it.its a little slower than acetylene but not enough to get excited about.

 

[mrmikey]

The other thing that I initially was confused by was the quantity of water.....

I thought I had read somewhere that you get pound for pound propane to water. I used to use a propane catalytic hear in the garage but gave it up as a bad habit as everything was rusting, the amount of condensation on everything was unreal.
As for using it instead of acetylene, same here as it prevents me from paying another rental fee for a bottle.....Mike

 

[Reverser]

I've thought about going that route myself in getting away from acetylene. All I know about propane in place of acetylene is what I've seen discussed on here and other forums.

I've considered seeing if Airgas will swap my acetylene bottle back for another oxygen bottle. That way I would have 2 oxy bottles, and I already have a small #20 propane bottle.

 

[Furu]

I will not give up my acetylene. When it will do the job I think the propane is a good idea.

 

[diesel lover]

Propane is a good option for torching!! Weather using the torch for cutting or rosebud work.

Both liquid propane and vapor propane can be used for torch work. I have used both and find vapor propane can complete several jobs! Liquid propane can be very dangerous if not trained properly

 

[Wyobuckaroo]

When a good friend of mine took over his dads old auto salvage business, I converted his yard torches to propane.... It was enough years ago now that it was a major money saver at that time.....

If I had a lot of fine work to do with a hand torch, I would use acetylene... If there were enough of that kind of work I needed, I would sub it to a shop with a plasma....

But for the occasional user it will work adequately in most instances....

Good luck....

 

[Shield Arc]

I switched to propane a few years ago. I don't see a whole lot of difference between cutting with acetylene and propane. Like already stated it does take a little longer to preheat. But is does make some nice cuts.

Here is a good video on using propane.
Propane & Oxygen Torch Cutting Instructional Video - YouTube

 

[PANHAPP]

Propane is a good option for torching!! Weather using the torch for cutting or rosebud work.

Both liquid propane and vapor propane can be used for torch work. I have used both and find vapor propane can complete several jobs! Liquid propane can be very dangerous if not trained properly

Why would you use liquid propane ?

 

[diesel lover]

Why would you use liquid propane ?

While working at a scrap yard I used torches set up with liquid propane to cut with. I believe since propane in the liquid state is in fact larger than vapor it may supply a hotter flame but I'm not sure myself!!

We had a hot piece of metal cut fall and cut one of the lines of the liquid propane. It caught fire!! There were either two oxygen tanks and one LP tank or two LP tanks and one oxygen tank. For the routing to supply two torch heads I would probably never do it AGAIN!! Liquid propane seems too dangerous to me. We had three cables to shut off as the line was on FIRE! Also we over worked a liquid propane tank and the relief valve released!! I checked it with my thermometer gun and it was colder than -70F !! LP boils at -50F or something like that.

For most work vapor propane and oxygen is very useable and safe. Much more stable than acylene for sure!

Vapor propane is what powers gas grills, heaters, and camping equipment in a normal residential bottle. Liquid propane normally powers forklifts and other engines but has to be preheated by the engines coolant heat to the converted to a vapor

 

[PANHAPP]

I have been using propane since the 70s and am pretty familiar with it. I cut with it and a lot of times I use liquid oxygen. Liquid propane just doesn't make any sense to me.

 

[dstig1]

The nice thing about propane is that you don't need another cylinder. 20lb tanks last FOREVER, so you can just steal your grill tank when needed. My only oxy/acetylene work was in class at the tech college, and they had a cascade bottle system that never ran out, so it isn't real fair to compare that to anything else, BUT...I found oxy propane at home sucks a ton of oxygen. Probably 3 or 4 125cu ft cylinders to one 20 lb propane tank. Never ran it all dry to be sure, but that seemed about right, from a rough estimate.

The reality is, like anything welding, it is more about time in the hood and experience/skill than anything. My torch work really sux, but i can cut stuff which is good to be able to do. You look at Shield Arc's stuff and don't for a minute think he is a first timer. He's been doing it for many years... That is one big reason why it looks so good. The other reason is pure talent. Some can do it easy, some can't.

 

[Tractor Seabee]

I converted heating and burning to propane. I have all three bottles on my cart. Still have to use OA for welding steel which I do a lot of. The regular OA welding/brazing tips work fine on Propane. As far as I not there is no special tips of those for other fuel gases. Cutting tips are special to other fuel gasses as the preheating cone is different to provide the extra heat required. Never noticed the water problem mentioned above. Yes cutting is slower but cleaner. OA for heating will produce a hotter flame and smaller concentration than other fuel gases. The reason I use the term fuel gases as there are others that work as well as propane. The old MAPP gas is still around in those small cylinders, too expensive. Butane works for you guys down south, its not sold in the North as in the winter the pressures are too low. If you have it, natural gas is the cheapest way to go. A lot of big users go to utility piped in NG. Works as good as propane. watch the prices on propane they fluctuate and follow the same price curve as gasoline. Years ago a system was developed to use gasoline-OX for burning, it was slick, cheap then, and burned clean. No slag just a fine black powder residue. Fire departments were leery of it and were slow in allowing and usually disallowing it even though it was approved my NFPA. It died out real fast.

Ron

 

[PANHAPP]

Seabee the first part of your post was a bit confusing to me. Just to anyone who wants to try propane they need to get a propane tip for their torch. It will be a two piece tip. You can take it apart to clean it and dress it up.
I hope none of you Seabees mind me using the logo. Dad was a Seabee in WW2. I always liked it. I was an airdale

 

[Arc weld]

Brazing tips will work for acetylene or propane but I think they're rated lower on propane. For cutting, generally a 2 piece tip is used for propane but there some that are one piece with a raised edge around the preheat holes. I think they might be for Purox but can't remember.

 

[Reverser]

For you guys that have swapped over to propane.

As an estimate on your personal usage, does your oxy/propane set-up use about twice the amount of oxygen as you did with oxy/acet? Or is it more or less?

I'm trying to figure if the changeover will be worth it or not. I don't use the torch a lot. But when I have a project, I don't want to have to be frequently running to Airgas either.

 

[Reverser]

I switched to propane a few years ago. I don't see a whole lot of difference between cutting with acetylene and propane. Like already stated it does take a little longer to preheat. But is does make some nice cuts.

Here is a good video on using propane.
Propane & Oxygen Torch Cutting Instructional Video - YouTube

Thanks for the video.
In the pic's you made, I noticed the cuts look smooth and hardly any slag. Is that typical with propane?

 

[Reverser]

Vapor propane is what powers gas grills, heaters, and camping equipment in a normal residential bottle. Liquid propane normally powers forklifts and other engines but has to be preheated by the engines coolant heat to the converted to a vapor

Isn't Liquid Propane(LP) in the small gas grill bottles? It's been a long time since I had one filled, but if I'm not mistaken when they go to fill it they put the bottle on weight scales and weigh the liquid in them.

 

[Arc weld]

Propane is always stored as a liquid. It can be used as a gas or a liquid depending but you need a cylinder with a dip tube to use it as a liquid. Very similar to Co2. If you shake the little disposable propane cylinders, you'll hear the liquid inside.