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Old 06-24-2014, 12:26 PM
David Gardiner David Gardiner is offline
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Default Oxygen and acetylene welding- Equipment and use

Oxygen and acetylene welding- Equipment and use.

I have seen a lot of questions about Oxy- Acetylene welding and I have several PMs asking me questions about equipment and settings so I thought I would make a thread explaining the equipment, setting up and use of Oxygen and Acetylene welding equipment. I will try to include some safety tips but I take no responsibility for any damages or injury resulting from the use of any information here.

Some things may be subjective based on my experience but I will back up what I show where possible with Data from various sources.

There seems to be a lot of misinformation and confusion about torches, guages, settings and other related subjects. I am in the UK but other than nozzle (tip) sizes everything should be pretty much universal.

While I don't claim to be an expert on all things gas welding I got my first welding qualification forty years ago, I have welded almost constantly since and have taught many people to weld both as a lecturer at Colchester institute and in my workshop.

I am sure there are plenty of people with just as much experience of gas welding as me on this board but this is intended for those who are new to gas welding, those with little experience or those who want to set up for the first time. I may even learn new things as I gather information to post!

I aim to put usefull information in one place for users of this board.

David
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Last edited by David Gardiner; 06-24-2014 at 02:27 PM.
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Old 06-24-2014, 01:44 PM
David Gardiner David Gardiner is offline
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I am going to start from the basics...

To set up for Oxygen and Acetylene welding this is a list of the equipment you will need to get started. The colour of the cylinders may vary depending on your country but the basic set up will be the same.



The cylinders- One of disolved Acetylene and one Oxygen.

The Acetylene cylinder is of steel construction and contains a porous filling which is there to absorb the Acetone used to dissolve the acetylene. This is one of the dangers- an acetylene cylender should never be laid down when in use and it is better not to lay them down at all. If for any reason a cylinder has been laid down it must be stood upright for at least one hour before using it. This is to prevent the Acetone entering the regulators and hose where it becomes a fire risk.

All acetylene cylinders (at least in the UK I imagine this is universal) are protected by at least one safety device designed to relieve pressure if it is subjected to overheating, perhaps in a fire or though a flashback. A flashback can occure if the flame fires buck through the hoses into the cylinder, this can cause the cylinder to heat up. The safety device is usually a plug which will melt over a given temperature.

Here is a link to a PDF on Acetylene safety.

http://www.hse.gov.uk/pubns/indg327.pdf

The Oxygen cylinder comes in a seemless cylinder and is a non combustable gas. Welding cylinders are supplied with extreemly high pressure so there is still risks involved. Care must be taken not to contaminate the cylinder with any form of oil or grease.

Here is a PDF on the safe use of Oxygen cylinders...

http://www.hse.gov.uk/pubns/indg327.pdf

There is a lot of information about health and safety regarding welding gasses on the internet, I recommend reading about the risks and safety advice before undertaking any welding. The more you know the safer you will be.

David
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Last edited by David Gardiner; 06-24-2014 at 02:28 PM.
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Old 06-24-2014, 02:04 PM
David Gardiner David Gardiner is offline
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Safety

Here is a link to a PDF on basic safety while gas welding...

http://www.hse.gov.uk/pubns/indg297.pdf

I thought it would be a good idea to provide some basic safety advice for the many people who have never done gas welding before - safety first!.

All the links go to UK government safety advice and are easy to read in a very few minutes so well worth a peruse. Safety is safety the world over and the information is not UK specific.

That is most of the boring stuff out of the way I will look at the rest of the equipment shortly.


David
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Last edited by David Gardiner; 06-24-2014 at 02:31 PM.
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Old 06-25-2014, 06:46 AM
kiwi john kiwi john is offline
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Thanks David
Looking forward to the next installment

Cheers John
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Old 06-25-2014, 11:52 AM
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Frank.de.Kleuver Frank.de.Kleuver is offline
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Great initiative David. Thanks for sharing a very important part of metal shaping.

Frank
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Old 06-25-2014, 03:53 PM
Cgarside Cgarside is offline
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David,
Great thread topic. When I got back into o/a welding i took the time to research the safety aspects so your links make this a much quicker task.
Look forward to further installments.
Chris
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Old 06-30-2014, 06:44 AM
David Gardiner David Gardiner is offline
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Thank you all for the possitive responses.
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Old 06-30-2014, 06:53 AM
RockHillWill RockHillWill is offline
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David, I appreciate your taking the time to post this information. I have read the pdf file, but still have a question. How toxic is the fume from gas welding aluminum? is there a concern for extended periods of welding?
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Old 06-30-2014, 06:55 AM
David Gardiner David Gardiner is offline
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Regulators



Regulators come in two types. Single stage and two stage. The purpose of regulators is to reduce the cylinder pressure to the desired working pressure and to provide a steady flow of gas to the torch while the pressure in the cylinder varies.

Single stage.


These have a single low pressure chamber and the flow of gas is controlled by the adjusting screw which is on the front of the regulators as seen in the photo above.

Two stage

These have two chambers the first is a high pressure chamber which is set to a pre-detarmined pressure. This is maintained by a spring and a diaphragm. The gas then passes into the second chamber where the pressure is set by the adjusting screw. The advantage of the two stage regulator is a more constant pressure delivered to the blowpipe even when cylinder pressure drops.

Both types of regulator have two guages one indicates the pressure in the cylinder the other shows the working pressure.

More soon

David
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Last edited by David Gardiner; 06-30-2014 at 07:30 AM.
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Old 06-30-2014, 07:14 AM
David Gardiner David Gardiner is offline
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Quote:
Originally Posted by RockHillWill View Post
David, I appreciate your taking the time to post this information. I have read the pdf file, but still have a question. How toxic is the fume from gas welding aluminum? is there a concern for extended periods of welding?
Hi Will, this website can probably answer your questions better than me again it is the UK government official site. It seems that the biggest risk is welding stainless steel. the biggest risk from aluminium welding is Ozone, this is a problem with most welding. Its is well worth reading on the website but I feel that for most hobbyists its not going to be a huge risk as long as they are working in a well ventilated area. Otherwise get an extractor.

Safety and health advice on welding fumes...

http://www.hse.gov.uk/welding/fume-facts.htm

All our fluxes have been changed here recently for health and safety reasons and don't work as well as they did. I get more noticable acrid fumes from the new aluminium flux now so not so sure of the health benifits.

David
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Last edited by David Gardiner; 06-30-2014 at 09:51 AM.
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