AO v LP hose info

[mdel747]

I'm looking for info on the hose size normally used for AO but i do think i will be running LP on the cutting torch i picked up a airco torch ,, i see they come in 1/4 3/8 what would you suggest ,,

also gages are AO gages the same for LP


ok it looks like i need a T rated hose if i read right

[TozziWelding]

Use what you have it will be fine, the hose will just wear out a little faster.

[Jake_SS]

You MUST use the correct hose and regulator for the type of gas you are using
Normal size hose is 5mm ID, at least over here it is, AUS


Cheers

[mdel747]

OK i got a hose on the way thanks for the input ,,

now on to regulators


edited , i decided not to buy used regulators as they are a important part of this equation

i bought 2 new smiths

[mwoh419]

The acetylene regulator will work on a propane tank, but you may, or may not , need an adapter. 1/4" hose is fine, but use grade T for Mapp, NG & LP gas. Smart move on the regs. You never know what you're getting when you buy used. Always sucks to think you saved some money, only to have to pay for a rebuild.

---Mike---

[mdel747]

ok thanks ,

new question since i'm going to run LP/oxy on this ,
and you use 3/1 oxy-v-LP

is there a refill system for the shop for the oxy , so you don't have to buy it ,

see I'm cheep , and just the thought of buying a tank shiny and new just to exchange it for a beat up one just don't seem right to me ..

or whats the process of filling your own oxy tanks , ( if at all possible )

[Zrexxer]

ok thanks ,

new question since i'm going to run LP/oxy on this ,
and you use 3/1 oxy-v-LP

is there a refill system for the shop for the oxy , so you don't have to buy it ,
No.


see I'm cheep , and just the thought of buying a tank shiny and new just to exchange it for a beat up one just don't seem right to me .. That's the way it works. Best to get over it early.

[mdel747]

i forgot to add this might be a stupid question but ,

but whats the difference in refilling welding oxy tanks and scuba tanks

reason i ask is i knew some one long ago that refilled there own scuba tanks

they had some kind of compressor if i remember right it was 30+ years ago

but that's what brought up the question ,

and i do appreciate the response but by adding ( no and get over it )
with out explaining more on it don't do any good on understanding the process

case in point if some one told me i could not take a Sony p41 camera and drill a hole in it add a 2.5mm jack and solder it into the shutter assembly
to use as a game camera , ,
would i have stopped trying to find out if it is truly possible,
simply no . but then i wouldn't have 7 of them . now

[Zrexxer]

You don't own a "bright shiny new" cylinder. You own "a" cylinder. If the one you happen to have right now is bright and shiny and new, well, that's temporary. The next one you own will be whatever the gas supplier pulls out of the rack full of oxygen.

And if you could use compressed air for oxygen-acetylene, then I'm sure a scuba compressor would work. But you can't.

There's a bit more to the fractional distillation of liquified air and refilling high-pressure cylinders than there is to drilling holes in used cameras.

[mdel747]

its obvious you haven't took a camera apart and put it back together and have it work ,,,

but that's just the point you haven't i have it is just reversed on the air

its filling a tank with air ..now the process might be more than filling a tire

but that's what I'm looking for the how do they do it ,

and I'm sure if it was easy every one would be doing it

so how do they fill the tanks

[mwoh419]

thought of buying a tank shiny and new just to exchange it for a beat up one just don't seem right to me ..

You can buy a new tank, and if you can find an LWS to fill it then you are ok. However, since most LWS's don't fill on location, you would more than likely have to exchange it anyway. You can usually get into an exchange program, (own the tank, but not any specific tank... lifetime lease... whatever they call it), for less than buying a tank, (locally, or having it shipped), and having it filled. Plus tanks need recertification and valve replacement every so many years. I go to the LWS, pick the tank with the best recert date, check the valve, and just pay for the refill. Found I am money ahead.


is there a refill system for the shop for the oxy , so you don't have to buy it


whats the difference in refilling welding oxy tanks and scuba tanks

Scuba tanks are filled with "breathing air", the same air we breathe day to day. However, the compressors used, (like your friends), have special filtration to keep out impurities, (such as oil vapor from the compressor motor), that would kill you if inhaled. Oxygen cylinders contain pure oxygen, (not medical grade), which is extracted, (distilled as Zrexxer said), from everyday breathing air, along with Nitrogen, Co2, Helium and others. Plus the tanks are filled to 2000+ PSI. Sorry, but you are at the mercy of people that are smarter, (more educated in the process), and richer than most of us. Hope this helps.

---Mike---

[usmcpop]

This is what Praxair says:

Oxygen, the second-largest volume industrial gas, is produced commercially as a gas or as a liquid by several methods. These include:
» Cryogenic Air separation, a process that compresses and cools atmospheric air, then, - relying on different boiling points - separates the resulting liquid into its components in a distillation column
» Vacuum Pressure Swing Adsorption (VPSA), a non-cryogenic technology that produces oxygen from air by using an adsorbent in a pressure swing process to remove nitrogen

[Roger]

If you look behind most large Hospitals will see large liquid O2 (LOX) cryogenic tank. LOX tank is Kept cool by evaporating some of the LOX for use or into atmosphere If enough gas isn't withdrawn for use. Some times outlet pipe will be covered with ice for a few feet and there will be series of heat exchangers so heat from air will evaporate LOX withdrawn from tank. This O2 is low pressure because cryogenic tank can't withstand high pressure. Local industrial gas supplier also has this system. To charge high pressure O2 cylinder a special O2 compressor called a booster pump is used. It compresses LP O2 to HP O2 cylinder pressure 2250psi or 3000psi is common in USA. Many cylinders are connected to charging manifold for charging to reduce cylinder heat build up and get more efficient charge with little to no cooling water. For same reason charging rate is kept slow. When I was aboard saturation diving ship USS Pigeon would charge large O2 banks from LOX truck and Helium Banks from tube trucks using ship's O2 or Helium transfer pumps. Tube truck had HP gas cylinders full length of semi truck trailer. If you use enough gas can order railroad car full of LOX or other industrial gas.

Industrial O2 and medical gas both come out of same source LOX tank but is charged into different cylinders to magically become medical O2 or industrial O2.

Mixing gas. Each gas is reduced to same low pressure and temperature flow rate set with micrometer needle valves then mixed at constant flow rate. Mixed gas is constantly tested for correct mix and pressure boosted into high pressure cylinders. Yes there are other methods.

Acetylene was made in each welding shop from carbide and water in Acetylene generator. Then only at industrial gas dealers facilities in each large city. Now only at large regional Acetylene plants. BOOM!! Each change was because of accidents, law suits and high insurance costs. Exacting procedures must be followed to insure every cylinder has correct amount of acetone and charged at very low flow rate and much more.

[TozziWelding]

Industrial oxy needs to be "more pure" than medical oxy. You can breathe almost any % but you can only cut with I want to say greater than 98%

[HT1]

I have to throw a Wrench into all that, In the Navy we use Aviator O2, it works with normal everyday gear so Medical and Industrial O2 cannot be all that different.

I have been told Avaitors/ medical O2 are Free from hazardous impurities, especially moisture, that can freeze at altitude, but I do not have that from a reliable source. Internet and word of mouth are not "the book"