I have just scared myself to death with my new bobcat!!! hubby set it all up for me when we got home this evening and we both jumped a mile when I started it up! I thought the wall was going to set on fire! I played with getting the flame right but was a bit scared and haven't attempted a bead yet, its a bit scary going from a hothead to my bobcat!!
I was just wondering if anyone has any advice on getting use to it and what I should set the propane too as the instructions say 5lbs???? should it still be at 3.5bar like my hothead was at?
Kay xx
I don't know what kind of pressure a bobcat is designed to run at, but I have my propane set to about 4.5 for my minor burner .... maybe it just needs turning down at the torch and not the cylinder ?
I've just picked up my new bobcat setup from Tuffers this afternoon. Very much looking forward to getting home tomorrow and setting it up and reverting back to newbie bead skills for a month or so! Will I lust after my HH.... nope probably not. Am I scared too Kay? yes possibly a little ;D
I have my Oxycon on 4.5 and the propane regulator fully on for the Cricket which is the Bobcat's little brother!
GTT torches are flamethrowers! Just turn the propane on a tiny bit to light it, Kay, then adjust with the oxygen.
Thanks all, will go and try and make a bead in a mo, fingers crossed I dont set the house alight!
You will probably also find that you have to adjust the flame every now and again until the valve 'beds in'. Its not a problem but can be a minor irritation!
Martin mentioned that about the flame "receding" at first when you start using the torch. He said it doesn't happen with all the torches but to be aware of it and not to worry about their being a malfunction - the torch will sort of grow out of it with use.
Yeah just keep turning your propane up for about the first 20 mins of use as the flame gets weenier. It will settle down after that.
I'm back from the spare room...bob and I are now in love :) its absolutely amazing! I could of spent all night down there, I made a set of six beads and I think they are the best I have ever made! compared to the hothead the control is brill I can't believe what I have been missing out on!! I can't wait to see how the come out I thought I would just made a few tonight and see how they look in the morning :) I might have to book Friday off work so I can play all day without child and hubby around to keep interrupting me :)
Hurrah, may you and Bob be very happy together. Colin the Cricket and I are also loved up ;D
Quote from: helbels on February 16, 2011, 08:04:45 PM
I have my Oxycon on 4.5 and the propane regulator fully on for the Cricket which is the Bobcat's little brother!
That's high! I rarely have my oxycon at more than 3.5!! The cricket's designed to work with low pressure.
I'm glad you are colin are too ;D
My oxycon was set up ready by tuffnells with the right pressure, until hubby started fiddling without reading instructions! so I had to set it again as instructions said....turn fully anti clockwise and then one full turn clockwise which I did. When I was reading the replies at first I couldn't work out what the oxycon gauge thing was but then when I switched tom (the oxycon, he was already named!) and bob on it went up to just below 4 I haven't changed that, do I need to adjust it again or is that ok?
oooOOOooo this is going to be me as well in 53ish days!!
5lbs of pressure is 1/3 bar - much less than your hothead!
To set correct pressure for a dual fuel torch on an oxycon:
- set it all up
- with oxycon off, and oxy valve shut, open gas valve on torch
- with lit lighter/candle/other live flame held just under and in front of torch nozzle, open regulator until gas lights.
- adjust regulator until flame is about 6" long
- turn off gas valve at torch
- start oxycon, and open oxy valve at torch
- when oxy line is bled, turn off oxy at torch, light gas
- add oxy and adjust both for neutral flame
Whenever I set up a new system, I follow the list above. It means you have set your gas reg with no drama, and your gas reg should then be set for good, or at least for that gas bottle. No further reg adjustment necessary, just melting glass!
Hope that helped, and I'm not trying to teach egg-sucking...
:)
Sean
Have just set up my bobcat and made a bead. gonna make a load more after lunch though! So my torch is christaned Beeblebrox the Bobcat and he works very well with Zaphod the oxycon (and yes I was allowed to name my oxy when I picked him from the line-up in the barn). Now going to go and have a very quick lunch so I can play properly!
