Victor Edge 2.0 Acetylene Regulator Trouble ???

[Gordon Gould]

One year old - bought almost exactly 1 year ago to replace my ancient Prest-O-Lite regulator. Apparently a bad move.

I use it very sporadically. Today I tried. When I went to adjust the Acetylene pressure with the torch valve closed it was jerky not smooth. It would go putt and the pressure would jump up. It would continue like that - putt putt putt. Then it would just sit steady until I opened the torch valve and it would putt putt again. The pressure would jump from 3 to 6 psi on each putt and drop from 6 to 3 psi between putts. I nervously lit it up and the flame pulsed as you would expect. After a while ( couple minutes ) the pressure stabilized a 6 psi with a smooth flame and no more putts. If I tried to change the pressure setting it would start pulsing again. At that point I shut it down.

I am trying to figure what to do next. Any help would be good.

gg

 

[hosspuller]

Had the same problem with a Victor torch set. I always relieved pressure when not in use. New regulator fixed problem. I believe it's the diaphragm causing the issue. No one local will repair it, but if you can get the parts,
DIY.

 

[yomax4]

Warranty. Call Victor.

 

[jaxs]

I'd get the model,serial and anything else available and call Victor. If they are smart they will at least share cost of repair/replacement. If you don't get satisfaction,diaphram is inexpensive and a diy job.

 

[WranglerX]

IF you have to go DIY, parts are available...

Repair Parts – Regulator and Torch Exchange, Inc.

regulatortorchrepair.com

 

[Gordon Gould]

Warranty. Call Victor.

Thanks ! It took a little looking, as they don't shout it out, but the Edge Series 2.0 regulators are on their list of products with a life time warranty. So I will do what you say.

Still it's a bummer when you go and grab the torch cuz you need it and it doesn't work. Makes me wonder if I would be better off with something else.

gg

 

[Smokeydog]

Know the feeling. My OA system doesn’t get used much anymore. Had diaphragm failure and my LWS repaired while confessing they don’t do that anymore. Would not accept payment so left a tip. Once their spare parts are gone there gone. Expense and safety concerns of OA can be an issue.

Most of the cutting now with hypertherm plasma. Very happy with it. Clean and fast. Cuts with saw-like accuracy. Pairs well with my use of scrap steel supply.

Heating to bend done in forge.

Once a common farm tool now OA sees little use. I still have receipts of $6-8 for bottle fills. Now the drive cost more than that. Not ready to get rid of it yet but seldom sees use.

 

[jaxs]

If things never broke,there would be no need for warranties but things do break and you have a warranty. By "better off with something else" do you mean hacksaw,plasma,chop saw or a different torch? There is no one size fit's all answer but if it's true misery loves company you are in luck here. You paid about $200 for the set and had it fail when you needed it. Read through these forums to see people that paid $20k for tractors that sometimes don't work when they need them. On the flip side it's no wonder some folks stuff seem's to never work considering the way they abuse it. No offense but do you avoid using acetylene with tank laying down or using too soon after setting upright? Are you familiar with 1/7 withdrawl rule? There's many ways to shorten tool life. A neighbor came to use my torch and used the tip to knock slag off. He said it didn't matter and put his tail over his back when i showed him the damaged tip and asked him to pay for it.

 

[Gordon Gould]

All I can say to all that jaxs is that it is only one year old and I have used it the same as I have used my old Linde Prest-O-Lite set for decades which is carefully and with understanding.

gg

 

[Smokeydog]

Gordon, seen your work and wish I had your skills.

The LWS I use did a multi million $$ facility upgrade a few years ago to keep up with their competition. Miss the well worn creaky wood floors and historic ambience. Sadly they told me Victor pretty much considers entry level torch sets disposable to compete. You can still buy the large HD Victor or Smith regulators for $400-500 each. But they have stopped rebuilding regulators and torches for liability reasons. Lifetime warranty but have to ship on your time and dime. They know how to do it but will not makes you think. I see lots of rebuild kits on Amazon. Buyer beware.

 

[Boss 302]

I have resolved to using my Prestolite B bottle with a turbo tip to do all of my jobs that require large amounts of heat and for cutting jobs I use a plasma cutter. I absolutely do not miss using the oxygen/acetylene setup.

