Prepared by: khadananda kc(064bme618) khya_brokn@yahoo.

com INTRODUCTION: Oxy-acetylene gas welding:

This is perhaps the oldest and most versatile of welding setups. For a long time, it was the only setup recommended for the home/shop use, and has been among the least expensive to get started with. The basic combination in a typical gas-welding package are two highpressure cylindrical tanks, one for oxygen, one for acetylene, a set of gauges and regulators to control the gas flow out of the tanks, a pair of hoses, and a torch. The torch usually comes with a variety of tips, tip cleaners, a spark lighter, and good sets may include a helmet, gloves and often a cutting-torch.

The latter is what really makes the oxy-acetylene system so versatile. It is one of the few welding systems that can do cutting as well as welding. This can be invaluable in both repair and fabrication work. Cutting away damaged or unwanted material is easily done with a properly-used cutting-torch attachment, and you may have many projects where you need to cut an irregular shape out of steel plate. The bulk of tubing and angle-iron cutting is usually done with some kind of saw or an abrasive cutoff wheel, but these tools can only make a straight cut; they can't go around corners. If you need to cut out a circle from a steel plate, you can draw the circle on the plate with a compass and a special hard crayon called a soapstone (which leaves a line you can see even when welding), then use your cutting torch to follow the line and you have your part. Any shape can be cut out. If you make up a cardboard template of the piece you need, trace around the pattern with your soapstone onto the plate, and make it. Cutting with a torch takes skill to closely follow a line, and even then the edges of the metal will require some grinding, filing or sanding to get a smooth edge. Most experienced weldors know just how much to cut outside their pattern size to have an exactsize piece after cleaning up the cut edges with a grinder. The oxy-acetylene setup is still the least expensive welding system if you buy the torches, gauges and hoses, and lease the gas cylinders. The tanks are expensive to purchase outright,
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but can be leased from your local welding supply store with a deposit down and a small monthly fee. Many shops today will take a credit application in lieu of a deposit, and you will open an account there, assuming your credit is good. Leasing tanks is an inexpensive way to get started, but if you do only a small amount of welding infrequently it may not be a practical arrangement for you. After you have been paying rental fees for a year or two, you'll realize you could have purchased the tanks outright for the same amount of money. If you knew you only had to do some gas-welding for a few months, then the leasing deal would be better.When welding with oxy-acetylene equipment, the basic procedure is to set the proper gas flow to the torch with the regulators, crack open the valves on the torch, light the flame with a friction-sparking lighter and then adjust the ratio of oxygen to acetylene to achieve the proper flame. Changing tip sizes makes a bigger or smaller flame, so you suit the tip size to the thickness of the parent metals you are welding. A smaller flame is used for thinner metals. The torch is brought down to the work area (the weldor is wearing his dark-lensed safety goggles) and the flame is used to heat the two edges to be joined, while your other hand feeds a piece of filler rod into the molten puddle as you move along the joint. Weld joints can be made with or without a filler rod, but a filler rod is used most often. This is a very simplistic description of the process of gas-welding. It takes considerable practice and good hand/eye coordination to master. Once learned, the skills can be very useful, but it is a process rather difficult to learn from a book. Taking a class or having an experienced friend take you through the process will ease the learning curve considerably. Besides the versatility of doing both welding and cutting, oxy-acetylene equipment also has many other shop uses in supplying a lot of localized heat. You may have projects where you need to bend a piece of metal. Thin sheet metal can be easily bent with pliers, vise-grips or put into a vise and bent over with a hammer, but thick metal may crack when bent cold. If you have a 1/4-inthick steel bracket you need to bend at an angle, cold-bending with a hammer and vise may require so much hammer force as to distort the part out of shape, as well as mark the surface up or even damage the vise. If you closely examine the piece of thick plate after a cold bend, you may see the metal in the corner of the bend looking crystallized, which weakens that spot. Heating the metal to the right temperature with a torch before bending it, along the line where the bend should be, allows an easy bend with less disturbance of the metal's integrity along the bend. Another use of gas welding equipment is for brazing ferrous and non-ferrous metals such as copper and brass. In brazing, the parent metal is not made molten, it is heated enough to melt a brass filler rod, which attaches to both pieces of parent metal, making a firm joint. Besides heating metal for bending, gas equipment is also used in many automotive shops for freeing frozen parts. Metals expand when heated, and when a rusted nut on a fastener is heated, the nut expands and breaks the bond, so the nut can be removed. When working under a car that has seen winter road salts, or when disassembling an old car for restoration, a gas torch can be very handy for getting off rusted nuts without busting your knuckles when your wrench rounds off an old nut. Many a mechanic on older cars would not be without his faithful "smoke wrench." Machine shops also use a torch to heat and expand parts that have a
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press fit. A gear that fits on a shaft may be heated with a special "rosebud" tip that spreads the flame around a wider area, and when the gear has expanded, it is picked up with tongs and slipped onto the unheated (and not expanded) shaft. When it cools off and contracts, the gear is securely fastened to the shaft, but can be removed at a later time just by reheating it again. Despite the versatility of the gas-welding equipment, it may not be the ideal equipment for you, depending on your needs. If you have other uses for it besides just welding, then it is definitely a must have, but, if you just need to occasionally weld various thicknesses of steel together, some of today's electric welders may be more suitable for you. Gas welding is harder to learn, there are more safety problems in the shop when using a gas torch (especially when cutting), welding thick metals takes good skills and it is easy to distort the parent metal when welding thin sheet metal. Automotive body men today are using a torch less and less when doing repairs on thin metal. However, one of the advantages of gas-welding equipment over any electric-welder is portability. Your gas welding cart can be moved around anywhere without wires, even carried (when properly secured) in your pick-up for welding at a remote site. If you have the budget and the need for gas-welding's versatility and portability, then your ideal shop setup would include both an oxy-acetylene rig and some kind of electric welder.

