A few days ago I bought a used O/A torch setup that came with a hose and oxygen and acetylene regulators. They guy fired up the torch (he was out of Oxy) but burned some acetylene so I could see it work. When I got home and looked at everything in detail I noticed that the acetylene regulator does not return to zero. It is not connected to anything but it stays around 9 or so. My first thought was that I was sold something by a dishonest person and the second is that I will ask here. I have not connected it to tanks and thinking of taking in the thing to the LWS. See picture and tell me what you think.
Acetylene regulator question
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rjmack
Platinum Member
i think that happens from leaving the pressure screw turned to one position for years on end. evidently the diaphram gets hard and stays in one position.
it may loosen up if you turn out the pressure screw, then again it may not.
it looks like you're in the range for cutting, the only issues you may have is if you try welding/brazing you may have too much pressure for the smaller tips.
maybe try hooking everything up, (always do a leakdown test first) light the acetylene only, turn the pressure regulating knob on the regulator slightly out (first) and then back in (the same amount) and see if you have any effect at the flame.
it may loosen up if you turn out the pressure screw, then again it may not.
it looks like you're in the range for cutting, the only issues you may have is if you try welding/brazing you may have too much pressure for the smaller tips.
maybe try hooking everything up, (always do a leakdown test first) light the acetylene only, turn the pressure regulating knob on the regulator slightly out (first) and then back in (the same amount) and see if you have any effect at the flame.
monckywrench
Silver Member
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Bad low-pressure guage. No other part of the regulator can cause that gauge to read high with no gas in the system.
It doesn't take much of a bounce to move the pointer and if it looked as it should when you first saw it then it could have happened in transport.
New ones are around ten bucks. They are pipe thread and easy to swap using an open-end wrench. New ones usually come with a dot of sealant or wrapped with Teflon.
I look for regulators with that problem so I can buy them cheap! All it takes is one problem for them to be taken out of service, and they usually don't have more than one problem.
Neat old Union Carbide guages. Post pics of the torch and we can give further advice depending on make and model.
Union Carbide/Oxweld/Purox/L-tec/Linde/Prest-O-Weld gear is excellent equipment!
It doesn't take much of a bounce to move the pointer and if it looked as it should when you first saw it then it could have happened in transport.
New ones are around ten bucks. They are pipe thread and easy to swap using an open-end wrench. New ones usually come with a dot of sealant or wrapped with Teflon.
I look for regulators with that problem so I can buy them cheap! All it takes is one problem for them to be taken out of service, and they usually don't have more than one problem.
Neat old Union Carbide guages. Post pics of the torch and we can give further advice depending on make and model.
Union Carbide/Oxweld/Purox/L-tec/Linde/Prest-O-Weld gear is excellent equipment!
Thanks for the help guys. The idea that it was left on cutting pressure could be right. The guy I bought it from said that he only used it for cutting. I don't think I bumped it as I handle all Oxy/Ac tanks and related stuff like egg shells. It would be safe to say I'm afraid of it somewhat.
He gave me the following list of stuff for my $120
Victor 315 torch
#1 welding tip (bent)
#3 welding tip
#5 welding tip
rosebud
1350 cutting attachment with #1 tip
Purox torch with cutting attachment #0 cutting tip, and a Linde tip he said is a brazing tip that fits the Purox
Also another small Victor torch with no tips I believe it is a J-100
I want to use them for cutting, bending, general heating, really want to learn brazing. I will do very little gas welding as I have an ac/dc buzz box that handles that task well.
How do I clean the inside of the tips? All except for the big Victor torch and the cutting attachment were covered with thick dust from years of sitting in an open box.
All suggestions are welcome.
He gave me the following list of stuff for my $120
Victor 315 torch
#1 welding tip (bent)
#3 welding tip
#5 welding tip
rosebud
1350 cutting attachment with #1 tip
Purox torch with cutting attachment #0 cutting tip, and a Linde tip he said is a brazing tip that fits the Purox
Also another small Victor torch with no tips I believe it is a J-100
I want to use them for cutting, bending, general heating, really want to learn brazing. I will do very little gas welding as I have an ac/dc buzz box that handles that task well.
How do I clean the inside of the tips? All except for the big Victor torch and the cutting attachment were covered with thick dust from years of sitting in an open box.
All suggestions are welcome.
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yomax4
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Take the plastic cover off of the gauge. "Gently" turn the needle back past the pin until you hear/feel the first click. Return it to the right side of the pin. If it's not at zero, Do it again, Repeat until it has slight pressure against the pin. This is how they were calibrated in the 1st place. If after 3 clicks you can't get it. Buy new. I would like to have that Victor J100 if you want to trade for a new regulator.
yomax4
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Looking at your pic.. It looks like you have a set of old Linde R205 and R207 regs. They are/were good but very obsolete. ( late 70's Early 80's) Gauges are fairly reasonable and you don't really need a 2.5". You can use a 2" and save 5-6 bucks. 2" and 2.5" all have 1/4 pipe threads. Try to Calibrate 1st or trade me. :thumbsup:
rjmack
Platinum Member
these are tip cleaners.
remember to use a straight one that fits easily inside the tip. you only want contact with the tip on the 'out' stroke, pulling dirt, slag, carbon buildiup etc out of the tip.
never force the tip cleaner into the tip, and keep in mind that the process is a gentle one. avoid hard scrubbing.
