Welding and Metalworking - Oxy Propane Cutting

Hello, new guy in,

I'm working as a laborer on a demolitian job and we are cutting steel I-beams to length for the scrap yard, probably 1/2" - 5/8" thick metal. My boss picked up an oxy propane set up and it is working fairly well. Both my boss and I are old friends and had done a lot of torch work 40 years ago with acetylene. My question is what should be the gauge settings on the oxy and propane tanks, and could somone give me a crash course on setting the flame consistently. Right now we seem to hit the right mix by accident about every fourth time. I really appreciate the help, I don't want my boss/friend cutting his section faster than me.

Thanks alot,

Bill

oxy/propane? Never heard of that for any commercial/production type thing...didn't even know it would cut.

Just interested in responses...no advice...sorry

oxy/propane? Never heard of that for any commercial/production type thing...didn't even know it would cut.

Just interested in responses...no advice...sorry

Yup, never heard of it either but it is less expensive than acetylene and works rather well in demo work, just need a little help getting the perfect adjustment.

Billy

A friend of mine has a propane/oxygen set of torches but I don't know a lot about it other than it doesn't work as well as acetylene/oxygen.

When you get it working right - can't you look at the gauges and use that for a reference?

I believe the gauges are set right, it's the lighting and adjusting the torch that seems to be the issue, just wanted some advice from a pro on each.

Thanks,

Bill

Oxy-propane is very common in wrecking yards and in demolition.
No one can give you any advice on settings without knowing what make and size of tip you are using.

One thing that can mess things up is if the packing on the torch handle adjustment knobs are loose.
It becomes difficult to hold a setting if all it takes is a bump or touch to move the knob.
Also, if the tip is not clean you can get uneven burning.
A reamer set will fix it if dirty.

Hi Greg,

Everything is brand new as we just bought the set up for demo. I believe the dealer advised 200 on the Oxy and I believe the Propane is set at 40. As I said it works right most of the time, just wanted to hear from someone how the light up the torch and adjust it properly, and of course to check the gauge setting with someone that does it for a living. I'll get the brand and tip size Monday. It was bought for cutting 1/2 to 5/8 thick I-Beams. If you could estimate the tip size for that and recommend the gauge settings that might help.

Bill

Don't know if anyone is following the thread but 6 psi on the propane and 30 on the oxygen is the mix.........

Thanks for the feedback! :thumbup: