I bought one in 1995. I built a track bicycle frame with it. Race the bike in 1996 Olympic trials. The torch is not real useful. Very small flame. It would not heat the tubing readily, causing large consumption of those little cylinders. From experience, I would have no need to experiment. I donated mine to Goodwill.

 

I've brazed a few gas tanks with one. That was years ago, but IIRC, the O2 ran out in a few minutes and even then, the O2 cylinders were overpriced. Was still cheaper to buy the torch and fuel than a new fuel tank.

 

My brother in law bought one to try and repair an exhaust pipe. It was beyond useless. Those things are the welding equivalent of a honey trap.

 

I agree with the above.

I had one years ago.... they suck. The Ox tanks lasts about 10 minutes.
I still have a small bottle mapp gas torch but mainly use it for starting the charcoal grill.... or warming something up before I paint it.... in the winter.

I'm looking into a propane turbo torch one of these days... to have in the garage.... they are a bit pricey but very nice.

 

I'm looking into a propane turbo torch one of these days... to have in the garage.... they are a bit pricey but very nice.

Set up an item "watch" on eBay,, when the right one pops up, at the RIGHT price,, buy it,,

All the women in our family likes a specific pair of tweezers,,
I set up a watch for it,, and got 4 of them within 6 months,, all at GREAT prices,,
The regular price was about $35,, I got them for ~$15,,

I think I had a watch set up for the TurboTorch,,
I have four of the T-6 propane tips, and probably 8 or 10 other size tips,,

Typically, the orifice needs cleaned, sometimes they need an O-ring,,

It is nice having multiple T-6 equipped torches,,
You can heat a BIG piece of steel in a hurry,, but, like you said,, full price makes these torches less attractive,,

I think the acetylene tips can be converted to propane, by installing a larger orifice,,

The acetylene tips are more plentiful used on eBay,,
I do not have that conversion data at my fingertips,,,,,,,,,,

 

I saw one being used to fill holes in Aluminum irrigation pipe with solder. They had a pile of empty 02 cans laying there.

Surprisingly these sets sold pretty well for as inept that they were.

 

Appealed to naive/dumb farmers at trade shows who thought they could rescue all their corroded irrigation pipe…apparently

lol
View attachment IMG_0230.jpg

 

If one already had an OA or oxy-propane setup w/ larger torch, does anyone have a good idea how this torch would run using propane, natural gas or Mapp and oxygen from a standard bottle? Is the flame controllable enough to use on small projects, if the gas supply weren't a problem?

Or maybe using propane + oxygen from a medical O2 Concentrator? Not sure the pressure is high enough from the latter, but I might be able to use a spare compressor and old compressor tank to store the 85% or so O2 from one at 10-15 psi? Wonder what maximum pressure would be safe to compress/store 85% O2 this way? Not that I really have the time to play with this...

 

quarries around here have storage for acetlyne and oxygen to use for "flaming" blue stone to give it a rough surface. OR hospitals have O 2 stored for in house use. What is the pressure of that?

 

I used mapp. But if you have a torch, why would you use it to operate an inferior product.

 

I used mapp. But if you have a torch, why would you use it to operate an inferior product.

The idea of using small O2 bottles may not make sense, but that doesn't mean the torch is inferior. My OA torch is a large Harris and if I were needing a small, pinpoint flame for brazing/silver soldering very small stuff, a small torch like this one might be more comfortable to use, assuming it worked well. That is the (academic) question; how well would it work if supplied with gas from normal bottles?

 

I've never tried one personally, but it seems to me most of the guys talking about doing fine detail work with torches were using Smith.

 

If you already have oxy/acet and you want a small torch for tiny stuff, you could always try one of these:https://www.amazon.com/Lnrueg-Acety...mall+acetylene+torch+kit&qid=1738938070&sprefix=small+aacetylene,aps,103&sr=8-9

I have one similar, not that brand, it works okay for really small stuff. Probably had it 30 years and used it a handful of times. Connects to my regular regulators.

 

I don't actually have the need for a really small torch. I'm just trying to decide what to so with the Bernzomatic one I do have, besides scrap the brass. Could somebody else successfully use it if I took the trouble to find a "qualified" person to give it away to?

 

I have one of those kits. The oxygen ran out before I could even burn anything. Oldiron if you search this site for propane/ oxy cutting you will learn that propane uses more oxy for cutting than acety. Those kits are a gimmick and waste of money imo. The oxy tank is to small for anything usefull. Ive melted silver solder with MAPP and others have mentioned melting silver with propane but Ive only been able to melt tin/lead with propane. Dont waste your money on those tiny oxy tanks. The TURBO torches are nice and I have couple for acety I use mainly for heating with a B tank. I wonder if the acety torch will work with propane? I will have to try sometime.

 

I can see the benefit due to weight. Because holding a larger torch becomes challenge and uncomfortable/ physically taxing if you have a lot to do. Otherwise, not sure have ever run into issue with using a larger torch.

List it for sale, it will find the qualified person.