OXY-ACETYLENE WELDING EQUIPMENT

BACKGROUND
The use of gas welding dates back to the middle 1800's where a mixture of Oxygen And Hydrogen were used to produce a hot flame that was used in the making of jewelry. It wasn't until the late 1890's when the gas Acetylene became available that gas welding developed into the process that we know today. Acetylene is a gas that is manufactured by mixing Calcium Carbide,( a by product of the electric furnace steel making process) with water. Acetylene when burned alone can produce a flame temperature of about 4000 deg. F. With the addition of Oxygen a flame temperature in excess of 6000 deg. F. can be achieved, making Acetylene ideal for welding and cutting. An Oxy-Acetylene outfit is portable, less expensive and more versatile than a electric welding set up. By using the proper tips, rods and fluxes, almost any metal can be welded, heated or cut using the Oxy-Acetylene process. There are many components that make up the Oxy-Acetylene outfit such as cylinders, regulators, hoses etc. The following is a typical outfit listing each component with a brief description of each.

CYLINDERS
Oxygen and Acetylene are stored under pressure in steel cylinders . They are sized by the cuft. of either Oxygen or Acetylene that they hold. Cylinders should be tested regularly with the date of the last test stamped on the top of the cylinder. Cylinders should always be secured and used in the upright position. When a cylinder is not being used, the valve cap should always be in place.

OXYGEN CYLINDERS
These cylinders are made of steel and are usually painted green. They range in size from less than 20 cuft. To over 300 cuft and contain compressed Oxygen at pressures that can be as high as 2200 psig. All cylinders have valves and ( except the small "R" tank ) are fitted with a screw on steel cap that protects the cylinder valve when the cylinder is not in use. If Oxygen comes into contact with oil or grease, it will burst into flame. Never use oil or grease on Oxygen cylinder valves or regulators. Make sure hands and gloves are free of oil and grease before handling cylinders. Crack open the cylinder valve then close it before installing the regulator to clear the valve of any dirt. With the regulator installed, always crack the cylinder valve open first, then open it fully. This will lessen the chance of recompression which is caused by high cylinder pressure entering the regulator, heating up and damaging the regulator.

ACETYLENE CYLINDERS
These cylinders contain Acetylene under pressure, are painted black, ( small "B" and "MC" tanks can be gray, silver or red ) made of steel and have cylinder valves. They range in size from 10 to almost 400 cuft capacity. The cylinders contain a porous filler material which is wetted with acetone that allows the Acetylene to safely be contained in the cylinder at 250 psig. Always use an Acetylene cylinder in the up right position so you don't draw any of the acetone out of the tank. Only open the cylinder valve 1 to 1 1/2 turns, leaving the valve wrench on the valve in the event it has to be shut off quickly. Acetylene should never be used at a pressure that exceeds 15 psig as it becomes highly unstable which, depending on the condition, could cause it to decompose and explode. As with the Oxygen cylinder, make sure the cylinder valve is clean before installing the regulator.

