oxy-a cutting torch questions!

It would be helpful if you could have some knowledgeable person look at your gear. When you screw down on an oxygen regulator you are working against a spring. So it gets harder to turn, but should not get really hard to turn.

You might say where you are and there might be someone close to you.

You might also unscrew the adjusting screw and see if you can see a reason why it gets hard. The thread on the adjusting screw does not get exposed to 100% oxygen. I would not advocate using oil on it, but I might use a little graphite on it.

I think your problem is that the gas is not coming out fast enough. So the flame gets inside the torch. This is more likely to happen with a large tip installed on your torch. Usually the tip sold with the torch is bigger than you want for cutting 1/4 and smaller thickness metal. So you might consider buying a smaller tip.

You could take your regulator and torch to your friendly welding suppply store sometime when business is slow and talk to the personnel there. They usually are helpful if there is not another customer waiting to be served.

Dan

Using faulty regulators is a good way to start a fire or get yourself hurt. Have you considered that it might work better if the gauges were working right?

Get the gauges overhauled. After that, use 3# acetylene and from 10# to 20# of oxygen depending on thickness. The popping is because you have too much oxygen coming out, or you are too close to the workpiece. Or your regulator is ready to blow.

You're playing with dynamite here. Don't mess with broken equipment.

Steve (welding since 1974)

If that's 5 PSI, it's 'way too low. Minimum oxygen pressure for cutting is something like 25. Something's going on with the regulator (my first guess), the gauge, the amount of oxygen in the tank... something. Take it to a welding shop and have them look at it.

A general rule of thumb is that you simply need to be running the right pressures for the tip you've got -- you can't see what pressure is present and try to make things work.

When the flame blows out with a loud "crack," the problem is usually too high of oxygen pressure, not too low. (The other common cause is crud in the tip...)

What bothers me is exactly what the "5" you are seeing on the gauge means. Is this "5" near the bottom of the gauge's range or up closer to the middle? This is a little off the wall, but everything you are observing would make sense if the gauge is metric and is marked in hundreds of kilopascals. 500 kPa is about 70 psi. (The other obvious possibility is that your gauge is defective...). But this would account for blowing the torch out and, if this is somewhere around the limit of the regulator, why it is getting tight.

Try a couple things. Set the oxygen to around "2" on your gauge (or maybe a bit lower) and see if that works better. Or loosen the oxygen regulator completely and open the oxygen valve on the torch at least half way. Turn on the acetylene and light it off. Then raise the regulator pressure to see if you can get a proper neutral flame. If that works, note the gauge pressure. The result of this little experiment should give you some insight into the problem.

Jerry

Chinese torch? Chinese regulators? If so do yourself a favor and return it NOW. Spend a bit more and get decent equipment.