Oxy propane torches

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Can a standard Victor torch be run on propane, or are there special torches for this?
Reply:You just have to get a propane tip for it.Joewww.CummingsHauling.com
Reply:propane tip come in 2 parts while the normal acetylene tip is a single piece... the code serial is different... for instance the acetylene is 101 and the propane start usually with code 'P'Unit in my fab shop dept:my good hand and team that trust me...A lone welder make art... a village full of welder make Miracles...
Reply:Originally Posted by westlawn5554xpropane tip come in 2 parts while the normal acetylene tip is a single piece... the code serial is different... for instance the acetylene is 101 and the propane start usually with code 'P'
Reply:ye... telling the difference the 101 is for acetylene only... thanks for the detailUnit in my fab shop dept:my good hand and team that trust me...A lone welder make art... a village full of welder make Miracles...
Reply:Yes! 1-1-101 is a #1, 1 piece acetylene tip.  JohnSMAW,GMAW,FCAW,GTAW,SAW,PAC/PAW/OFCand Shielding Gases.  There all here. :
Reply:The question that wasn't asked is about the hoses carrying the fuel to the torch.  If you're going to put it on propane and leave it on propane you should really get the 'T' grade hose.
Reply:I bought an "oxy/propane" torch set up at an auction a while back. I have not used it, hey at the price it went for I couldn't pass it up if nothing else for the oxy reg. It has what looks like a flow meter on the fuel side and a std oxy reg on the other. For all I know it could be some other fuel besides propane. Anyone ever see anything like this/ It's burried in the shop and I'll try and dig it out this weekend and see exactly what it says.
Reply:Does propane cut as quickly as acetylene, and can you weld steel with propane?
Reply:Many members on here use Oxygen/Propane torches ( I'm NOT one of them) and they recommend them very highly.  Search for previous threads on this - it went on forever.  These same members may have tried to weld with it, but the promoted, and accepted, standard is to use Oxygen and Acetylene for Brazing and Welding.Later,Jason
Reply:About the only difference I notice is that it takes longer to preheat before you start cutting with propane..... uses more oxygen too.HH 187Miller Bluestar1EAHP AlphaTig 200X
Reply:It won't use more oxygen if you are going to cut 10" with it.  Don't even try to cut 10" with Acetylene.  Check the secondary BTU's on both of them.  JohnSMAW,GMAW,FCAW,GTAW,SAW,PAC/PAW/OFCand Shielding Gases.  There all here. :
Reply:FWIW:My Hobart Oxy Welding, Cutting and Brazing Training Workbook says:Page 67................Welding.....Cutting.....BrazingAcetylene.....YES.........YES.........YESMAPP............NO..........YES.........YESPropane.........NO..........YES.........YESNatural..........NO...........YES.........YES9-11-2001......We Will Never ForgetRetired desk jockey. Hobby weldor with a little training. Craftsman O/A---Flat, Vert, Ovhd, Horz. Miller Syncrowave 250
Reply:Over the years there have been a number of outfits offering additives for propane that is/was supposed to make it suitable for welding. The only one I really checked on, one of the local shops here said they would convert the valve or the tank (don't recall which now) so they could inject this additive while filling the tank. Of course there ya go, getting dependant on special mixes, specific tanks and single sources. Sort of defeats the idea of moving to propane to start with.
Reply:Originally Posted by Sandy...they could inject this additive while filling the tank...
Reply:One of the reasons I use propane over acetylene is when you run out of fuel on late Saturday or Sunday and your LWS is closed you can exchange your tank at any of those places you exchange your bbq tanks.  Propane takes a few seconds longer to preheat before cutting and in my opinion is cheaper to run.NickoliIf I can't fix it, Its probably not broke.... Yeah Right!~ Damn I let out the factory installed smoke again ! ~
Reply:any brand of hose recommended?thank youShade
Reply:Just one thing.I know the chart shows that oxy-propane and mapp are fine for brazing (and the tips are actually the same standard welding tips, its only cutting tips that are different), but the neutral flame sucks.  Its just nowhere near as "sharp" as an oxy-acetylene flame, and you go though oxygen much more quickly.
Reply:You don't have to get T grade hoses right away, just know that hoses not rated for propane will deteriorate more rapidly.  Expect 2-3 years with standard hoses with propane, expect 5 years with T hoses (unless you burn one up).Propane brazing tips are different.  The hole at the end is countersunk.  You can easily convert your acetylene brazing tips by countersinking them with a drill.
