oxy-acet welding question

Dan Mosley

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1,169
Location
Palm Springs, Ca
The other day I came across a set of tanks for Oxy-Acet welding that had guages on it but that was it. Sitting in a bent up old cart with one wheel bad on it but still able to roll the cart. I called the gas supply house here in town and asked about the tanks and filling. Here where I live you have to buy the tanks and once owned you just come back as necesasary to fill them. I showed him the size of the tanks and asked how much the guy wanted. He wanted $50.00 - gas supply told me to buy them becasue they charge almost $300 for the large one alone and $230 for the acet tank.
I called the guy and he wanted them picked up that day if I was serious about wanting them.

Question: The gauges appear old and not sure of how accurate/calibrated they are so I thought I would by a welding Kit and that would set me up fine. Picture #1 is the Northern Tool Company set that has gotten 5 star reviews. There are many others out there including from Harbor Freight but the reviews are mixed and the capabilities less, cyberweld.com has Victor etc ......all in all the prices range from 130-160 - The Northern Tool
set is 200.
Regarding the cart - I think Harbor Freight sells some wheels that I can use 10" - ones on it now are 14"

Anybody using this set from Northern Tool or a better idea ?

Thanks Dan
 

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i use a victor set and those tanks were sold by purity which i think has been bought out but the tanks are still good..you might have to pay to get them tested, depending on the last time it has been done they are good for 7 yrs i think..your gauges look ok form the pics just not hoses or torches.. sometime you can pick up a good used set at a yard sale or auction.. have fun welding its a good skill to have if your in the country:)
 
Around here they don't fill your tanks, they exchange them. The gauges are probably in need of work or they might be gone. But if they exchange tanks in your area, I'd buy them.

Mike
 
Dan, if you can, stay with the taller wheels/tires. They will roll over rough terrain and not gob up a pile of leaves in the fall as you pull it to the job. The cart itself probably would sell for over fifty bucks! Gauges, they are hit and miss. Depends on many things, inside the gauge what connects the two halves of the regulator is a diaphragm, if the T-screws have been left turned in, there is a good chance the diaphragm has a permanent bend in it (like leaving the corner of a page bent for the summer, it is there to stay). The set from Northern offers a lot. New gauges, hoses, torch body. Use thread tape to put the whole thing together. Check for leaks with soapy water, acet. and oxy. are expensive to let leak out. The other neat thing about the Northern set you show, the torch body hooks up to the hoses permanently, but if you want to go from a cutting tip to a heating tip (rosebud) (the one that looks like it has a can on the end) to a brazing/welding tip, it is a quick coupler system. That is very handy!
If you buy a new system, remember there is powder much like talcum powder so regardless how long they have been laying around or in a showroom window, the hoses aren't collapsed and stuck together. So when putting it together for the first time, again using thread tape at each connection, connect the gauge to the cylinder, pressurize the gauge and blow it out (purge it). Then connect the hose to the gauge and purge the hose, then connect the torch body to the hose and purge it. Saves a lot of headaches. You will not know how you survived without a torch after having one for a while. Great buy!!
 
The regulators and gauges might be old, but that just means they're good quality, "made in USA" units. The welding supply place should be able to check them out for you.

Good luck,
Bob
 
Dan,

Those old guages are most likely heavier duty than those new ones. I'd just have them checked and use them. Torches and hoses are fairly easy to come by used. (I just disposed of a couple hundred feet of twin hose and fittings, sorry)

Have fun learning to use them. There's lots you can do with the setup.

Aloha, Tony
 
Might be better to have those gauges checked out and even rebuilt rather than buying new. I've got a victor set that my dad gave me, has held up for years without issues. Be sure to turn off the gas at the tank, not the regulators/gauges. My dad loaned a set to a neighbor, he shut them off at the regulators and it blew the gauges.
 
You can't shut them off at the regulator actually. All the t-screw does is "connect" the two halves of the regulator, from the cylinder side to the working pressure side. Turn farther in, allows more pressure from the cylinder gauge to the working pressure gauge to the hoses to the torch body to the tip to the flame. What he did was overloaded the working pressure gauge!
 
For torches, I would stick with name brands like Victor. This way you can get new tips almost anywhere. Plus it allows you more options torch tip sizes.
 
Took a closer look today - the gauge on the acet side is Harris and it seems broke as the indicator arrows are pointing at different numbers and not on zero and the tank valve is off (and this cylinder has no gas in it)
The Oxy tank has gas in it and the gauge is a Rego - seems to work fine.
I need a set anyway I thinking I may as well get one with new gauges. I called both gas supply places here where I live and they do not check or repair valves.

Regarding the Cart - It has 14" wheels but the best I could find that was not to expensive was Harbor Freight which has 10" wheels and I could lower the mounting plates on both sides so they would work. A new cart like mentioned is about $50 and I dont want to spend much on new wheels but I like the cart its very sturdy.............

Still seems Nothern Tools has a good deal on the medium duty kit at $200.00............then I see they have a Deluxe Victor "style" medium set for $20.00 more....................see below..........

Thoughts ?................thanks Dan
 

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Again Dan, I like that set also. It has the quick attach system of tips to torch body that is so handy! There is a reason many are not rebuilt anymore. Liability, cheap accessable new gauges. They will give you many many years of service. Before you change out or move the axle on that cart, check out places like Northern tool for larger diameter wheels for things such as garden carts.
 
Check your gas supply house, they usually have new setups at prices very close to Northern tool and HF. And you get off on the the right foot with your supplier. Here they have REAL GEAR or some such name and the ones I got are Victor compatible. Now they are "NOT" Victor quality but as good as anything I would have mail ordered.

Garry
 
Gary.............I checked today and they both carry a brand called Radnor and actually the one buys from the other.......then there is Home Depot and Lowes which only carry Lincoln and the kit is $175 (has Harris valves) and I do not think from looking that it is as good as the Nothern Tool ($200)..........but im not positive.

Johnathan - for sure the one gauge on the acet side is shot - even noticed a hole in the back of the gauge - the tanks are refillable I asked today.
Wheels I bought some from Harbor Freight that will work but there 10" but that should be fine. They were cheap compared to the cost of the others V. The price of a new cart. Spent the day bending back out the metal and wire wheeled it down and painted it. Ill post pics when i can but its a nice strong sturdy cart.
 
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Think about buying your regulators & torch from your gas supplier. He's local, likely caters to the pros, and probably carries several good brands of equipment that he'll stand behind if you have a problem.

Price may be a bit higher, but even that may surprise you - it's a competitive market.
 
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