went to my lws today and got alot of stuff answered...

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hey now.i was at my lws today and they pushed smith over esab's purox & prest-o-lite, and goss.now ive always been the guy who as long as its suited for the job im doing would say "just give me the f'n tool i dont have time to play the name game." is that the case when comparing goss to victor to smith to esab? or does one stand out as being better than the rest.the grand ol' opry aint so grand anymoremiller maxstar 150sworking on an oxy/acet set up
Reply:to be honest it all depends on how much you spend and how much you are going to use it.   If your just starting out and your looking to buy inexpensive or middle of the road.  Go wih the one that feels best in your hand.  Dont get all caught up on names (however stick with the brands you listed) Do not buy any cheap foreign junk.If your getting the full setup make sure it comes with backflash arresters.I like the victor more myself.“I'm going to do the thing that God put Galen Beasley on this Earth to do:Have Salon quality hair and weld.Nothing like a good cup of coffee and the smell of 6010 burning in the morning. 971-204-3444 cell API ASME Structural NDT and Repair
Reply:There is a huge difference. All of ESAB's gas apparatus is Made in the USA, has a LIFETIME WARRANTY, and comes with a 100% Satisfaction Guarantee that says you have 100 days to test it and if you don't like it they will take it back.  Not to mention it is the saftest in the business. - Their regulatrs have RBO (regulator burn out) protection so they will contain all regulator fires.- Their torches have 2 tubes in the handle to decrease the chances of gases mixing and the oxygen tube spirals in the handle to serve as a flashback arrestor.- Encapsulated valve stems which won't bend if you drop the torch.- Internally threaded tip nut because metal expands when it gets hot and makes the tip even tighter.- ESAB does not repair Gas App under warranty, they remanufacture it so it will come back just like new if you were to ever hvae a problem with it.Smith products are okay and made in the USA but only a five year waranty.Victor is not made in the USA, 5 year warranty, and used to be good but has went downhill in qualoty and saefty in my opinion.Welding is my hobby, I just happen to get paid for it!
Reply:even their prestolite stuff is warrantied the same?the grand ol' opry aint so grand anymoremiller maxstar 150sworking on an oxy/acet set up
Reply:Originally Posted by Carolina WelderSmith products are okay and made in the USA but only a five year waranty.
Reply:All are good, with the model mattering most. Combo kits are the best bang for the buck because of competitive pricing. Are you looking for a combo torch primarily for gas WELDING? Then Smith would be the optimum choice because of tip quality, range and availability. The Toughcut outfits with the 30-series regulators (throw away the goggles that come with them and buy a Jackson tinted shield) are a good choice because they are light yet durable. Ours survived welding student abuse well. Search the forums for tip sizes to add to the combo kit for YOUR desired use.Want a straight cutting torch? Ergonomics will answer that for you. Handle the torch because where the torch controls fall to YOUR hand is what matters when spending the day cutting. It's literally like buying a gun.I prefer the Purox E series fit and balance, and there is good reason it hasn't changed since (at least) the 1940s. If you want a straight cutting torch kit, Smith are more reasonably priced than ESAB (who could care less about retail) and IMO have better torches than Victor.I prefer Victor regulators (450 series) because they have stainless diaphragms and Victor made and makes a great variety of regs with common parts so they are cheap to rebuild.  ESAB and Smith regs work fine too, but I get all my gear used and standardizing on Victor regs has paid off.  Not those silly Edge things, but traditional 450 series only.If buying a new kit, buy for the TORCH and take whatever regs go with itAll three companies make excellent equipment which is why they are still around. I have a pile of mixed (might as well try 'em all!) Victor, Purox, Oxweld, Harris and Smith gear which keeps growing. Fun fact:Used, good torches often cost about what a quality retail torch TIP goes for. I buy tips off Ebay cheap and having multiple torch brands means I can exploit any deal I like!NOTE:Get regulators with CGA-510 fittings. You can use adapters on smaller cylinders, and CGA-510 fits propane jugs for multi-fuel fun.