Reply:Pardon me for jumping in late, here. I bought a used O/A set and am using it with propane. I'm sure it's an R grade hose, but I'll upgrade later. I did get a couple propane cutting tips with it, and that seems to be working fine. But I can't get the rosehead or brazing tips to work. The rosehead lights OK with just propane, but the flame shoots off as soon as I turn the O2 on. The brazing tips just shoot the flame off right away.For the brazing tips, about what size and depth to countersink? And how about pressure of both propane and O2? Any tricks to lighting those?Anything I can do with the rosehead? I'm using the cutting tip for everything right now, but wouldn't mind lightening the load a bit.The other thing I can't find is what to look for in a proper flame. There are loads of pictures of O/A, but only vague descriptions of how O/P is "different". Any ideas on that, or maybe some online locations, or a book or two? Originally Posted by 76GMC1500Propane brazing tips are different.  The hole at the end is countersunk.  You can easily convert your acetylene brazing tips by countersinking them with a drill.
Reply:I've used Victor welding/brazing tips with oxy/mapp and tried oxy/propane as well (its VERY similar).The flame is much softer than oxy/acetylene, and MUCH less bright.  With oxy/mapp, I was unable to adjust the flame using my shade 5 goggles (that I use for oxy/acetylene), and instead, was much more comfortable with ordinary sunglasses.The inner cone is not as well defined as with oxy/acetylene, and there is not much of a "feather" to speak of.  The inner cone is longer, and more cylindrical (less tapering), with a rounder tip (less pointy).  There is a lot less visual information to go on, to find a "neutral" flame, but as with oxy/acetylene, the once you go from neutral to oxidizing, the flame gets a bit dimmer, and there is a slight color change.All of this applies to a rosebud as well, which acts just like a bunch of individual welding flames next to each other.Countersinking isn't absolutely necessary, but it will make the flame less likely to detach from the tip and shoot off.I did find that the oxy/mapp flame was much "longer" for a given pressure and tip size, and even though the flame was larger, it gave less heat, so forget about welding.A Victor size 1 running oxy/mapp had about the same heat as a size 0 running oxy/acetylene, although spread over a larger area.Since we're talking about brazing tips, you'll want the pressures on both sides to be about the same.  If the oxygen is blowing out the flame, its possible you have the oxygen way too high (like you would, on a cutting tip).
Reply:Late comer the discussion, but here I go any way. Propane and other propane based gases  work well for cutting.  They will use more oxygen and the preheat maybe a little slower, but it not noticible on less than 1/2 material.    A grade T hose because propane will eat the inside of the hose, destroying it, especially at exteremly cold tempertures because the propane can turn back to liquid if the hose is left pressurized.  Propane is great for brazing because most of it's heat is in the outer part of the flame,which allows you to get the entire joint heated to desired temp before adding brazing material.  For the same reason it bad for welding.  With acetylene you can pin pint your heat on the joint, but not with propane.Also, I have heard that acetylene get some of it's oxygen for combustion from the atmosphere, where propane get all of it's from the tank.    Propane is safer because it does not burn as fast and is less likely to flashback and has a lower explosion range when mixed with air.Some manuafcturer's of torch make a head that has an injector mixer that actually sucks the fuel into the mixer. With these torches propane runs great and is prefered by heavy volume users to acetylene.That is my $.02OAdoctorwww.regulatortorchrepair.com
Reply:Thanks for the info. That description sounds about as good as it gets, in less than 1000 words. As for the pressure, right now I can't even get the propane alone to stay on. Even before I add the oxygen, the flame blows off the end.
Reply:Open the fuel valve until the flame moves away from the tip, then bring the flame back down to the tip.  Bring the flame to neutral.  Add more fuel until the flame moves away from the tip.  Repeat the process a total of 3 times until an adequate flame is achieved.  Difficulty in lighting is one of the main resons most people think poorly of propane.  Once you figure out the procedure you'll be ready to go.
Reply:Propane has more heat (Btu) than acetylene on a cubic foot volume basis, but the peak temperature of the oxy-acetylene inner flame cone (5720F) is higher than that of the oxy-propane inner cone peak flame temperature (4579F).  The heat per pound of gas is about the same.Approximate gross BTU contents per cubic foot: •  Acetylene - 1470                          • Mapp - 2406 •  Butane - 3374                             • Methane - 1000 •  Natural Gas - 1000                        • Propylene - 2371 •  Propane - 2458Oxy-MAPP is closer to the peak flame temperature of oxy-acetylene yet still puts out more heat (Btu).Source:  Victor (Thermadyne)  www.thermadyne.com  The best laid schemes ... Gang oft agley ...You guys are great! 76GMC1500, your instructions are right on the money. It's pretty easy to light when you get it once. I think I was opening the propane too much before. It's really simple to just start with it cracked a bit and keep alternating, as you say. Even the rosehead lights like a dream.And rlitman, the flame description is also right on. I may not have neutral perfect yet, but I can play around and figure it out. If I get a chance, maybe I'll take some pictures at different settings and see if people will "name that flame".Thank, all.--Marc