Acetylene Generator

Here's a place that sells Miner's Grade Calcium Carbide in 12 pound lots for $70.00, a large part of that goes toward shipping costs because of calcium carbide's hazardous material classification by the DOT.

Thanks, I pasted the website to my computer. Guess the next step will be to do a complete inspection of the unit. Sure do not want a pinhole and blow myself up.

I used to pick up ~1 qt. cans of the stuff at hardware stores in Great Falls, MT when I was a kid ( put a few rocks in the school toilet & lit it) , but it seems anything fun nowadays is banned so I dunno if it's that easily available at hardware stores anymore. small amounts here;

try your local miners supply place also.

You can still pick up small cans of calcium carbide at most camping supply outfitters (not a sporting goods store in a mall). Many of the outdoor tradiing posts here in New England still sell it.

Harry C.

Acetylene generators are *cool*. I know where I could get one, if I knew where to get carbide I'd go for it.

John

I recall using a generator on a farm many years ago. As I recall the regulation was terrible. Pressure would drop until more Calcium Carbide was released, then pressure would go way back up. I would vote for popane.

Paul

I've found some 1 gallon-sized cans at the local army surplus store, they mostly carry camping gear now. IIRC, the generator carbide is larger than the lamp-sized stuff. We used to have a welding supply that made their own acetylene, got their carbide in big drums on railroad cars, which may be the only way you can get the stuff for generators these days. Might be easier to go with oxy/propane for extensive cutting. I've got an old Union Carbide welding manual, it shows a special injector-type handle for use with low-pressure acetylene from a generator. Not sure if you have one of those already or not.

FWIW, there's a couple of old acetylene and welding manuals out on

for those that want to go looking. Free downloads. Gives how many cubic feet of acetylene you should get from a pound of carbide. It isn't as much as you'd think.

Stan

As I've said before, LP is an excellent cutting fuel. If the OP is scrapping it's definitely the way to go.

Are you sure the generator you used was working properly? I'd hate to try to do anything with a torch when the fuel pressure was constantly changing.. Did it have a regulator?

John

I have no idea.This was in 1961. I was working for a one eyed grass seed farmer in the Willamette valley. I had never used a torch before and didn't again until 2 years ago. I just remember it was a pain in the butt trying to heat steel rods to burn enlarge holes drilled in 2/4 walls of a seed storage bin.

Paul

Yeah, I'll bet it was. I don't like single stage regulators for the reason the pressure changes more than two-stage, I can imagine what your experience was like..

John