having to turn oxycon down

puffin · June 11, 2010, 03:22:12 PM

Hey it might like mess and I if I lived near anyone I would clean for glass or torch time so I can learn new things. But I live near noone

All the jets are clear I will have another check just incase , I thought it was the propane going but hubby says " NO "

So I will try all tips tom as I have to go see a friends display of work at her college tonight , she has just finished textiles so I am going to give support in her work that she has done.

puffin · June 24, 2010, 09:47:31 AM

Ok thanks for all info.

it happened after a long pants day yesterday again the gas went really low. But this the husband was there to see so could see for himself that I was not lying. Anyway he went to the propane and then lucky enough I was in the shed to turn the torch down quickly because he did something and the gas light went so high he nearly set fire to the tardis.

it turned out he had turned down the regulator on the propane end. So I hopefully have gas now until it runs out $:-\$

julieHB · June 24, 2010, 11:26:13 AM

When I bought my kit I was advised to keep the regulator 3/4 way open (it opens up as you turn it downwards, which seems the "wrong" way) - glad to hear you have gas again

glassworks · June 24, 2010, 04:26:50 PM

a very quick and easy bit of basic maintenance is to clean the ocycon filters!.. NOTHING kills an oxcon faster than slightly blocked filters.. on most brands there are at least two.. a rough foam filter in the outer case, which can be vacuumed and whacked against something to shift the dust.. and then MOST IMPORTANT of all a fine particle filter inside on the air intakes....

this internal one is machine specific but gets clogged very quickly in most studios and radically affects oxycon performance... an oxycon is literally an air pump - so it needs to "breathe" as easily as possible to get the most performance out of it...

thats me tuppence worth, as always anyone who has a newer style oxycon can get as many spare internal filters as they want if they just email me... unfortunately we've exhausted our stock of spares for the older style units but they are still easily available from stockists...

Redhotsal · June 24, 2010, 05:48:03 PM

I'm curious. Why would you and how do you clean your torch?

Under normal operation why would your torch get "dirty"? It shouldn't. And what is "dirty" - do you poke the nozzles out with a thin wire each day?

Seems to me that this is not the best way to go - poking downwards with a wire will simply push any crud back into the hoses. And anyway - there simply shouldn't be much buildup of anything anyway. If there is - especially on a minor burner - sounds like something is going wrong somewhere?? I'd be very interested to know more about this - as this could be part of the problem?

glassworks · June 24, 2010, 05:53:00 PM

cleaning torches is to get the carbon crud out.. almost every torch manufacturer we've spoken too about this recommends an occasional "tap" on the barrel of the torch while working.. if you see a shower of small sparks thats the carbon burning up...

the tap every now and again keeps most of the rubbish off the glass.. to do a better clean you shut everything down, wait for it to COOL down, and do the wire pokery thing.. this loosens up all the carbon, and when you then fire the oxycon and gas back up all the rubbish gets blown out and burnt up.. most torches are surface mix, so the carbon crud is really only in the first mm or so of the barrel of the torch.. no need, or concern, to poke a lot deeper..

above all - be gentle...

Margram · June 24, 2010, 07:53:05 PM

That is really good news for me - I've lost the wire pokey thing and have been doing the tapping thing lately!

beadysam · June 24, 2010, 08:00:45 PM

I clean my torch at the end of a session. I turn off the oxycon at the unit, then at the torch, nip out and turn off the gas, bleed the line until the gas goes out then turn it off at the torch. I then turn up the oxy at the torch and clean it with wires, and the torch pointing downward while there is air from the oxycon running through to cool it and blow out and bits. I also run the oxycon for 10 mins or so before I light the torch so it has a bit of time to blow out crud then too.

I must admit I have had loads of problems with crud since the `oxycon saga' when my torch was getting too hot. I think it may have damaged it and the carbon it getting stuck on the rough metal...

Redhotsal · June 24, 2010, 09:35:28 PM

I reckon the torch is best left alone unless there is a specific blockage or carbon build up. I certainly can't see a reason to clean it every day

As I said a few inches up the thread: If you're having to clean it daily I would be seriously looking to see what the cause of the carbon build up is. Prevention as opposed to cure, sort of thing.....

glassworks · June 24, 2010, 09:59:14 PM

i'm with sal on this one.. too much soot is a sign of "dirty" gas... often, at the "bottom" of the tank, you can get other chemicals and crud starting to come through.. i've had our studio minors for more than 2 years, and never used the wire thing on them yet?..

the barracuda is even older and has also never been "wired", although i do the tappy thing every now and then...

Redhotsal · June 24, 2010, 10:29:24 PM

Quote from: glassworks on June 24, 2010, 09:59:14 PM
the barracuda is even older and has also never been "wired", although i do the tappy thing every now and then...

I like a chap who can use technical terms......

beadysam · June 24, 2010, 10:43:20 PM

I've just always cleaned the holes as a matter of routine, because in the info that came with my torch it recommended that I did. It came with a set of wires and instructions and this is one of the few times I've ever done what I've been told!

If I stopped doing it, I'd never find the wires again, and keep putting it off like I do everything else in my life LOL! I love my Bobcat and like to look after it as much as poss, but they are well known for getting a build up of carbon, especially for the first three months or so of use. Its certainly not a happy torch though, since it got overheated...

Redhotsal · June 24, 2010, 11:11:59 PM

Yeah, actually - the Bobcat is a bit more high maintenance than the Minor. The Minor's a bit like a landrover.........not that much on it to go wrong and relatively simple in design.

beadysam · June 24, 2010, 11:35:24 PM

Quote from: Redhotsal on June 24, 2010, 11:11:59 PM
Yeah, actually - the Bobcat is a bit more high maintenance than the Minor. The Minor's a bit like a landrover.........not that much on it to go wrong and relatively simple in design.

Yes but does it make you want to stroke it? GTT torches are soooooo sexy - I want a bigger one when I grow up!

Kaz · June 25, 2010, 07:37:27 AM

I only give my lynx a quick going over with the little metal brush that came with it about every 2 weeks and it seems fine.
I think I need to hoover my oxy filters this weekend!
Wouldn't it be lovely if one of the suppliers were to produce a downloadable pdf on maintaining your equipment

Kazx