Still Looking for help on buying a gas welding set.

You have two choices. Buy Victor, and know you are buying a quality set, or buy an El Cheap-O and waste your money. There are other brands that are good, but if I were buying a torch, I would buy a Victor, and not go through the angst you are suffering.

Just go get the thing, and never look back. Service is readily available. Tips are available. Spare parts are available. You could be using this time to weld and cut.

Steve

Thank you for the come back guys... I do see some that say Victor compatible.... Does that one sound cheep also? The welding shop out here sells the tanks to you and then just charges to fill. The shop told me of another brand but I can not think of it of the top of my head, All I saw was the word TOYS and I blanked out..

Any other brand to also look at as a backup?

local

The two torch manufacturers that i hear most of are smith and victor, victor compatible means you can use generic tips that will fit that torch because alot of no name kits do not offer additional or replacement tips. For a couple bucks more buy the real deal. Victor firepower seems to be very popular and in the long run you wont have to buy two torches. I am no expert when it comes to oxy-acetylen equipment, just going by what i read and have been told by friends. I have cheapies that are compatible and eventually they will be replaced with victor. walt

Don, I bought this from Harbor Freight because I simply couldn't afford better,

cutting and heating, it works great for my uses so far. I found a local welding shop that fixed me up with a 40cf acetylene tank, and an 80cf oxygen tank. They have a program that lets you lease the tanks for 99years, (that would make me 140 yrs old when i have to return them so i feel pretty secure with that) and i stop by when empty, they swap my empty with a full one, i pay and go. The entire cost for my set up was about $375. ($246.32 for tanks and acetylene tank to regulator adaptor, $99. for HF kit, plus tax) I made my own cart from old bedframes and lawnmower wheels and it works perfect for my needs. I wouldn't go any smaller than the tank sizes i mentioned. Harbor freight also has a set by victor thats a bit more and i would have bought if i could have squeaked out a few more dollars because parts will be readily available and the regultors look a little beefier: i guess financial stituation and usage are your two biggest concerns. good luck, walt ps. i posted a picture of the cart i made if you need an idea of what to construct at:

Smith, Airco. I'm assuming both exist, still. The way things get bought up while I'm not looking, could be that whatever owns Victor bought them both. At this point I wouldn't be all that surprised to find that some company we've never heard of owns both Miller and Lincoln...

I purchased the same set you have I think on Ebay for 89.00 + shipping about

3 months ago so I would have a working torch until I had mine rebuilt. It seems to work fine for what I got it for. My son will inherit it once I get mine back from the shop. By the way, the torch cart looks pretty good.

jess

Smith still exists. They got bought by Miller's Parent Company (ITW).

Airco got chopped up. Koike Aronson covers all the track burners, and Concoa got all the torches and regulators.

Koike and Concoa are both making the torches now.

Lincoln bought Victor.

Purox, Oxweld, and Prestolite all got bought by ESAB

Lincoln bought Harris Harris has been making Craftmen torches.

was bought by Thermadyne which also owns Thermal Arc Fire. Power is their home welder brand.

oops sorry about that. I lose track sometimes.