REGULATORS

With the pressure in a full Acetylene cylinder at 250 psig and a full Oxygen cylinder at 2200 psig, a way is needed to lower these cylinder pressures to desired working pressures for use in the torch. This is accomplished by using an adjustable pressure reducing regulator. The regulator will also maintain a steady working pressure as the cylinder pressure drops from use. Basically, regulators work by admitting the high cylinder pressure through a valve which is operated by a flexible diaphragm. By turning the regulator adjusting knob or screw in or out causes a spring in the regulator to operate the diaphragm which opens or closes a valve in the regulator. This in turn regulates the outlet pressure and flow. By turning the adjusting knob in you increase the flow and pressure, out decreases the flow and pressure. Most regulators have two gauges. One shows the inlet pressure from the cylinder ( the high pressure gauge ) and the other ( low pressure gauge ) shows the working pressure being supplied from the regulator.
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There are regulators that are made for heavy duty or rough service that are not equipped with gauges, (referred to as gaugeless) and have a scale in the regulator body that is used to make pressure adjustments. There are two general types of regulators, single stage and two stage. Both perform the same function but the two stage regulator will supply a more constant pressure as the cylinder pressure falls by compensating for any drop in cylinder pressure better than will the single stage unit. Also, two stage regulators are usually more heavy duty in construction and will last longer in heavy duty use and require less maintenance than the single stage units. Two stage regulators can be identified by their second pressure chamber where single stage units have only one. Oxygen and Acetylene regulators connect differently to their cylinders so they can not be mixed up. Oxygen regulators have right hand threads and regulators for Acetylene and other fuel gases have left hand threads. You will notice a groove around fuel connections which indicate a left handed thread. Finally all outlet (low pressure ) gauges on Acetylene regulators have their gauge scales marked in red starting at 15 psig. This is to act as a reminder not to use Acetylene at pressures over 15 psig as explained in the section on Acetylene cylinders.

Regulator Pressure Gauges :

The pressure gauges used on regulators are almost always of the Bourdon-tube type. Gas is admitted to a closed-end, bent tube made of phosphor bronze alloy. Internal pressure tends to straighten that tube. The end of the tube is connected to a curved rack which rotates a shaft upon which the gauge pin is mounted. Treated right, Bourdon tubes are tough, and will maintain their original properties for years. What do we mean by treated right? The big thing is this: Avoid subjecting them to a rush of gas pressure which will make the tube jump from its static position to its fully-stretched position in nothing flat. Always open cylinder valves slowly. Before opening a cylinder valve, always be sure that the pressure-adjusting screw on the regulator has been backed off so that there is no spring pressure against the regulator diaphragm and the regulator valve is therefore closed. By opening the cylinder valve slowly, you protect the cylinder pressure gauge. By making sure that the regulator valve is closed, you protect the delivery-pressure gauge against the sudden rush of pressure through an open valve. Theres another very good reason for opening cylinder valves, especially on full oxygen cylinders, as slowly as possible. The gas which is dead-ended in the Bourdon tube is recompressed and heats up significantly if there is a sudden jump in pressure. This doesnt do the tube any good, although it will not, in itself, cause the tube to rupture. However, if there has been any accumulation of combustible particles in the tube and it is chiefly to prevent such particles from getting into the tube that its so essential to keep a filter in the regulator inlet the heat may start a reaction between oxygen and those particles. And then you have a regulator burn-out, which will at least ruin the regulator, and perhaps do even more damage or cause personal injury. Dont think that oxygen regulator burnouts are an everyday occurrence. They are not. There are hundreds of thousands of oxygen regulators in use on cylinders in the U.S., and only a few burn out every year. But evidence accumulated over the years shows that most of the burnouts have occurred in regulators from which the inlet filter was missing. While filters are necessary in all uses and all environments, clean filters are especially important in auto body shops, garages, foundries, coal mines and other environments where metal and hydrocarbon particles may be
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present. If you always check to make sure that the regulator has a filter (it is often mounted in the inlet nipple so that you can see it), and take it easy when you open the oxygen cylinder valve, you should never experience a burnout.

WELDING HOSES
The cylinder regulators and torch are usually connected together by double line rubber hoses. Double line hose is know as type VD. The Oxygen line is green, the fuel line red. Hoses are available in four sizes, 3/16, 1/4, 3/8 and 1/2 inch I.D. There are different grades of double line hose used for Acetylene. They are:
y y y

Non-oil resisting rubber cover RM- carries both a non-oil and flame and oil resisting cover (for use with all fuel gases & Acetylene) flame and oil resisting cover.

