Need Help With Oxy/Acet Regulators PICS!!

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These were pulled off a shelf in an old barn at the ranch.  I would like to get a nice working pair for an oxy/acet setup, maybe two.  So, which ones are worth rebuilding and what would the approximate cost be? I've had a Victor pair from a friend rebuilt at our local AOC it it was about $70-80. Are these worth it? If you look close on the red Smith one, you can see a braze patch where it was fixed. SmithBraze fix?HarrisMeco with bad gaugeBad gauge???? guage
Reply:I have 3 brand new Hobart regulators in the garage (still sealed in the plastic) that I'd like to sell. I have a matching pair of Smith regulators (in the Hobart packages) and one of the newer style Hobart regulators.Drop me a line if you might be interested. I'm sure I can save you some decent money over retail.KevinHobart Handler 210Tweco Fabricator 181iLincoln Squarewave Tig 175
Reply:If not for keeping them a collection, I would not bother to rebuild these regulators. They are in very poor shape. "Rebuilding" is interesting in good shape regulators with just flaws easy to fix. You'll find a lot of regulators, and even complete Chinese kits (a lot of American Brand regulators are made in China now) for just over the price of the rubuilding.
Reply:the only experience I've had with these type of regulators is with Victor.  How much would a new pair of Victors or Smiths be?
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Reply:The best answer would be preceded by the questions "exactly what equipment in what condition do you already own?" and "what thickness metal do you want to weld or cut?".A collector might want the old regs as organ donors, so I'd Ebay them.
Reply:The use will be general farm use: cutting parts/pipe/steel, heating stuck bolts, etc. I've read on the forums that OADdoctor does lots of rehab on these kinds of things, just need to know if what I have is salvageable.
Reply:That Smith acetylene regulator was once a very fine quality piece. I suggest you connect it to a cylinder and pressurize it with the regulator handle fully out (so no gas should flow) and see how it does. There are good diagnostic tests online. Have soapy water handy. A low pressure 0 to 30 gauge is easy to replace. That regulator´s handle unscrews to reveal spare seats, I believe.
Reply:The crack repair would mean a business wouldn't rebuild the cracked casting. It's an organ donor, but for someone with patience and more organ donors it could be useful.That would be something to play with for fun and at leisure. Best bang for buck since you need to use them for work is buy a couple of good rebuilt regs or new ones and go cut and weld with no downtime.If it were me in that situation I'd PM OADoctor to see what he's got remanufactured for sale and I'd ask trackbird to post the MODELS of what he's got to sell for hive mind inputs.It's not thread crapping since parent poster needs a solution and Smith and Hobart regs are good parts.Last edited by farmall; 02-25-2011 at 04:57 PM.
Reply:ATL has these Smith OP pairs cheap. You'd be under a hundred bucks for the pair shipped brand new.Propane is the way to go for cutting and heating, and the price is cheaper than most rebuilds. We use the acetylene versions at work and they are good pieces:http://cgi.ebay.com/Smith-Cutting-We...faultDomain_0&