Howdy,
On Thu, 21 Oct 2004, David Scheidt wrote:
> As for as specs, what you want are the largest tanks you can afford
> and can deal with -- they last longer, and cost less to use. (I've
> got 80 cubic feet tanks. They're about 3' tall. They cost about 2/3
> what it costs to fill a 220ish Cu ft (the biggest standard size.)
> cylinder.) You also want a longer hose than what most kits come with.
> Most kits come with 20 or 25 feet, which sounds like a lot, until you
> have to walk around a car. (If you have the need for occasional
> portability, you can later on get a set of small tanks, and use the
> same torch, hoses and regulators on them.)
If you're space limited, go ahead and get the smaller tanks now, then
upgrade later if you need to. My gas supplier was fine with this plan,
your's might be as well. I still use small tanks on my torches, but did
end up getting a bigger tank for my mig welder. Guess which I use more?
:-)
> As for what torch, buy one of the big brands (Smith, Victor, Harris
> calorific, a couple others) and you'll have equipment you can use the
> rest of your life. (And someone will use longer.) The three brands
> I've mentioned will have tips, service parts, and accessories
> available at any decent welding store in the US.
I'll go a bit further than that... Look around locally and figure out what
welding/gas shop you like, then buy a torch kit they support (hopefully
from them, but they typically realize that they often can't compete on the
kit itself and will make money on consumables). Victor seems to be the
most common around here in Pittsburgh, PA. Oh, and ESAB is another name
brand.
> The cheap imported crap sold by Harbor freight and the like is just
> that. Cheap crap. It'll work out of the box, probably. It won't be
> working in three years if you use it.
I think the biggest thing on the import stuff like this is that getting
replacement parts is a PITA. If they were setup to be compatible with
Victor attachments for instance, I wouldn't have a problem with the
chinese stuff. Its not like a cutting torch is a super complex thing...
> The typical torch kit consists of a pair of regulators, flash
> arrestors, hose, a torch body, a cutting adaptor, a couple of tips
> for both the torch and the cutting adaptor, a spark lighter, and a
> pair of googles. That, and some tanks, (and gloves and some other
> safety kit) are really all you need to cut up cars into smaller
> pieces.
A couple things I'd recommend safety-wise...
First, a leather jacket like:
http://www.weldingmart.com/Qstore/p000150.htm
When you're under a car cutting something, having hot metal fall on you
sucks.
Also high top leather boots. I can't tell you how many times I burned my
ankle with spatter before I smartened the heck up.
Finally, a welding face shield vs. goggles is really nice. Protects your
whole face, works better with glasses, etc. Make sure you get the right
shade for torch work (between 3 and 5 or so). If you do go with goggles,
ditch the ones in the kit and get some that have a flip up lens. When
you're under a car in bad light, shade 5 goggles are equivelent to a
blindfold...
Mark
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