Tanakrafter Oxy setup question

[woodlandfarms]

I found a nice Oxy setup, but the set is a TANAKRAFTER. I only know Victor so was wondering how you guys think this would be for a very non pro.

 

[Mark @ Everlast]

Made in Japan by Tanaka. Looks like a Victor copy?

 

[Scooby074]

What kind of money?

One thing about Victor brand is parts ability. Its probably the most widely known brand in North America, and they are well known for keeping parts for a long time..

Any time you get into an "off" brand you risk not having that.

Oh and can you try it out? If a regulator is bad (for example) a rebuild will be over $50, then there are tips and hoses and the like. Any bad will eat up any savings between an used off brand and a new "name" brand. And dont forget new has warranty. Cyberweld has Victor units starting at $170, although I'd step up to the Performer at $230 as a starting point.

 

[woodlandfarms]

The asking price is 350 with full tanks and cart. But I agree on the parts issues, espcially as I am looking to buy used. Some guy is selling for $600 a victor set brand new with tanks and reg (larger tanks). Welding store was asking $800 without cart. I really wanted a good used Victor set and I think I will continue to look.

 

[travis potter]

Make sure the tanks are owner tanks and not rent or lease tanks.

 

[Scooby074]

What Travis said is important.

Here you can only own the small bottles. All the larger sizes are lease only. They wont fill them for you unless you have a contract. Rules where you are may be different however. I recommend calling your local welding supply. Some places expect the consumer to pay for re-certification too. Here we dont have that expense.

I own my bottles.. IIRC they were near $300 each, maybe less (oxygen was more than ace), that price included the first fill.

 

[muddstopper]

I have owned my own bottles for years. When I first got them, back in the 70's, I had to pay for re-cert every so often, but now I just exchange them for a full bottle at the welding supply. I also have a set of Victor regulators that I had rebuilt back in the eairly 80's and they still work like they are supposed to. I did start having problems with my Victor torch, but was given a good Airco one and havent gotten a around to having the Victor rebuilt. Since I bought the plasma cutter, I hardly ever use the torch for anything more than just to heat something up.

 

[Gary Fowler]

Lots of Victor "copies" from different companies. UniWeld are totally identical, Harris has all interchangeable tips (this is what I bought when my Victor set needed some workover) Harris is a bit more robust than Victor but uses the same parts. I am sure there are others that copy the Victor design. I wouldnt buy one that tips are not interchangeable due to availability.
X 2 or 3 on the Travis Potter post about making sure tanks are owned and not leased. Maybe hard to do without taking them to the LWS. I bought some used tanks that were needed recertification and luckily I really got owned vs leased. I had to pay $50 per tank for recertification of the Oxygen tanks only. Evidently the Acetylene tanks dont require recertification, at least they didnt charge me for that.
I found a couple post on internet for Tanaka torch kit at $75 but the parts number seem to be unique to Tanaka so I am not sure they interchange with Victor tips. Looks like most kits come with 3-4 welding/heating tips but only one attachement head so you have to unscrew each tip from the mixing barrel attachment heat which is a pain to do each time. I also saw some Harris complete sets for $99 but hard to tell the size of it. My set was $189 at LWS which was likely much higher than internet pricing.

 

[yomax4]

Victor has medim duty and heavy duty. Harris has a regular duty only. May be more robust than the medium Victor but not as robust as the Victor heavy duty like the Journeyman. All are ok kits even some of the gypo imports. It's a matter of cost, quality repairabillity and warranty.

 

[Gary Fowler]

Victor has medim duty and heavy duty. Harris has a regular duty only. May be more robust than the medium Victor but not as robust as the Victor heavy duty like the Journeyman. All are ok kits even some of the gypo imports. It's a matter of cost, quality repairabillity and warranty.

I dont need the journeyman for my work as I dont require high flow for big rosebuds that the journeyman provides. I used the big Journeyman rigs for all my construction career and the longer barrel and torch head is good for cutting heavy plate as it allows for greater distance for you hand from the flame. I prefer the small torch for my home use,I think it was the J100 but I have it put away so cant check the numbers now and memory on numbers aint what it was 40 years ago.
The Harris replacement is a V1350-3 with model 25-100C oxygen gauge and 25-15C acetylene gauge. They are identical in size to the Victor unit I have. The little small torch is much easier to handle for small stuff than the big journeyman although the Harris torch is much heavier than the small Victor torch but physically it is the same size. Everything on the Harris is solid brass whereas the Victor has a pressed steel torch handle and the mixing barrel is larger and heavier and it does feel a bit better in my hand. Overall I am impressed with the quality of the Harris torch kit. It also came with built in flashback arrestor on the mixing barrel.
I just checked the Harris website and they do make equivalent equipment to all the Victor line it appears. Many of the numbers seem to be the same with an added prefix. They are made in USA also so that is a plus. I am not knocking Victor in any way, they are premium cutting and welding equipment suppliers and so is Harris.