Torches

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Had a couple situations where I could use a torch and one day I plan to finish my pipe fence around my place so it will be required.  Saw on one of the forums I frequent one of those port a torch kits for pretty cheap but then I read on this site how useless they actually were if you need to cut anything.  So I don't have to look like a fool at the metal store, if I buy just a standard victor etc cutting torch, what does a basic kit cost and what size bottles would be for average home/shop use?  What sort of fees do most shops fun as far as deposit on the large bottles etc?Also is the torch that comes with that lincoln kit worth $150 with empty bottles?
Reply:Most torch "kits come with tiny cylinders that are not useful for cutting more than maybe 1or 2 bolts. For cutting you need a fairly decent sized volume of acetylene, and even the smallest tips will over draw the tiny "MC" cylinders that are part of most kits, and even the "B" size cylinders that are part of some of the "bigger" kits. A "B" size is semi useful for someone who only needs to make one or two short cuts on small stuff, but a better choice is jumping up to a 75 cf acet cylinder. The problem is acetylene is stored as a dissolved gas in the cylinder and needs to "boil" out of solution, sort of like how the CO2 comes out of a soft drink. Rule of thumb is not to use more than 1/7th the volume of the cylinder in an hour. Tip charts will tell you the suggested CFH ( cubic feet / hour) for a particular tip size.If you choose to use propane instead of acetylene to cut, then the withdrawl rate doesn't apply. You will need to get a propane tip for the torch at a minimum to run propane since kits are set up for acetylene most times, but the standard regs will work on your regular 20 lb propane gas grill cylinder if you choose to go that route. The down side of Propane is that you can not weld, only braze and cut/heat with it.A basic Victor kit at my LWS runs about $290 plus cylinders. The import victor clones run from $140-200 plus cylinders. They sell the medium duty import kit with 75 cf acet and 92 cf O2 for $400. The baby import kit with the useless "MC" cylinder and 20 cf O2 runs about $200. The extra $200 for the bigger cylinders is well worth the money. Filled the 75 cf acet will run you  $110 and  80cf O2 will run you $165..No government ever voluntarily reduces itself in size. Government programs, once launched, never disappear. Actually, a government bureau is the nearest thing to eternal life we'll ever see on this earth! Ronald Reagan