Looking for a torch and need some help

[LonesomeSTX]

It is time I invest in a decent torch but I know little about them. I have used them quite often for cutting and brazing but it has been years since. Plus, I did not really know much about them then other than how to use one. Now the time has come for me to start saving up and getting the stuff I need. This is not a tool that I will use daily so I doubt I need the finest and most expensive stuff out there. I do want full size bottles however. So other than the bottles and cart what should I look for? I have heard both sides of buying new and used so what is the real story? What is wrong with buying used stuff? I know I have to stay away from used hoses if they looked cracked and aged. What brand should I look for and what type of maintenance issues should I be aware of? Should the regulators match the rest of it brand wise? What type of gas should I use? I have heard that acetylene is no longer the best to use. I will use it for cutting (all kinds of metal), brazing, (again, all kinds of metals) and heating metal for reshaping, loosening fasteners, and so on.

 

[02RangerXLT]

Acetylene is still "modern". IMO... Smith & Victor torches is where I'd lean towards. If it was me I'd save my money and buy new stuff, that way, regardless of condition, you know how it was treated. If you can find some used tanks to buy, I'd buy those though. Places don't sell tanks anymore, they only lease them, and you don't own the title for them.

Just like a car, I'd rather own it all completely. Look for barcodes, if they have them, they're a leased tank.

 

[LonesomeSTX]

I have been leaing towards new as well.

 

[AllanD]

My preference in regulators is the Smiths "Hard Hat", if someone told me that anyone made something better than those regulators I'd never pay attention to another word they said, on ANY subject.

As for Torch heads I lean towards Harris or Victor, I've never seen a Smiths torch head.
Someone gave me a Torch head made by Marquette, if someone offers you a marquette
torch head accept it politely and either shove it up their ass of beat them to death with it.

I'd make my choice between HArris or Victor depending on what brand my local welding supply carried.
When you are out getting another $75 tank of propane and you remember that you need a new
cutting or brazing tip it's nice to be able to do "one stop shopping"

As for hoses? brand is irrelevant because they have a limited lifespan and they will need to be
replaced periodically even if some "Accident" doesn't befall them...

The one thing I will say about torch hoses is pay atterntion to where they are made, mine were made by Goodyear in the U.S. of A. (their corporate name is "Goodyear Tire & Rubber for a reason")

Avoid Torch hoses made in China as though your life depended on avoiding
them... because it probably does.

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[LonesomeSTX]

Victor and Harris seem to come up often when I search for information.

 

[kcm1582]

A Smith Toughcut oitfit is money well spent, they are what I learned to use torches with and what we use daily at the shop. They get abused quite a bit but the keep on working.

For around 230 you get a good set of torches with everything you need except for the tanks. Best of all, they are US made.

 

[LonesomeSTX]

I have not looked at them yet.

 

[lil_Blue_Ford]

I would agree with a lot of what AllanD said.

I have four torches, three sets of regulators, and two sets of bottles right now. All of it was used.

My dad gave me his set when I started getting into automotive stuff. He had bought a higher-end Craftsman set YEARS ago (it's older than me) and bought bottles from a local weld shop. But he rarely used them. I've burned through a couple bottles of gas since I got them about 5 years ago, but for the cost of acetylene, I pretty much only use it for welding. I'll cut with it if I can't get the item close enough to my big set. The acetylene bottle is about 3' tall and the oxy bottle is about 4' tall. I have both strapped to a dolly with pneumatic tires which works (IMHO) better than a cart for moving over gravel and rough terrain.

Then I have a big set that I bought - 100# propane bottle and a large oxy bottle - both were nearly full when I bought them with hoses, regulators and a torch for $100. The torch isn't really useful, it was a good one back 30 years ago or so, but now it needs new valves and you can no longer get torch tips for it. So it hangs in my shed. The regulators I suspect could use a rebuild (the previous owner of them never released the pressure on the diaphrams, just turned the tanks off). But still it was a good buy.

I got the other two torches (one cutting and one welding) along with an assortment of tips and a pair of GOOD regulators for $20 from a guy I bought some other tools from. I took the regulators out and had them rebuilt. It was a little pricey, but the fixed the one damaged gauge, put new diaphrams and such in 'em and made sure they were in top shape. The cutting torch was a higher end one years ago and I was able to get an extra propane tip for it, but unfortunately it's not a popular tip style. When it goes, I'll probably replace it with a Harris or Victor torch since tips for those are everywhere.

Propane is far cheaper than acetylene for cutting purposes, but you cannot do a proper weld with it. Until I bought the second set, I had a propane tip for the Craftsman setup and for major cutting would just put a gas grill tank (20#) on the regulator instead of the acetylene tank. But it was a pain to swap back and forth all the time. I don't do much brazing, mostly just cutting and welding, but the welding setup can be used for brazing so I have all bases covered. I leave both sets set up, all I have to do is pull the hoods off the top of the regulators/tanks, turn them to the right pressure and go.

 

[LonesomeSTX]

I would love to be set up like that.

 

[AllanD]

I'm not entirely sure the lower cost of propane over acetylene ever comes close to making up for the higher cost of the greater amount of oxygen you will use, the more expensive torch tips that have a shorter service life or the fact that propane/oxy torches tend to errode inside turning them into brass scrap if you make the mistake of running it even momentarily with a worn out propane cutting tip.

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[LonesomeSTX]

The extra consumption is something I was wondering about.

 

[pwrranger88]

i work at a scrap yard and all we use is propane the tips are more expensive but ive gotten almost a year out the current tip imo if you doing alot of cutting id go propane but if you only use it occasionally go with acetylene

 

[LonesomeSTX]

What makes a tip go bad?

 

[kcm1582]

The extra consumption is something I was wondering about.

Looking in my Smith handbook, a propane cutting tip for 3/8" steel uses 46 cfh cutting and 35 heating, compared to the same size acetylene at the same 46 cutting but only 7 preheat, so cutting its a wash and heating uses a lot less oxygen. Around here filling a 125 cf of oxygen costs around $25, a grill tank of propane is $13 and last time I priced a 75 cf of acetylene it was closer to $50. For my occasional usage the extra filling and tank costs of acetylene were to high compared to the propane.

or the fact that propane/oxy torches tend to errode inside turning them into brass scrap if you make the mistake of running it even momentarily with a worn out propane cutting tip.

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never heard of that before, do you have any more information it?

 

[LonesomeSTX]

The long term cost is a deciding factor.