Hothead flame

[cbeadies]

A very basic question I'm afraid!!
At last got set up today with my hothead and bulk kit from Martin...bravely lit the torch...but what exactly should the ideal flame look like? My Glass Beadmaking book says no yellow in the flame, but if I turn it down that low it goes out altogether. Should I just have the small blue cone and some yellow flame around it?
How much should you turn on the gas at the cylinder? And do you alter the 0-4 regulator thingy or just leave it alone??
Any advice welcome! Thank yoooooo!

[Magpie]

Turn the gas on the cylinder on full, then you know you're turning it the right way to turn off.
The regulator needs to be about 3/4 open from what I remember, and it turns the wrong way or fully closed is fully up, or something like that, I don't play with that at the mo.
Turn the gas on full on the hothead, that way you know you're turning it off the right way when you finish.
The flame should be generally blue (or almost invisible with your diddys on) with a blue cone right at the torch, it's cold in there coz the gas is not burning, but don't stick your fingers in to test it. Cover the holes, like you do when lighting, that's a yellow flame.
Adjust the temperature of the flame by bending and straightening your arms, i.e. working closer and further away.
When you're getting a bit low on gas and can't be bothered to get more this week you can turn the regulator up a bit, giving a bit more pressure, but if you leave it more open when you get a new bottle of gas you'll reduce the hell out of your beads and pinks will go manky and you'll get the copper out of blues and greens, so remember to turn it down. Also if you find you're getting murky colours you may have the regulator too hig, so have a play.

HTH and it's not too much info.

H

[helbels]

That's interesting Magpie - I've had my regulator turned up full since I started - perhaps I'll turn him down a wee bit and see what happens.

[cbeadies]

Thank you Magpie, yes very helpful, the flame still seems more yellow than I think it should be from pics I have seen in books - but seems to be melting glass ok .  Think I was a bit nervous about the whole gas thing yesterday - now feeling a bit more confident to experiment since nothing has blown up so far!
Jill

[SallyB]

Thanks for this question Jill.  I've learned something.  I'm on a HotHead on bulk and have my regulator turned to the max.  I turn it down a little when I'm encasing otherwise I seem to get a browny covering on the clear.  Although Reichenbach Crystal seems to be ok.
I will try turning it down next time I'm torching to see what happens.
Sally
x

[Pip]

 ::)Hi, I'm Pip and I've been using a hothead for about 4 years and I save using colours that may get fritzed in too hot a flame (eg.rubrino) until the cylinder is getting down low then it's much easier to handle difficult colours. Not that I'm an expert but experienced in my mistakes!