I am new to lampworking and the temperature on my hot head seems to have just dropped quite significantly on my last session.
I am assuming this is because the gas is running low. I am thinking in the future about moving to bulk fuel and just wondered with bulk, do you get the same effect and if so how close to the end does the gas have to be before this happens or do you get hours of happy beading before the temperature drops?
mapp gas cannisters get very cold and so the heat drops the longer you torch. various methods of warming the can up will help, I personally used a wine bottle heater which fitted arround it nicely but had to be held in place with my knees, others have used hot water bottles, buckets of hot water, swapping tanks etc. I believe bulk cures it but I went straight to dual fuel
Ditch the Mapp and move to bulk, thats what I did many months ago. You will find it slower and cooler than Mapp, to be honest if you enjoy working with glass and want to make life a whole lot easier invest in a duel fuel torch and oxycon unit - far superior, less frustrating, and you open up a whole new world of being able to get the best out of glass rods :)
just switch.
1. no pressure drop on the flame
2. propane tank cheaper then mapp, you'll have got the money back before you get your second tank
3. you can torch for longer
4. no stress about trying to source the mapp
5. you have your first bit of kit for a duel fuel
Personally I switched half way through my 3 mapp canister.
Thanks for the responses. I think going to bulk fuel is the way forwards, but a wine cooler is a great idea until I can do this.