 

[Mark @ Everlast]

The edge regulators I used were junk. I think you have about as much luck with a HF regulator or some copy type.

 

[jaxs]

The edge regulators I used were junk. I think you have about as much luck with a HF regulator or some copy type.

That's an interesting statement. I can't help but wonder how it come's out in the wash. The local guy that repair's gas equipment told me there's no catalog or cross referance for HF and knock-off brand repair kits. He sometimes recconize internals being same as something he can get parts for but the average diyer wouldn't. That bring's me to why I said your statment is interesting. Do you believe HF and knock-offs will last longer before a prt fails? In that event,it is a question of how much longer because it would be unrepairable. If reliability is about equal,wouldn't the Victor Edge be the better investment since reopair parts are avaliable? IMO ESAB would do better offering price competive equipment in another brand while only offering Victor in professional level. Hobbiests,diyers and farmers never see professional equipment where they shop so don't realize it's available. 75% wouldn't pay pro level prices anyhow but as it is ESAB is poisoning the water hole for the 25% that would. This might be above my pay grade but we see alot of that.

 

[Mark @ Everlast]

No, there may not be 100% parts availability. But most of them are direct copies of older, reliable units. When I was teaching, we got 5 new sets of the Edge regulators with Journeyman class torches. By the end of the semester, 2 sets failed outright. The rest were hard to read and ticklish to adjust, regardless. You had to stand right at it to see the pressures. The gauges are tiny and indecipherable.

But if you can buy a whole torch set from HF for 159.00 or someplace similar, possibly for cheaper with some sale or discount, you could be two or three of them for the price. Use one, keep the others for spare parts, and it would be repairable then. They'll last as long, or almost as long and then with the Edges imho. When warranty runs out, you will have to pitch them anyway. What have you gained? Nothing. Back to square one plus the extra money you paid out for something slightly longer lasting?

 

[Mark @ Everlast]

I mean look at how small this is. And this is about twice as large as it is in real life. The original were worse.

 

[Gordon Gould]

I have to agree with you Mark on the lack of user friendlyness of that gauge. Very difficult to read with any precision. And making repeatable settings is impossible. So what did you replace those gauges with ??

gg

 

[BukitCase]

Gordon, from Mark's pic I saw what is possibly the MAIN reason for crappy adjustability - those are SINGLE STAGE regulators, says so right on the front.

I've had my Craftsman (Harris, IIRC) 2 stage regs since 1972, NEVER left 'em pressurized, NEVER been rebuilt, and to this day they still work fine (and smooth, and steady).

If I had to replace mine, I would not even LOOK at anything that was single stage... Steve

 

[Mark @ Everlast]

Gordon, from Mark's pic I saw what is possibly the MAIN reason for crappy adjustability - those are SINGLE STAGE regulators, says so right on the front.

I've had my Craftsman (Harris, IIRC) 2 stage regs since 1972, NEVER left 'em pressurized, NEVER been rebuilt, and to this day they still work fine (and smooth, and steady).

If I had to replace mine, I would not even LOOK at anything that was single stage... Steve

Two stage are uncommon and outrageously expensive. There's really no need unless you are a hard core pro that you'd really ever need them. If you have a two stage regulator, they are exceptionally good, but most these days are not. It's not a problem per se, but you deal with the hand you got. They are twice the price at a minimum.

 

[BukitCase]

Mark, in my case cost is a moot point, aside from a few larger tips for my cutting torch the last thing I bought was a Victor 300 torch, 3 tips plus a rosebud; the Craftsman set was kind of a "high end homeowner" deal, smallest tip is almost a jeweler's size. The Victor stuff gave me a longer handle and larger tips.

Pretty sure that if my regs were to die I'd ditch the O/A and get Oxy/Propane if I needed torches AT ALL any more.

With the current crap that's going on, EVERYTHING'S more expensive - filled your gas tank lately?

OK, I'll shut up before I get banned for too much truth; I'll be watching for your answer to Gordon's last question tho... Steve

 

[Mark @ Everlast]

I have to agree with you Mark on the lack of user friendlyness of that gauge. Very difficult to read with any precision. And making repeatable settings is impossible. So what did you replace those gauges with ??

gg

It's terrible, and as I recall the effort required to adjust them is far to hard. We just limped along with the 3 and an older victor journeyman conventional unit. My personal ones are Smith.