Reply:Hello outlawskinnyd, you have gotten a lot of very good information regarding the many reasons/facts for selecting any number of products. For you personally you may wish to consider your type and amount of use. Are you planning to be using this equipment a lot? Is this for intermittent hobby use or a personal business? Do you plan to be using this equipment for doing mobile type work? Locally? In any number of geographical areas? Answering some of these additional questions could additionally help you to determine which direction to go with your choice.      In the area where I live Victor tends to be king, that doesn't necessarily mean that they are the best product, it does mean that if you need a tip or any other parts they are readily available in any number of types of welding supply stores, hardware stores, automotive parts establishments, etc. I believe you get the idea. Certainly many choices to choose from, give it some thought and make your best and most suitable choice for your given application and area. Good luck and regards, Allanaevald
Reply:Originally Posted by Carolina WelderThere is a huge difference. All of ESAB's gas apparatus . . . Their torches have 2 tubes in the handle to decrease the chances of gases mixing
Reply:You can nearly ALWAYS get cutting tips for Victor locally even in Bumphuque, Abolama.Folks buy Victor because there are lots of them and there are lots of them because folks buy Victor.
Reply:Are there differences?  Absolutely, but most people don't care enough to see them.If you've always been the guy who doesnt care, I doubt you're going to notice any difference now.Have we all gone mad?
Reply:Originally Posted by sn0border88Are there differences?  Absolutely, but most people don't care enough to see them.If you've always been the guy who doesnt care, I doubt you're going to notice any difference now.
Reply:Lots of good information put out, however you're never going to be able to use any of those setups to their capability til you get your bottle situation worked out with your land lady.Medium size cutting torches and "small" acetylene bottles don't mix at all.Sounds like (from other posts) that you've got many other issues that need to be resolved before you get wrapped around the handle on which torch set to buy.Syncro 250 DX Dynasty 200 DXMM 251 w/30A SG XMT 304 w/714 Feeder & Optima PulserHH187Dialarc 250 AC/DCHypertherm PM 1250Smith, Harris, Victor O/ASmith and Thermco Gas MixersAccess to a full fab shop with CNC Plasma, Water Jet, etc.
Reply:Victor is now made in Mexico. It's still a pretty good product that everyone copies. Stick with authentic victor brand. Everybody will tell you the knockoffs are comparable copies. I can vouch they are not. I haven't used smith but they are American made. Torches are lifetime warranty. I know I few guys who use them, they really like them. Tips are not as accessible where I live.
Reply:I started with Harris. A heavy duty combo set. I love, and still use the regs at the shop. I don't care for ANY combo torch with a cutting attachment. So I bought a Smith, straight cutting torch. Since then I only buy Smith because I want an assortment of ONE brand of tips. I don't want 2 or 3 or 4 ect. assortments of tips. Now I buy Smith regs because I like hard hats on them and I get them cheap used.Like I said before, I seen the Oxweld torches at the Airgas by the mill. I really liked the looks of them, very heavy duty. Then when I read that the regs and torches have a lifetime warranty, I liked them even more. Only problem is that they are not AS popular, so the other Airgas' and Praxairs in my area won't have tips in stock. I would recommend you go and feel the torches to see what you like.When I used to do alot of demolition, we would buy HF sets on sale just for the regs. They got beat up so we didn't want to buy the good ones."Where's Stick man????????" - 7A749"SHHHHHH!! I sent him over to snag that MIC-4 while tbone wasn't looking!" - duaneb55"I have bought a few of Tbone's things unlike Stick-Man who helps himself" - TozziWelding"Stick-man"
Reply:tbone550,You are correct. They do have some Lifetime and some 5 year warranty products.  I should have been more clear in saying ALL of the ESAB brands (prestolite, purox, and oxweld) have a lifetime warranty.Rlitman,You are correct about keeping the gases separate in the handle but Victor, Harris and Smith use the handle to hold the fuel gas and only have 1 oxygen tube. ESAB handles have 2 tubes and therefore would have to have 2 leaks to get mixed gases. With everyone else's torchs one leak will get you. Look at an ESAB handle and it will have holes in it to show they don't use it to hold gas.  Here is link to the Victor website that shows what I'm saying.  By others, they mean ESAB.http://www.thermadyne.com/IM_Uploads...65_65-2007.pdfFarmall,Hate to be the one to dissapoint you but you may want to check and see if Victor hasn't discontniued the 450 regs.  I heard they are replacing them with those silly little Edge regulators with the tiny gauges.  The only regs with built in RBO protection is ESAB's prestolite, purox, and oxweld. Watch this video by clicking on the Regulator Blowout Video link. I've seen this happen in real life before. Thank goodness the guy wasn't standing in front of it when it blew up.http://www.esabna.com/us/en/newslett...09-Feature.cfmWelding is my hobby, I just happen to get paid for it!