Oxy acetyline issues

[vanderloo01]

Hi All,
I'm trying to learn oxy acetylene cutting and was doing ok on progress till my oxygen ran out and I refilled the tank. Now, every time I turn on the oxygen it jumps up to 180 psi and I can't adjust it down. Worked fine before.
Is it safe to assume my regulator is faulty or is there something I'm missing? Any other troubleshooting procedures I might consider?
Thank You

[M J D]

Are you adjusting the pressure with the valve on the torch open? You need the gas flowing to set your working pressure.

[danielplace]

Did you crank it up when it was on the old tank while it was running out of pressure.

Close the tank. Bleed down the lines. Back regulator out until handle is freely turning and not doing anything. Open the tank slowly and watch the high side go up. The low should not move. If it does stop right there as something is wrong and close the tank back up. If it stays at zero slowly screw in handle and pressure should rise slowly. Anything else and something is wrong.

[farmersammm]

Did you crank it up when it was on the old tank while it was running out of pressure.

Close the tank. Bleed down the lines. Back regulator out until handle is freely turning and not doing anything. Open the tank slowly and watch the high side go up. The low should not move. If it does stop right there as something is wrong and close the tank back up. If it stays at zero slowly screw in handle and pressure should rise slowly. Anything else and something is wrong.

I've never seen any of my regulators needing adjustment as the pressure in the tank goes down. They simply put out the required pressure until there ain't no pressure in the tank. Wouldn't matter if you turned them up. I guess a guy could crank the knob down thinking it would increase pressure when the tank's running dry, and forget he did it.

[farmersammm]

Oh crap, I didn't read the original post right. I do this all the time

Only thing I can think of is that the regulator is bad. Maybe because you didn't blow off the new cylinder before you connected it, and there might have been crud in the cylinder valve that got into your regulator because you didn't blow it off first. Always crack the valve on a new bottle before you connect the regulator............this blows the crud out of the coupling before it winds up in your regulator. Visual inspection,, and a quick blast........always do it.

[Welder Dave]

Adjusting screw should always be backed off before opening cylinder valve or you can blow the low pressure gauge. Have seen people turn up the adjustment when they are running out and forgetting to back it off when they hook up a new cylinder. Also always open the cylinder valve slowly and stand to the side. A lot of people leave the adjustment set but that can wear out the diaphragm prematurely. 30 PSI is good for most general cutting up to about 3/8" thickness.

[farmersammm]

Adjusting screw should always be backed off before opening cylinder valve or you can blow the low pressure gauge. Have seen people turn up the adjustment when they are running out and forgetting to back it off when they hook up a new cylinder. Also always open the cylinder valve slowly and stand to the side. A lot of people leave the adjustment set but that can wear out the diaphragm prematurely. 30 PSI is good for most general cutting up to about 3/8" thickness.

I heard something vaguely related to what you're saying, but it was about the spring, not the diaphragm. I have to talk to the guys about it to make sure. (my LWS, who also rebuilds regulators, and torches). If I recall, they told me to never back off the adjustment for some doggone reason. Like I say, I can't remember. I'll get back to ya on it.

[vanderloo01]

Thanks for all the feedback.
I did back off the regulator all the way before turning on the new tank. I did not blow off the new cylinder before connecting it.
When I turn on the tank, it slams to the max. 180 psi. And when I adjust the regulator it doesn't change. I back it all the way off and it stays at 180. I guess the regulator is bad.
So my last question before buying a new one, (doesn't seem like having it rebuilt is the way to go $$), Are there any other tricks I might try to get the regulator unstuck?
Thanks Again

[CAVEMANN]

Thanks for all the feedback.
I did back off the regulator all the way before turning on the new tank. I did not blow off the new cylinder before connecting it.
When I turn on the tank, it slams to the max. 180 psi. And when I adjust the regulator it doesn't change. I back it all the way off and it stays at 180. I guess the regulator is bad.
So my last question before buying a new one, (doesn't seem like having it rebuilt is the way to go $$), Are there any other tricks I might try to get the regulator unstuck?
Thanks Again

You haven't mentioned the brand of the torch & regulators, you won't be out anything but your time to disassemble & clean it, be careful tho, oil around oxygen is a no go, even skin oil can cause problems under the right conditions, no oil, no grease and no petroleum based cleaners. oxygen is a powerful oxidizer and can ignite any hydrocarbon violently. Pay attention while disassembling and lay out the parts for reassembly.

[jpump5]

Can you post a couple pics of the regulator and gauges?

[William McCormick]

Thanks for all the feedback.
I did back off the regulator all the way before turning on the new tank. I did not blow off the new cylinder before connecting it.
When I turn on the tank, it slams to the max. 180 psi. And when I adjust the regulator it doesn't change. I back it all the way off and it stays at 180. I guess the regulator is bad.
So my last question before buying a new one, (doesn't seem like having it rebuilt is the way to go $$), Are there any other tricks I might try to get the regulator unstuck?
Thanks Again

Did you try hitting the cutting lever with the regulator turned fully counterclockwise (backed out) to see if the pressure drops. A lot of guys use those check valves and I believe they can hold pressure in the hoses. Just hit the cutting lever to see if the regulator secondary pressure gauge drops while the regulator is backed out fully.

Sincerely,

William McCormick

[danielplace]

If it is slamming to the max I would stop before you blow the lines.

It could get dangerous bleeding high side pressure right through the regulator as you have described that is just about what is happening. When low sides are going to the moon at turning bottle on with the regulator backed out you have a real problem.

Have it rebuilt or replace it.

Not much to one but all the pieces have to be in place and working correctly. Diaphragm, spring and a valve.

[Josey]

Those Oxy. cylinders need to be treated with a lot of respect. Over 4000psi Pressure

Kinda wondering off track here. But I always think about the movie. African Queen. Where
Homphery Bogard made a torpedo out of one and sank the ship.

[M J D]

Those Oxy. cylinders need to be treated with a lot of respect. Over 4000psi Pressure

Kinda wondering off track here. But I always think about the movie. African Queen. Where
Homphery Bogard made a torpedo out of one and sank the ship.

I've never seen one over 2500 psi. Still pretty high pressure. As for sinking a ship with one, that's probably a stretch even for Hollywood.

[danielplace]

Gotta love a bowling ball canon though. Lol.

[Welder Dave]

As far as backing the adjusting screw off, refer to the Smith safety cartoons, I think it's rule #1. Standard oxygen cylinder is around 2500 PSI depending on temperature. Extra high pressure cylinders are about 4500 PSI but you don't see them for oxygen too often. Don't be fooled though, 2000+ PSI is serious pressure that can kill you in an instant.

[scsmith42]

If your guages are the industrial size (3"+ diameter), it may be worth having them rebuilt. Last ones that I had done cost me around $50 each and my LWS had them back in around a week.

If they are the inexpensive 2" ones, probably better to discard and replace them.

[Welder Dave]

All depends on the regulator. Most repair shops will give you an estimate and then you can decide if it's worth fixing.

[whtbaron]

You haven't mentioned the brand of the torch & regulators....

Still haven't heard... is this name brand equipment or Chinese look alikes? When I had an issue with my Victor torch they took it back and fixed it on warranty...

[Robb M.]

test post

[vanderloo01]

[vanderloo01]

The regulator is a Victor. It's very old. Posted a pic below in this thread. Think it's worth a rebuild?

[Meltedmetal]

The regulator is a Victor. It's very old. Posted a pic below in this thread. Think it's worth a rebuild?

If it was mine, I would fix it. Last year I bought a kit from these guys and did it myself. I did myself partially because I'm not in the US and to ship it to them and get it back again is prohibitive across the border and with covid19 I can't cross the border. It works perfectly now.
https://www.ebay.ca/sch/torchandweld...1&_ipg=&_from=

https://regulatortorchrepair.com/

[whtbaron]

Old isn't a bad thing if it hasn't been abused and that looks pretty good. The rebuild will have less plastic in it than the new ones from China.

[danielplace]

Robb thanks for fixing te thread.

I would box them both and send them to this place,


https://regulatortorchrepair.com