Grades R & RM should be marked for Acetylene only. Grade T should be marked fuel gas. All hoses should be marked as to their service level (light, standard or heavy ). Date of manufacture, maximum working pressure, ( 200 psig ) nominal I.D size and if it meets RMA/CGA IP-90 (Rubber Manufactures Association, Compressed Gas Association ) specifications for rubber welding hose. The fittings on the hoses are marked as to right and left handed threads. Single line hose come in three grades, L, light duty, S, standard duty and H, heavy duty. And are also limited to a working pressure of 200 psig.

Non-return valve
Between the regulator and hose, and ideally between hose and torch on both oxygen and fuel lines, a flashback arrestor and/or non-return valve should be installed to prevent flame or oxygen-fuel mixture being pushed back into either cylinder and damaging the equipment or making a cylinder explode. The flashback arrestor (not to be confused with a check valve) prevents the shock waves from downstream coming back up the hoses and entering the cylinder (possibly rupturing it), as there are quantities of fuel/oxygen mixtures inside parts of the equipment (specifically within the mixer and blowpipe/nozzle) that may explode if the equipment is incorrectly shut down; and acetylene decomposes at excessive pressures or temperatures. The flashback arrestor will remain switched off until someone resets it, in case the pressure wave created a leak downstream of the arrestor.

CHECK VALVES

For combustion to occur, fuel and Oxygen have to mix. This should only happen in the torch mixer or the torch tip. Sometimes, due to improper operation, fuel and Oxygen could feed back into the hoses and cause combustion in the hoses or regulators. ( not good! ) Check valves when installed between the hoses and torch prevent this back flow as they close if a reverse flow starts. Check valves should be used with all torches.

FLASH BACK ARRESTORS

A flashback, which is a rapid high pressure flame in the hose can occur if there aren't any check valves or the check valves fail to operate due to improper installation. Once a flashback starts, check valves can not stop it, but a flashback arrestor will! The arrestor connects the same as the check valves, in the hose at the torch or regulator and contains a trap that is spring loaded that cuts off the gas flow in the event of a flashback. Both check valves and flashback arrestors are like they say, cheap insurance and should be included on every Oxy-Acetylene outfit!

TORCHES

The torch is the part that the welder holds and manipulates to make the weld. It has a connection and valve for the fuel gas and a connection and valve for the oxygen, a handle for the welder to grasp, a mixing chamber (set at an angle) where the fuel gas and oxygen mix, with a tip where the flame forms.

The torch assembly consists of the handle, oxygen and fuel gas valves and mixing chamber. Welding tips or a cutting attachment can be used with the handle allowing it to be used for welding, heating and cutting operations. Oxygen and fuel gas flow through tubes inside the handle which blend in the mixing chamber or tip. It is at the tip that the mixed gases are ignited. There are two basic mixer types, the equal or medium pressure type (also known as balance or positive pressure type) and the injector type. The equal pressure type is the most common and is used with fuel gas pressures that are above 1 psi. Oxygen and fuel gas enter the torch at almost equal pressures. The injector type is used when fuel gas pressures are less than 1 psi. In this type, Oxygen at high pressure pulls the fuel gas into the mixing chamber .

The top torch is a welding torch and the bottom is a cutting torch

Welding torch A welding torch head is used to weld metals. It can be identified by having only one or two pipes running to the nozzle and no oxygen-blast trigger and two valve knobs at the bottom of the handle letting the operator adjust the oxygen flow and fuel flow. Cutting torch A cutting torch head is used to cut metal. It is similar to a welding torch, but can be identified by having three pipes that go to a 90 degree nozzle and by the oxygen-blast trigger. Only iron and steel can be cut using this method. The metal is first heated by the flame until it is cherry red. Once this temperature is attained, oxygen is supplied to the heated parts by pressing the "oxygen-blast trigger". This oxygen reacts with the metal, forming iron oxide and producing heat. It is this heat which continues the cutting process. The cutting torch only heats the metal to start the process; further heat is provided by the burning metal. The melting point of the iron oxide is around half of that of the metal; as the metal burns, it immediately turns to liquid iron oxide and flows away from the cutting zone. However, some of
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the iron oxide remains on the work piece, forming a hard "slag" which can be removed by gentle tapping, and/or a grinder. Fig.1 and fig. 2 are welding tourch and fig. 3 fig. 4 and fig. 5 are cutting tourch.

Rose-bud torch A rose-bud torch is used to heat metals for bending, straightening, etc. where a large area needs to be heated. It is called as such because the flame at the end looks like a rose-bud. A
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welding torch can also be used to heat small area such as rusted nuts and bolts. In this case, no filler rod is used with the torch.

