Can't get stable flame with Oxycon Propane and a little Smith Torch

[Muggins2003]

Hi All,

I recently bought an oxycon and I'm having trouble getting a stable flame. The flame is going out almost immediately after oxygen is introduced eventhough the pressure is very low (below that mentioned in the instructions). When I do get a flame that appears stable it is nowhere near hot enough to solder.

I have tried increasing and decreasing the propane and then gradually increasing the pressure on the oxygen and I can find no combination that will work. It just gets to a stage where the flame is extinguished by the increased oxygen. At times there is a gap between the torch and the flame and I've no clue whether this means too much oxygen or too much propane.

I'm using a Little Smith Torch and head number 7.
Any ideas on how best to sort this would be very welcome - I'm losing the will to live!

Thanks!

[ps_bond]

Are you purging the O2 line? I find that with mine I need to run the O2 through the torch for a couple of minutes to get a decent concentration.
Flame separated from the tip is too much pressure, but I see that more when I haven't purged first.

[josef1]

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=SIDP9p67CJM&feature=youtu.be

I just did a quick video, I had the same problem with mine but as Peter says its important to run the machine for a couple of mins then purge the Oxygen. Oh and don't chat to a camera while you should be concentrating on lighting things this is important !! :-)

[ps_bond]

Reminds me of the old joke of "how do you make a cat go woof"...

[josef1]

It nearly said something else nevermind woof lol ��!!

[Muggins2003]

Thanks for coming back to me. I've purged the O2 line like you suggested but I'm still having problems. I can confirm that the PSI for the propane is as per the Little Smith instructions. Once I get close to the flame I need it extinguishes. I've taken a short video of what's happening to see if you can identify the problem. Thanks so much for your help
https://youtu.be/iakEDBxEJQg

[ps_bond]

I'd guess at too much propane at the start - back off to about half that, add some O2 in and see if you can get the flame to reducing (but smaller). Once you've got that stable, see how big you can make it...

[josef1]

Have you tried a smaller nozzle to see if that effects anything ? also what pressure do you have you propane set at ? I took some pictures of my settings https://beta-static.photobucket.com/images/qq182/JosefOne/s0/3ab1de32-f11b-4f9c-a8e0-b03e536df3fb-original.jpg?width=1920&height=1080&fit=bounds


https://beta-static.photobucket.com/images/qq182/JosefOne/s0/47235e05-4bfb-41ad-942e-fc15487a2ef3-original.jpg?width=1920&height=1080&fit=bounds

[china]

Just to add it will take some experimentation to get your pressures correct all gauges are slightly different, treat the instructions as a guide rather than absolute numbers

[ps_bond]

My propane is set as low as it'll go on a 0.25-2 bar regulator.
Think the O2 flow rate is set the same as Joe's.

[Muggins2003]

Thanks a million. I'm getting far better flames now! The only thing that is now happening that didn't use to with the oxygen tank set-up is that if a lot of the time if I move the torch the flame is extinguishing - is that just something that happens with this set-up or is it an indication that something is still slightly off? Sorry for more questions - I'm definitely getting there!

[ps_bond]

I've been told that the flame isn't quite as hot as on pure O2 - the oxycon is putting out ~93% O2 by comparison - so that may have an impact; however, I can probably conduct 4/4 time with mine without issue. Being careful where it's pointed, of course.