Get a KIOKE BEETLE. It is MUCH easier to store and works just as good if not better. PLUS it's about half the price of a Victor. Whichever you decide. Make SURE you get an extra track. You will regret it if you don't. It makes cutting long plate much easier. all you have to do is keep jumping tracks one in front of the other as opposed to stopping the torch, and resetting you track
Hello RC, I would NOT go with the victor tractor: they are WAY overpriced compared to the others, their design, at least the ones that I have seen is sub-par to many of the others (the ones that I have seen have a belt drive, shieve activated speed change aparatus that does not transition smoothly from one speed to the next). They are supposed to be able to start from a crawl and move up to an adequate travel speed, yet all of the ones that I have been around and used do not do so smoothly or very well.
Now if you are speaking of the "old school victors", these are the ones that are essentially identical to the Heath units, that is a bird of a different color. They are very decent tractors and work very well. Airco has a number of older tractor machines that are also very reliable, Linde made a number of older units that were very durable, long-lasting, and worked well. I believe all of these units utilized potentiometers and electronic circuitry to control travel speeds and had clutch systems that were positive and smooth as needed. They also had toggle switches to select travel direction and didn't use any belts, or if they did, they were cog belts that provided a positive drive. This group that I just spoke of can generally be found on many Craigslists in various locations for reasonable money. A lot of them could be used with generic type tracks and some of them would run on a piece of upside down angle iron. One that I didn't mention, WATTS is one of the machines that seems to come to mind that will run on the inverted angle iron.
If you are interested in new, I would go with the others and recommend the Koike's, they are terrific little machines, lightweight, very durable and work very well as well as much less expensive than many others. If you are concerned about the Koike name, I believe when you check on their history you will find that they have been around at least 50 years or more. Not completely positive about my last statement but at least reasonably close. Ultimately, it will likely boil down to what you think of the particular machine that you choose and whether you feel justified in paying the asking price. Consider weight, parts availability, ease of operation, whether it is AC/DC capable(you might want to run it off of an SA200 or something similar without AC power). Good luck on your choice and let us hear about it when you have made the deal. Best regards, Allan
By waccobird 
Date 03-17-2012 14:22
Edited 03-17-2012 14:24
rcwelding
If you want to spend a little more money.
If you want one of the most versatile track torches made.
You will do good purchasing a Bug-o system.
http://www.bugo.com/products.htmlI have used Victor and there is nothing wrong with Koike,(my second choice), but my first choice is Bug-O.
One it can cut uphill.
Second when using Victor, Airco, or Koike it is not uncommon for mill scale to flake up and get on the track causing the torch to lurch and not leave as smooth a cut as the Bug-O.
This extra expense is a good investment if you are needing a track torch in your line of work.
But since no one mentioned the Bug-O, I thought I would just throw my ΒΆΒΆ's in.
Good Luck
Marshall
