Anyone advise me on a bottled oxygen set up?

Kaz · November 05, 2009, 10:55:39 PM

Not for here but for when I go to Australia as I am taking my bobcat with me. I was going to buy an oxycon to leave there, assuming they would be about the same price but they are not! They work out at over $1000 AU which is about £500+ at the moment!!!
My friend has said he will get the tank and stuff to chain it up but I wasn't sure what I might need in terms of a regulator, flashback arrestor and pipework?
Kazx

Ian R Pearson · November 05, 2009, 11:16:07 PM

Not sure of Aussie law but yes to flashback arrestor. Know there are various agents such as BOC there. I always find the little things get to me like lack of cylinder key.

Ian

Carol · November 05, 2009, 11:17:58 PM

I've just switched to an oxycon from bottled oxy, I'll check with hubby what all the bits are once he's stopped snoring on the sofa

In the meantime, the pipework on mine is blue flexihose, there's a regulator which indicates pressure & what's left in the tank.
Maybe someone else will chime in here before sleeping beauty wakes up

(As an aside you may find you rather like working with the tanked stuff - I'm having real trouble adjusting to the oxycon $:-\$ )

Kaz · November 05, 2009, 11:18:48 PM

I know - I have used it at Di's studio and it's lovely and hot!

glassworks · November 05, 2009, 11:23:08 PM

we're not great role models, but please PLEASE PLEASE get someone from a welding shop or such like to set up your oxy tank and piping.. it is VERY much more dangerous due to the very high pressures involved.. you WILL need flashback arrestors, even a surface mix torch has a theoretical possibility of flashback, and the oxy is so much higher pressure wise than the propane the BANG will be big!..

having said that, we ran 14 torches off a single tank and regulator in murano and our studio here - makes an oxycon look peelie wellie...

Carol · November 05, 2009, 11:23:26 PM

As well as it being hotter I find the flame much more constant - the oxygen on my oxycon drops sometimes, usually when I'm using something like turquoise which then reduces to the nasty grey $:-\$ . I also can't get the flame as wide as before without the oxy drop.
At the end of last week I was seriously considering going back to the tanked stuff - but have promised myself I'd persevere a bit longer

Carol · November 05, 2009, 11:24:46 PM

Sorry, I did forget to say that I have the flashback arrestor on mine

Katiequiggle · November 06, 2009, 12:15:18 AM

If I wanted to use a tin of oxygen, where would I buy it, stupid question I know but just wondering, I take it I'd need to have it delivered, its it very much more expensive than propane. We use loads of it at work in the hospital, great big tanks of it, I see it laying around everywhere, well not everywhere and not lying around but you know what I mean. If only I could stick one up me jumper on the way out.

Kaz · November 06, 2009, 07:01:37 AM

Quote from: glassworks on November 05, 2009, 11:23:08 PM
we're not great role models, but please PLEASE PLEASE get someone from a welding shop or such like to set up your oxy tank and piping.. it is VERY much more dangerous due to the very high pressures involved.. you WILL need flashback arrestors, even a surface mix torch has a theoretical possibility of flashback, and the oxy is so much higher pressure wise than the propane the BANG will be big!..

having said that, we ran 14 torches off a single tank and regulator in murano and our studio here - makes an oxycon look peelie wellie...

Thanks Q - my DH is a gas engineer and my friend's DH is an engineer too and has various qualifications over in Oz - so I think they will be fine as long as someone shows them exactly what is needed. Does anyone have a photo of the set up and a link to the regulator and flashback arrestor?

Thanks
Kazx

Helen G · November 06, 2009, 07:16:12 AM

I use tanked oxygen and have a regulator and then a flashback arrestor and then the torch. It's obviously proper oxy ones but looks just like the propane set up.

Ian Pearson · November 06, 2009, 07:48:23 AM

Great expression, "tin of oxygen", bit like tin of baked beans but with more wind potential!
Plenty of advice on BOC/Air products websites for set ups. Look at yellow pages for agents who are usually engineering companies. Think if you want welding done on car where do you go? Well probably same people would/could supply oxygen. Set up well and it's great stuff.

Ian

Katiequiggle · November 06, 2009, 08:16:09 AM

Thanks Ian. Its not the torch I can't afford its the oxycon thats so expensive, if I can sort out the oxygen easily I could have a new torch.

Diane · November 06, 2009, 09:25:52 AM

Just a thought Katie - Martin may be able to help you.

Redhotsal · November 06, 2009, 09:46:29 AM

I used to work on bottled oxygen. It was a royal pain in the arse. Unless you have a decent site to keep it you can forget the whole thing.

It's more hazardous than having an oxycon around. For a start the gas is at pressure so you will need to constrain the bottle - i.e. chain it to a wall. The real hazard is if the bottle topples over. If that happens and the valve is cracked in the process it will take off like a rocket. Even a brick wall won't stop its terrifying and spectacular exit.
Bear in mind that most of us on here are female and not very strong. I could only ever move a full size bottle by walking it (rolling it vertically). There was no way I could lift it. The half sizes are not much better - I could just about lift one of these but they work out to be about the same price as the full size so are more expensive.

I had mine delivered by BOC. It cost about £30 a delivery so it made sense to have two bottles delivered at a time. These cost about £100 a year to rent and about £20 to refill. This was over five years ago so its bound to be more expensive now. I reckon it was costing me about £500 a year. Add to that the problem in getting access to my work area - it's funny how you never notice steps unless you are in a wheelchair or lugging a massive steel bottle about - and the access to my road. Double parked cars made the usually surly wagon driver even less inclined to help and he wasn't exactly a "positive" person to begin with.

Complete nightmare if you happen to live in a standard residential setting.

If you live with a welder or in a building yard or similar where the access is flat and clear then having bottled oxygen is a joy, but I suspect that most of us don't.

You will also need ideally a two stage regulator (The one which looks like Micky Mouses head), definitely a flashback arrestor for oxygen (you can't use a propane one) and definitely high pressure hosing (its blue in this country and I beleive it is green in America). Don't consider the polythene tubing that comes with the oxycon as it's not a high enough pressure rating.

And as Ian says - they never tell you to get the special valve key which has a square socket end. It's amazing how much those things can cost if you need one in a hurry!

Sorry to be the harbinger of doooooom when it comes to bottled oxygen but I was so pleased when the oxycon came along, (and I saved about £500 a year) as I used to dread oxygen delivery day. Although Kaz, I don't have a clue what it would be like Aus, they might have different guidelines. Guess you could look up an Aussie welding supply place and ask them?

Kaz · November 06, 2009, 09:49:22 AM

Hmmmm wondering now if I may as well just work on the hothead - though I will find it frustrating!!!