lastcowboy32
Well-known Member
Hi guys, I guess I'm a frequent flyer with questions here lately.
Anyway, I've had a hunch that my oxy-acetylene setup isn't performing up to snuff in some situations when I need higher flow, such as cutting and/or welding a thick piece.
So, I did a little bit of reading, and I suspect that I'm overdrawing my acetylene tank. My tank is 75 cubic feet, and, from what I've read, you shouldn't use a tip that draws any more than 1/10th of the tank per hour; otherwise the acetone used as a stabilizer in the tank starts to come out with the acetylene and you either get pressure dips and/or acetylene contaminated with acetone...which both result in crappy performance.
I have a Purox W-300 torch and I need a #15 welding tip to weld quarter inch steel. (I know...a stick welder would do this...but I don't have one and I don't have a 220 outlet where I'm working)
A #15 tip uses 15 cubic feet of acetylene per hour; which would imply that I should have 150 cubic feet of tank space feeding it. Also, looking at the charts, I believe that my cutting tip takes more than 7.5 cubic feet per hour; so I'm starving that too.
I could safely get 15 cubic feet per hour by ganging another 75cubic foot tank with my existing 75 cubic foot tank.
I would rather have two small tanks than one big one, as the smaller tanks are more easily transported. I've worked with two small oxygen tanks (60 cubic feet) ever since I've had the torch, and I like the ease of transport. I also like the fact that I can use one while having the other as a backup. Then I can continue working while I wait to get the other one filled.
Has anybody here ganged tanks together like this?
Do I need another regulator? Or do I gang the tanks together into a manifold and then put the regulator on the output of the manifold?
If I do this, do I always have to keep the tanks ganged together to keep them at identical pressure, or can I un-gang them for smaller work and/or to continue working (small work) off of one tank while the other is getting filled?
Any other tips about this that anybody would like to share?
Anyway, I've had a hunch that my oxy-acetylene setup isn't performing up to snuff in some situations when I need higher flow, such as cutting and/or welding a thick piece.
So, I did a little bit of reading, and I suspect that I'm overdrawing my acetylene tank. My tank is 75 cubic feet, and, from what I've read, you shouldn't use a tip that draws any more than 1/10th of the tank per hour; otherwise the acetone used as a stabilizer in the tank starts to come out with the acetylene and you either get pressure dips and/or acetylene contaminated with acetone...which both result in crappy performance.
I have a Purox W-300 torch and I need a #15 welding tip to weld quarter inch steel. (I know...a stick welder would do this...but I don't have one and I don't have a 220 outlet where I'm working)
A #15 tip uses 15 cubic feet of acetylene per hour; which would imply that I should have 150 cubic feet of tank space feeding it. Also, looking at the charts, I believe that my cutting tip takes more than 7.5 cubic feet per hour; so I'm starving that too.
I could safely get 15 cubic feet per hour by ganging another 75cubic foot tank with my existing 75 cubic foot tank.
I would rather have two small tanks than one big one, as the smaller tanks are more easily transported. I've worked with two small oxygen tanks (60 cubic feet) ever since I've had the torch, and I like the ease of transport. I also like the fact that I can use one while having the other as a backup. Then I can continue working while I wait to get the other one filled.
Has anybody here ganged tanks together like this?
Do I need another regulator? Or do I gang the tanks together into a manifold and then put the regulator on the output of the manifold?
If I do this, do I always have to keep the tanks ganged together to keep them at identical pressure, or can I un-gang them for smaller work and/or to continue working (small work) off of one tank while the other is getting filled?
Any other tips about this that anybody would like to share?