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Up Topic Welding Industry / General Welding Discussion / "Petrogen"
- - By Mat (***) Date 10-31-2007 10:09
I found this interesting.  Oxy-Gasoline cutting.  Has anybody ever tried it?
http://www.petrogen.com/
Parent - By Kix (****) Date 10-31-2007 12:19
Yeah i tried it once.  Don't let the smell of gasoline in the air bother you though because it's really no big deal.  Keeping the gas tank pumped up is kind of a bum deal though.  I wonder if anyone has ever compared how much for a buck you get out of a tank of petro verses a bottle of Acetylene.
Parent - - By Joseph P. Kane (****) Date 10-31-2007 12:22
It is illegal to transport one of these units on the raod after you first fill it with gasoline!
Parent - - By TozziWelding (**) Date 10-31-2007 13:40
Between the 2 welding machines and my compressor, there is more gasoline than in that dinky little tank.
Parent - - By Kix (****) Date 10-31-2007 13:44
Just cause there isn't a lot of gasoline in that dinky little tank doesn't mean it won't last for a long time.  Thats why i was wondering about the cost comparison with how high gas prices are now.
Parent - - By TozziWelding (**) Date 10-31-2007 21:57
I use propane which is dirt cheap to cut and heat with, same torch, different tip.
Parent - - By G.S.Crisi (****) Date 10-31-2007 22:59
It's interesting to know that you're using propane. Here in Brazil propane was tested many years ago and eventually abandoned in favor of acetylene.
Propane takes a longer time to carry out the cut. 
Giovanni S. Crisi
Sao Paulo - Brazil
Parent - By TozziWelding (**) Date 11-01-2007 02:00
I call BS, you can hold the tip father away, cut thicker, and abandon the 1/7th rule. Most steel yards and foundrys run propane/LP.
Parent - - By DaveBoyer (*****) Date 11-01-2007 02:44
Giovanni: I find that hard to believe, unless in short cuts the time to heat before initiating the cut is a lot less. The aditional carbon in acetylene is actually detrimental to the process [but great for making a reducing atmosphere for welding]. I had a website promoting a fuel that was supposed to be superior to acetylene or propane, but that site was lost the last time My computer crashed. At the plant where I worked We used propane on the plate cutting machine, and for faster starts on heavy plate the operator would direct the preheat flame from a hand torch on the edge to get it up to cutting temperature faster.
Parent - - By downhandonly (***) Date 11-01-2007 03:28
I have a few friends who are using "chemtane 2" for a fuel gas. lasts forever and is hotter than acetylene, sounds great if you work around the city where you can get it but not so great in the country.

http://www.chemtane2.com/products/ct2.html
Parent - By TozziWelding (**) Date 11-01-2007 03:33
Thats the same stuff as HPG that I use, basicaly MAPP.
Parent - - By Joseph P. Kane (****) Date 11-01-2007 11:31
It is not hotter than Acetylene when mixed with Oxygen.  I think you are the victim of a sales pitch.
Parent - - By downhandonly (***) Date 11-01-2007 11:57
that's why I don't use it.lol it's hard enoughto get acetylene where I go most of the time.
Parent - - By Kix (****) Date 11-01-2007 12:28
Propane sucks..  We used to use it to bevel plate and you had to preheat the heck out of the plate to get a smooth cut.  If you started the cut to soon you have someone asking ya for a bun with that sausage cut.;-)
Parent - By MDG Custom Weld (***) Date 11-01-2007 17:50
Two lines of thought here.  Act is much more expensive, however is "hotter" from the start.  Pro is dirt cheap, but on thicker sections takes a bit longer to get going.  They both have their place, but all of the big cutting shops around here that use 1000+ cf per day use Pro just to save some money, while the custom shops that use a line burner here and there use Act.
Like some of you have already said, the ease  of getting one vs the other might make the decision for you.
Parent - By sbcmweb (****) Date 08-05-2008 02:16
Yeah. I agree. In scrapyards, the way to go. I think the gasoline powered system is neat, but I'm old school. I'm sticking to Acetylene. Still, it looks pretty cool & useful. They say the fuel is easy to get & more available than Ace. But....Think about it, you still need compressed Oxygen. What cylinder supplier carries Oxygen, but not Acetylene?

