Which blowlamp?

I have a slightly different Rothenberger torch (maybe the original Superfire, I can't remember), a couple of years old, comes with a short hose. Much smaller scale than the Bullfinch, & a fixed size burner. I use it with MAPP gas & find it excellent for silver soldering work. The piezo ignition died after about six months, though.

PS I was baffled briefly, I replied to this yet my reply didn't appear via agent or via Google. I now realise I had replied to the rec.crafts.metalworking group & not here though I had replied to a posting *on this group*. How can this happen when the post appeared here (as well as, presumably, on r.c.m)?

Tim

Same happend to me, post didnt appear? Wasn't Sievart the be all of blowlamps? Bob

>

Sievert are very good, same sort of thing as the Bullfinch ie larger scale than the Rothenberger & with interchangeable burners, & running from a full size propane cylinder so the gas is cheap once you've paid the cylinder deposit.

Tim

I can recommend Sievert propane torches, eg:

very robust brass designs with interchangeable nozzles & parts. Buy second-hand as they are very pricey. I use one for soldering, brazing,

Bottled propane is much better value than the little blowlamp canisters.

We use the Rothenberger on a 14kg cylinder for large cable/connector pin soldering. The P-E ignition is worth having.

Peter

-- Peter A Forbes Prepair Ltd, Luton, UK snipped-for-privacy@easynet.co.uk

I bought a Bullfinch a while back, no complaints runs well off a 15KG bottle of propane, but expensive for what you get for the money. Sievert are more expensive again.

Steve

Machine Mart do an entry-level kit for Sievert.

"PMPX Professional Torch Kit"

Have a look at their web page (maybe welding section ?) The price has gone up recently, but at £58.73 it's still about half the price of anywhere else.

Peter W.

Hi folks,

My apologies for taking some time to follow this up. I've been busy.

First to answer's Tim's question about the missing posts. I posted the question to both rec.crafts.metalworking and uk.rec.models.engineering. Because rec.crafts.metalworking is a much busier group, I thought it was best to set the Followup-To header to send all replies to rec.crafts.metalworking. I probably should have mentioned this, but didn't think to. Sorry. The Followup-To header is set the same way in this post.

Thanks for all the advice about blowlamps. I quickly ruled out the Rothenberger following Tim's comments about the failed piezo ignition, and also because I wanted cheap gas.

So it was down to the Bullfinch, which I nearly bought. But the comments by the two Davids lead me to consider the Sievert. At first I didn't like the Sievert because of its plastic handle. I would have preferred a metal handle. But then I noticed that the Bullfinch had a plastic knob. And the Bullfinch is plated, whereas the Sievert is plain brass. Plain brass will probably age better than plating. Finally I noticed that the regulator which comes in the Bullfinch kit looked a bit cheap, and only goes up to 1 bar. Also Bullfinch state that their larger burners require a minimum size of propane cylinder, but Sievert do not.

So in the end I bought the Sievert "General Purpose Torch Kit" from Toolbank for £64

I know that some sellers advertise a similar-looking kit for as little as £39.99, but they charge VAT and carriage on top, and give no indication of how quickly they'll deliver. I've always been very happy with the service I've received from Toolbank. The kit includes the Pro 86 handle, 2941 burner, hose and 4 bar regulator. I've also bought a smaller 3941 burner from Chronos, together with Tubal Cain's "Soldering and Brazing" book. It's interesting to note that Chronos sell a similar torch kit, which includes two burners rather than one, for £156.45. Their prices aren't great.

So far I've used the torch once and I'm very happy with it. The components are well engineered and nicely finished (in this respect they look better than the Bullfinch, although I haven't seen the Bullfinch in person). The plastic handle actually looks pretty good. It looks tough and doesn't look or feel cheap. The hose is has crimped ends like a hydraulic hose, rather than being secured with simple clips. The adjustment of the flame is nice and precise. I managed to get a piece of

50 mm x 5 mm mild steel bar red hot with the 2941 burner, without a brazing hearth, so it has some power. The only disadvantage I've found with this kit so far is that Calor now charge a £29.99 deposit for each cylinder. Ouch!

I might buy the larger 2943 burner at some point in the future.

If people are interested I'll post a more thorough review of this kit once I've had chance to use it more.

Best wishes,

Chris