Need info on a good oxy/acteylene set up for brazing

[helmbelly]

So it's cheaper to buy bottles on Craigslist than to refill your own? Gas is silly expensive?

 

[helmbelly]

I'm starting to lean towards oxy propane from what I'm hearing y'all. It's puts out 6000F, much less expensive and for brazing - seems like it will work well

 

[Nutfarmer]

Oxygen and propane is good for cutting, just change the cutting tip. Cannot weld with it. Not as hot as acetylene,but a lot cheaper to use.

 

[strantor]

So it's cheaper to buy bottles on Craigslist than to refill your own? Gas is silly expensive?

You're not referring to anything I said but I'll chime in anyway. I think what was meant is that buying used bottles from an individual is cheaper than buying new bottles from a gas supplier. And they (hopefully) come with the bonus of already having some gas in them - whatever is left over from the previous owner. And/or it could have referred to bottle rental; owning your own bottles and refilling them makes way more sense for a hobbyist or small scale production than renting. Renting only makes sense for high volume production and even then, I think it is less a cost saving mechanism and more a case of "how can I make this situation more manageable?"

 

[OTmachine]

I am looking at 3 options. I could buy a 2000 watt induction board for very cheap, and make my own rig. There are handheld ones that seem to get steel red hot, so they might be okay fro my purposes. The luxury is a cheap desktop induction unit, with replaceable coils. Even teh last one is south of 1000$ for an offshore one.

For now my Oxyset is okay, but my bottles are overdue, and my hoses need repacement. My bottlles are too small for cutting, so it would be cheaper for me to buy induction and sell my Smith torch. Perhaps give away the bottles and cart.

Thanks for the info! Thinking about using the tig, but not real impressed with the ability to focus the heat, (learning curve?). I have a carbon arc torch that I may try.

 

[OTmachine]

The fellow that connected my A/C lines for me used a Turbo Torch to Silver-solder the lines. I was impressed by the heat output.

https://www.amazon.com/TurboTorch-0426-0011-TDLX2003MC-Torch-Acetylene/dp/B0012QT584/ref=sr_1_15?keywords=turbo%2Btorch&qid=1700230638&sr=8-15&th=1

 

[helmbelly]

Authoritative info here on Acetylene vs Propane from a bicycle frame maker in Ukraine. This guy really lays the info down. He reccos a Uniweld 71 Airline torch handle for it's small size and accessible mixture knobs on top. Sounds just right for the small work I tend to do.

https://www.velocipedesalon.com/forum/f10/acetylene-vs-propane-30480.html?highlight=Propane

 

[helmbelly]

You're not referring to anything I said but I'll chime in anyway. I think what was meant is that buying used bottles from an individual is cheaper than buying new bottles from a gas supplier. And they (hopefully) come with the bonus of already having some gas in them - whatever is left over from the previous owner. And/or it could have referred to bottle rental; owning your own bottles and refilling them makes way more sense for a hobbyist or small scale production than renting. Renting only makes sense for high volume production and even then, I think it is less a cost saving mechanism and more a case of "how can I make this situation more manageable?"

I think he's just saying you can get the whole shebang used with gas in the bottles and then keep your eye out to pick up add'l bottles already full rather than refill them- smart advice. And the first thing I think is dang - that gas must be some spendy stuff!

 

[matthewsx]

So it's cheaper to buy bottles on Craigslist than to refill your own? Gas is silly expensive?

I paid $200 for my setup. Both bottles, torch, cart, striker, some rods.

See similar on a pretty regular basis.

Might be different in NOLA (love that town btw) but worth taking a look.

New setup will run several times more and it’s one of the easiest tools there is to test before you buy.

John

 

[woodchucker]

I am not a great welder. I can braze very good. I did for a long time.
This is a flux core weld on Stainless (don't know grade) to unknown material, that I did years ago to bring the locking screw to the front of the drill press. That lincoln welder you have , if it does dual voltage should be enough , you don't need high amperage for your task.