Hello Dave, your post definitely reminded me of a number of additional things that could be related to the issue. To Stkwldr: sometimes the A to Z method of trouble shooting will lead to solving the problem. First off, do your bottles have gas in them? Next, are your regulators in good working order and are the pressure gauges on them working properly? Have you checked the inlet fitting on the oxygen regulator to see if there is any possibility of an obstruction there? If your torch set-up has one way flow checks or flashback arrestors are they working as they should? Do your hoses have any kinks or other issues with them that might restrict the flow? There is the remote possibility that something could have been dropped on the hose and caused internal damage to the inner casing that might not be readily noticeable by a visual inspection of the outside of the hose. There are also other things that can cause an internal deterioration of the hoses that might restrict their ability to flow gas.
You might want to start your troubleshooting process by first removing the torch assembly from your hoses. Make sure that your regulators are backed-off and then open up the bottles, oxygen all the way open, acetylene or fuel gas 1 1/2 to 2 turns, there should be no flow of gas from either hose at this point. Then plug the fuel gas hose end with your thumb or finger and adjust the regulator until you have somewhere around 5 to 7 psi, take your finger or thumb from the end of the hose, you should hear a rush of the gas and feel it flowing, if you don't feel a pretty good flow you might have an obstruction of some sort, shut the gas off after this part. Now follow the same type of process using the oxygen side, in this case use a higher pressure, between 30 to 40 psi. You should also hear and feel a substantial flow of gas when performing this test, obviously more flow and pressure than the fuel gas side. YOU WILL NOT WANT TO PERFORM THIS SORT OF TESTING IN THE PRESENCE OF FLAMES, OILS, OR RESTRICTED VENTILATION AREAS. If everything checks out after this you will want to re-install the torch body or butt, shut off the oxygen and fuel valves, and then reopen your bottles and set your regulators as you had when you performed the first test. now open up the fuel gas valve, you should detect the flow and pressure as with the first test you performed on the hoses, shut off this valve and proceed to test the oxygen valve the same way, if both of these tests come out OK you can probably rule out any problems with your equipment up to this point. Now go ahead and attach the cutting attachment to the torch body/butt, at this point you should start with the oxygen valve on the cutting attachment shut off fully and the fuel gas valve on the torch body/butt shut off fully, the oxygen valve on the torch body/butt should be opened FULLY. Go ahead and light the torch by opening the fuel gas valve on the torch body/butt and adjust it to a point where the smoky part of the flame has pretty much disappeared but the flame is still attached to the cutting tip. Next, add oxygen via the valve on the cutting attachment until you have a neutral flame, then depress the cutting lever and re-adjust the oxygen valve on the cutting attachment if required to achieve a neutral flame with the cutting lever depressed. Unless there are some other issues here you will not have the flame go out on you and the torch should work normally. Thanks for reminding me of those "other" things Dave, best regards, Allan
Wow Allan, I'm just a student but I think I will keep that advice as a great future reference post :)
Hello brightblue, as you are a welding student, besides just learning how to weld you should also try to pick-up on the theory behind the various welding processes and what makes them tick. Having just a bit of additional knowledge of the processes will make it much easier to figure things out when they aren't going quite right. I have many students who are very proficient welders when things are set as they should be, they typically have their most difficult times when they run into something that has changed and they don't know how to figure out the "not right" part or what has changed. Many instructors will have their students hook-up the polarity wrong or do other things that are intentionally incorrect so that they will recognize when there is a problem. This is another area of your education that will help you in the long run. I gathered from some of your other posts that you have started your classes, have a great instructor, and it sounds as though things are going well. Best of luck to you and regards, Allan
I do know that everything is in working order because I did use a different torch to cut my steel after that one torch did not want to work. I did go out and check the O2 valve on the said torch, it was open all the way. So that is not the problem. I do have have gas in both bottles, as I did more cutting this morning. What i did find was that the brass nut that holds my tip in place has some bad threads but no leakage of gas there. I will probably switch the torch head from one to another to see if the problem still exists.
The problem torch does light but when I add the oxygen it will stay lit for a while then pop and go out. It will also go out immediately when i hit the O2 lever. I do have two back up torches, so I am not in a bind to get it working. But I just hate knowing that it does not work properly. Any other feedback would be appreciated.
Thanks for the help so far guys. I will go out and continue to try and figure this out.
Well i took the torch head that did not work off of the body and put another one on. that worked. the one that did not work, i put on another body that i know works and it did not work their either. So, the problem is isolated down to the torch head. I took that completely apart and all springs look good and so do the o-rings within. What do you guys think? Hopefully this hasn't gotten confusing yet.
Hello again stkwldr, you certainly took the appropriate steps to try to narrow it down. When you installed a tip into the suspect cutting attachment were you able to get it tightened down adequately with the damage to the threads on the brass nut? Also, when you look at the seats on the cutting attachment where the tip should seat, do these seats show any signs of gouges, scratches, or other sorts of damage? If so you could have leakage from one portion of the torch to the other which should not be happening or allowed to happen. There are 2 seating areas within the cutting attachment, the outer portion of this assembly between the two seats provides the mixture of gas for the preheat flames for the cutting tip, the inner hole or orifice that is in the center of the head provides the cutting oxygen for the cutting tip. If the outermost seating area is damaged and won't seal it will allow leakage that will possibly cause the torch to pop-out while you are trying to use it. Additionally, due to a venturi effect this can also cause the torch to act up when the cutting lever is depressed. With damage to the outer seat you might also notice small blue flames around the edge of the backside of the brass nut (between the threads and the nut) and an almost crackling or hissing sort of sound when the torch is burning. If the innermost seat is damaged it will allow an excess of oxygen to be applied to the preheat flames and will likely extinguish them when you apply the cutting oxygen.
If you have tried using a new cutting tip in this attachment and still have the problem and have inspected the seating area on the cutting attachment and notice or suspect that it either has noticeable damage or possibly could have seats that might be out-of-round. You will need to take the attachment in and have a repair facility recut/reface these seating surfaces. Just a bit more to consider here. Best of luck and regards, Allan
I did put a new tip into the attachment and it still went out (small tip and large tip). I was able to tighten down the brass nut that retains the tip with little or no effort and have a good seal. By good seal I mean no flames of any sort aorund the nut while lit or unlit. Their was no sign of any damage on any part of the torch internally as you described in your reply (seats). I do belive it might have to take a trip to the repair shop. Maybe KSellon knows what I may need for repair and I do live about 60 miles north of oklahoma city.
thanks
Please if you are not a qaulified repair person for oxy-fuel equipment take it to one. Your local welding supply will be glad to test it for you, Safety is priority #1.
the valve connected to your handle is bad it has a rubber washer on it that washes out and you dont know it until it's to late the only way to get it is to replace the valve you can get them from kaye i had the same problem with 1 of mine called kaye took it apart while she was on the phone and tada the washer was gone
it will take me 5 mins to get you fixed up. Sounds as if your head needs reseating.
The bevel on the head is out of round, which is causing the cutting oxygen in the center hole to leak past the bevel into the area of the outer hole (preheats) blowing out the flame.
Kaye,
I sent my torch head to you by USPS on monday the 25th hopefully you got it by now.
Rick
not yet-- I will let you know as soon as it hits...
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