Newbie Questions

[bchabino]

Hello all,

I am new to welding and to this forum. I hope you all can help. I am interested in purchasing a acetylene torch set and tanks for general around the farm use. I have seen medium duty Victor torch kits on ebay for what seems like a reasonable price. Any recommendations?

Second question is about tank life. I saw some on ebay with a tank date of 1997. Are these too old ?

Third question is what size tanks do I need. I was thinking of getting those that are about waist high. Any recommendations?

Last but not least is there a good book or video that I can purchase that will teach me how to use the torch?

Thanks in advance for your help.

Regards,

Jerry Chabino

[hankj]

Jerry,

Victor is a good choice. Tanks are fine as long as they have a current hydro test date. I'd want to see them before I bought them, or at least be assured (with a money back gurantee) that they have no physical defects.

A good all-around setup is the Superange II. It's built around the 100FC handle, uses Series 3 cutting tips and W-1 welding tips, which are widely available. If you want to use fuel gases other than Acetylene, you will want grade "T" hose; for Acetylene only, grade "R" is OK.

As far as tank size goes, the amount of use and the required portability will dictate that. If you plan to truck-mount your rig, get the largest tanks you can afford. If you will need to carry the stuff, or wheel it around, you will want smaller tanks. If cutting is the major task, you'll use O2 at a rate of about 3 to 1 vs. the fuel gas, so you may want a larger Oxygen tank with a small Acetylene tank. Welding uses gas at the same rate from each tank.

Look on this site for manuals: www.thermadyne.com

Good luck.

Hank

[bchabino]

Thanks Hank,much appreciated. I'll take your advice.


Regards,

Jerry