an ancient tip doesn't necessarily mean it is a worn out tip, but those tips may well be already worn out. the bore should be smooth, not gravely or rough when you are swabbing it out. work your way around the circumference of the bore. when you come to a rough spot, just keep at it gently until it smooths out.
if you can't smooth it out all the way around, whatever is in there won't come out, or the surface of the bore has already been damaged.
for the cutting jet on your cutting tip, you should be able to see, at the very least, 6-8 inches of cutting jet. 12-18 inches is normal for a clean tip on a torch that is properly set.
once you have checked that you have control of your acetylene reg (by being able to turn it down low enough to run your small brazing tips, or high enough for all the preheats on your cutting torch) then put your cutting head on and light the torch starting around 10 acetylene and 40 oxygen. you want a neutral to carburizing/carbonizing flame on your cutting torch preheat flames. the last thing you want are oxidizing preheat flames.
depress your cutting trigger and observe the cutting jet. adjust the oxygen regulator up or down while observing the cutting jet. get the most (longest) cutting jet you can and go from there.
once you have the regs tuned in, swab the cutting jet again just to make sure it is smooth all the way around, then light it and fine tune the oxygen reg again, using the cutting jet length for a guide.
always do a leak down test when you first turn the bottles on and always turn the bottles off when you are done the specific job. that's really important.
have fun :thumbsup:
remember to use a straight one that fits easily inside the tip. you only want contact with the tip on the 'out' stroke, pulling dirt, slag, carbon buildiup etc out of the tip.
never force the tip cleaner into the tip, and keep in mind that the process is a gentle one. avoid hard scrubbing.
an ancient tip doesn't necessarily mean it is a worn out tip, but those tips may well be already worn out. the bore should be smooth, not gravely or rough when you are swabbing it out. work your way around the circumference of the bore. when you come to a rough spot, just keep at it gently until it smooths out.
if you can't smooth it out all the way around, whatever is in there won't come out, or the surface of the bore has already been damaged.
for the cutting jet on your cutting tip, you should be able to see, at the very least, 6-8 inches of cutting jet. 12-18 inches is normal for a clean tip on a torch that is properly set.
once you have checked that you have control of your acetylene reg (by being able to turn it down low enough to run your small brazing tips, or high enough for all the preheats on your cutting torch) then put your cutting head on and light the torch starting around 10 acetylene and 40 oxygen. you want a neutral to carburizing/carbonizing flame on your cutting torch preheat flames. the last thing you want are oxidizing preheat flames.
depress your cutting trigger and observe the cutting jet. adjust the oxygen regulator up or down while observing the cutting jet. get the most (longest) cutting jet you can and go from there.
once you have the regs tuned in, swab the cutting jet again just to make sure it is smooth all the way around, then light it and fine tune the oxygen reg again, using the cutting jet length for a guide.
always do a leak down test when you first turn the bottles on and always turn the bottles off when you are done the specific job. that's really important.
have fun :thumbsup:
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yomax4
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In looking closer at the Pic of the Torch stuff. I see that the purox stuff is an obsolete CA275 cutting attachment and handle. Heavy Duty Victor cutting attachment and a medium duty victor handle. Hard to tell on the heating tips but they look mix'd as well. All good stuff but will surely need O-Rings. Ony 1 of the regulators is a Linde R205. The other I don't know.
monckywrench
Silver Member
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I inspect the O-rings with a bright light and touch them to ensure they are still soft-ish.
When in doubt, replace with a proper Viton ring and NOT hardware store cheapies.
The Purox stuff has descendants which are still in production and those torches are excellent. These videos demonstrate what you can do with them and are worth a look since they also depict setting your torch.
If you use the Downloadhelper add-on for Firefox you can save them to your PC and play the videos with VLC media player. Both are free with no catches or nagware or malware.
How to use a cutting torch - WeldingWeb™ - Welding forum for pros and enthusiasts
I suggest keeping both since Victor tips are quite common on Ebay but Purox have a great industrial "feel" and you may find you like them better.
The Victor is worth more because of the name, about eighty bucks or better with attachment. I prefer Purox to Victor but I keep a few (larger) Victors too since they are easy to accumulate.
Torch "feel" is different for everyone, so you may like one handle better than another for that reason.
OADoctor's business is well-regarded and worth a look for parts and rebuild services if needed. You can give him a shout on the O-rings:
Regulator & Torch Exchange - Home
Example parts:
Regulator & Torch Exchange - Repair Parts
When in doubt, replace with a proper Viton ring and NOT hardware store cheapies.
The Purox stuff has descendants which are still in production and those torches are excellent. These videos demonstrate what you can do with them and are worth a look since they also depict setting your torch.
If you use the Downloadhelper add-on for Firefox you can save them to your PC and play the videos with VLC media player. Both are free with no catches or nagware or malware.
How to use a cutting torch - WeldingWeb™ - Welding forum for pros and enthusiasts
I suggest keeping both since Victor tips are quite common on Ebay but Purox have a great industrial "feel" and you may find you like them better.
The Victor is worth more because of the name, about eighty bucks or better with attachment. I prefer Purox to Victor but I keep a few (larger) Victors too since they are easy to accumulate.
Torch "feel" is different for everyone, so you may like one handle better than another for that reason.
OADoctor's business is well-regarded and worth a look for parts and rebuild services if needed. You can give him a shout on the O-rings:
Regulator & Torch Exchange - Home
Example parts:
Regulator & Torch Exchange - Repair Parts
I'll keep you in mind if I get another J100, since I have big hands I don't care for them and sell/swap them off.