My .02 S.W.
Parent - By DaveBoyer (*****) Date 11-02-2007 02:58
Good point Joe, It is easy for people to confuse temperature and heat. Due to not being limited to 15 PSIG, it is common for alternate fuels to get more BTUs than acetylene, but at a lower temperature.
Parent - - By darren (***) Date 11-01-2007 21:52
http://www.zippyvideos.com/3028641915247786/7377-waterfuel/
i am sure you've seen this what do you think?
darren
Parent - - By Root Pass (***) Date 11-02-2007 01:27
What do you all think of propalyne(sp)?
Parent - - By ctacker (****) Date 11-02-2007 01:47
I like propalyne better than chemtane, personally i can cut alot cleaner and faster with it than any other gas!
Parent - - By Root Pass (***) Date 11-03-2007 12:45
I'm thinking about switching from acetylene to propalene but not sure if I should. I like the safety factor of propalene and that the tanks last longer but don't like the fact that I can't use a rosebud on those few times I need to
Parent - By ctacker (****) Date 11-03-2007 15:59
you can get rosebuds that run on propalene,propane and chemtane!
Parent - By sbcmweb (****) Date 08-05-2008 02:19
I would stick with what works. The chances of being out in BFE & the BFE Weld Supply Co. carries Ace, but nothing else. Too bad for the Sucka that has all Mapp & Propalene tips!  Sorry, I'm just old school. Stuck in my ways! S.W.
Parent - By DaveBoyer (*****) Date 11-02-2007 02:56
The OxyHydrogen torch is cool, WAY COOL, 1000f-2000f cooler than OxyAcetylene. Hydrogen as a welding fuel predates acetylene by a few years [ first comercially marketed in 1901] but the basic principle goes back 100 years before that. They have been and are used by jewlers with an electrolisis setup, no tanks. Don't get caught up in the "Hydrogen Hype" You don't need much water to make a lot of hydrogen and oxygen, but You do need a lot of electricity. The energy You get out of the hydrogen and oxygen will be less than the energy put into the process to break down the water. 
Parent - By makeithot (***) Date 11-04-2007 21:52
Mat, I have used those petrogen torchs alot we had first tryed them for cutting underwater as they claimed that this was possiple ,it is but the fancy igniter only worked twice and then you had to light the torch on the surface and then carry it lit to the job site a real pain to say the least. As far as cutting on the surface was concerned they do work well if you don't mind the aggrevation of of pumping up that fuel tank all the time . For myself I found the gear to be a waste of time when compared to oxy/acetylene. But if you are only making a couple cuts a month they do have there advantages.
Parent - - By Toymkr Date 08-04-2008 17:34
I've used one extensively in a shipyard environment and the unit worked very well.  It really excels at cutting rusty, dirty, laminated, cement coated steel....stuff that no other torch would even begin to cut, let alone have any sort of quality.  The ability to make heavy cuts is awesome and cuts are far cleaner than with other gasses with fewer sparks.  It cut a stack of 10 verrrrrrry rusty 3/8" plates with big gaps between them and still had a decent looking cut on the bottom plate.  Long bevel cuts up to 30 degrees on 1" plate were no problem at all. Cutting speed is as fast or faster than acetylene.

Pumping the tank is a bit of a pain with a tank full of fuel but we learned to only fill the tank 3/4 full of fuel so that there is air space to hold more air volume.  We didn't set it up with a regulator and air supply but thats an easy option.

Its hard to convince a bunch of crusty old Boilermakers to try something new but they got used to it and liked it for many different jobs.  Liked it so much that someone stole the darned thing !
Parent - By chris2698 (****) Date 08-05-2008 03:09
I've never seen this setup and to be honest I don't know how much it is but sure would be kinda nice to have
Parent - - By DaveBoyer (*****) Date 08-05-2008 03:19
About a month ago someone was promoting a non presurized gasoline cutting setup in the "For Sale" section.
Parent - - By chris2698 (****) Date 08-05-2008 03:30
This is a guy who came out with another way to cut steel a machine that pulls hydrogen from water to use in a cutting torch. I had posted this on another forum and they called BS on it but you know all it takes is one good idea wheather you want to believe it or not is up to you but if it is really true and it relaly does what he says then hey this could be a good thing. Here is the torch called HHO http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mypMAsi92TE&feature=related

Chris
Parent - By DaveBoyer (*****) Date 08-05-2008 05:31
   I don't know what is "unique" about His electrolisis process, similar units have been used by jewlers for years, and show up on ebay from time to time. Hydrogen burns a lot cooler than propane, way cooler than acetylene.  See my post 11/2/07 above.

   With regard to running His car on hydrogen liberated from 4 oz of water for 100 miles, how much electricity did He use to "make" that hydrogen??? They would lead You to believe that it was generated within the car [unlikely], if so what is the electricity source?
Up Topic Welding Industry / General Welding Discussion / "Petrogen"

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