I always light my barbeque lighter first before letting any gas out, hold it a bit above the head of the torch and carefully open the valve. The flame should just 'grow' out of the end of the torch. That way there's no sudden whoosh, which I hate!
If that's not a good idea for some reason, ie more of a risk, do please tell guys, only I've been doing it that way for years now and it seems to work fine.
Sean - does this information hold good for torches other than Bobcats? I have a minor and I know my regulator has been fiddled with by someone who shall remain nameless but who lives with me in our house.
Thank you Sean I will print that off and start a pile of things I need after the flame off!
Holds for any torch, but only if run from concentrator(s). If on bottles, you really should use regs with guages, at least for oxy. Then once oxy reg is set, you can set propane the same way, sure...
Done properly, it'll give you enough gas to match your oxy supply, + a bit for reducing. When setting regulator, make sure torch gas valve is wide open, then set up as per list. When done, run torch with gas lit and oxy wide open, you should be able to adjust regulator for a neutral flame with the torch gas valve wide open too. Then, add a bit of gas on the reg to make the flame reducing, et voila. This has the advantage of only putting as much pressure as you can make use of in the gas line from bottle to torch. Also, no accidental flame throwers. Or rather, only as many as you actually want. ;D
Sean
I love my bobcat, but for the first year I had to constantly fiddle with the settings on the torch.
It's all settled down now though.
Kirsty
Sean
Thanks for the info :) and thank you I got my rod of helios and baby blue as well today, can see I will be buying more next friday....roll on payday :)
K xx
All the info on here is brilliant, I made my first 3 beads with my bobcat last night but struggling with -
How big should the flame be
where in the flame is the best place to heat the glass rod,
I'm so used to the hot head and having a visul marker, (the pointy bit of the blue flame), the small blue flames coming out of the torch are only a few mm's high, I can't seem to find any pictures for reference, I have my oxy on 2 but looking at the comments, this seems a bit low....
hope someone can help me :-\
I always turn the oxy up for the bobcat as it's quite a propane rich flame.
I find with mine I don't need much propane at all. It's very economical to run. The candles aren't big at all for a normal flame. I use it with just a little yellow on the tips. Perhaps try it with turquoise or rubino as they will reduce easily if your propane is too high. And don't worry if you have to turn up the flame from time to time. Mine still varies a little after 3 years.
I guess if you think of a bobcat as being 6 tiny hot heads all strapped together then (I think) it's easier to understand where you can go in the flame. So the more impatient you are to melt glass the closer to the base of the torch you should be. When I went for the lesson with Kaz in feb, she kept saying to me, you can put the rod further down in the flame. It seemed so strange after the hot head, but wow it is quicker to do a whole load of stuff - murini for example ::)
I have to keep turning up my propane too, but having read else where it is a trait of the bobcats.
Thank you for your advise, that has really helped, i've noticed the flame adjustes itself... glad it's normal and it's ok to put the rod closer to the torch :)
Quote from: Hamilton Taylor on February 17, 2011, 10:48:07 AM
5lbs of pressure is 1/3 bar - much less than your hothead!
To set correct pressure for a dual fuel torch on an oxycon:
- set it all up
- with oxycon off, and oxy valve shut, open gas valve on torch
- with lit lighter/candle/other live flame held just under and in front of torch nozzle, open regulator until gas lights.
- adjust regulator until flame is about 6" long
- turn off gas valve at torch
- start oxycon, and open oxy valve at torch
- when oxy line is bled, turn off oxy at torch, light gas
- add oxy and adjust both for neutral flame
Whenever I set up a new system, I follow the list above. It means you have set your gas reg with no drama, and your gas reg should then be set for good, or at least for that gas bottle. No further reg adjustment necessary, just melting glass!
Hope that helped, and I'm not trying to teach egg-sucking...
:)
Sean