Injector torch A typical Oxy-fuel torch, called an equal-pressure torch, merely mixes the two gasses. In an injector torch, high pressure oxygen comes out of a small nozzle inside the torch head so that it drags the fuel gas along with it, via venturi effect.

WELDING AND CUTTING TIPS

The welding tip is mounted on the end of the torch handle and through it the oxygen and fuel gas mixture feed the flame. Tips are available in a variety of shapes and sizes to fit most any welding job and are identified by number. The larger the number, the larger the hole in the tip and the thicker the metal that can be welded or cut. Welding tips have one hole and cutting tips have a centrally located hole with a number of smaller holes located around it in a circular pattern. The cutting Oxygen comes from the center hole with the preheat flame coming from the holes around it. Many factors determine the size tip to use, but mainly the thickness of the metal to be welded or cut determines which tip size to use. The attachments at the end of this article will serve as a guide to tip selection.

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ACETYLENE WELDING TIPS

Metal Tip Rod Oxygen Acetylene

Thickness Size Size Pressure Pressure In. No. In. PSI PSI 1/64 1/32 1/32 3/64 1/32 5/64 3/64 3/32 1/16 - 1/8 000 1/16 3 00 1/16 3 0 1 2 3/32 3 1/8 3 3 3 3 3 4 4

1/8 - 3/16 3

5/32 4 3/164 1/4

CUTTING ATTACHMENTS

A cutting attachment connects to the end of the torch handle in place of the welding tip and allows for the cutting of metal up to 8 inches thick. For cutting metal over 8 inches, the use of a cutting torch instead of a cutting attachment should be used. The fuel gas valve on the torch handle is used to adjust the fuel. The Oxygen valve on the torch handle is opened full and the Oxygen flow for the preheat flame is adjusted using the Oxygen valve on the cutting attachment. The cutting Oxygen is controlled by the lever operated valve on the attachment.

CUTTING TORCH

The cutting torch is connected to the hoses in place of the welding handle and is used for cutting thicker metal than can be cut with the cutting attachment, or for heavy duty cutting work.
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The cutting torch like the welding handle is equipped with Oxygen and fuel gas valves with a lever operated Oxygen valve that controls the flow of cutting Oxygen to the tip. ( Center hole in the cutting tip ) In the two tube model, Oxygen and fuel gas mix and flow to the tip in the larger bottom tube with the cutting Oxygen flowing to the tip in the top tube. In three tube models, Oxygen and fuel gas flow to the tip in the bottom tubes and cutting Oxygen flows to the tip in the top tube.

The role of oxygen

Oxygen is not the fuel: It is what chemically combines with the fuel to produce the heat for welding. This is called 'oxidation', but the more general and more commonly used term is 'combustion'. In the case of hydrogen, the product of combustion is simply water. For the other hydrocarbon fuels, water and carbon dioxide are produced. The heat is released because the molecules of the products of combustion have a lower energy state than the molecules of the fuel and oxygen. In oxy-fuel cutting, oxidation of the metal being cut (typically iron) produces nearly all of the heat required to "burn" through the workpiece. The word "oxygen" is often shortened to 'oxy', as in the term 'oxy-acetylene torch'. Oxygen is usually produced elsewhere by distillation of liquified air and shipped to the welding site in high pressure vessels (commonly called "tanks" or "cylinders") at a pressure of about 21000 kPa (3000 lbf/in = 200 atmospheres). It is also shipped as a liquid in Dewar type vessels (like a large Thermos jar) to places that use large amounts of oxygen. It is also possible to separate oxygen from air by passing the air, while under pressure, through a zeolite sieve which selectively absorbs the nitrogen and lets the oxygen (and argon) pass. This gives a purity of oxygen of about 93%. This works well for brazing.

Most used Fuels

Oxy-fuel processes may use a variety of fuel gases, the most common being acetylene. Other gases that may be used are propylene, liquified petroleum gas (LPG), propane, natural gas, hydrogen, and MAPP gas. Many brands uses a different kinds of gases in their mixes.

Acetylene
Acetylene generator as used in Bali by a reaction of calcium carbide with water. This is used where acetylene cylinders are not available. The term 'Las Karbit' means acetylene (carbide) welding in Indonesian.Acetylene is the primary fuel for oxy-fuel welding and is the fuel of choice for repair work and general cutting and welding. Acetylene gas is shipped in special cylinders designed to keep the gas dissolved. The cylinders are packed with porous materials (e.g. kapok fibre, diatomaceous earth, or (formerly) asbestos), then filled to around 50% capacity with acetone, as acetylene is acetone soluble. This method is necessary because above 207 kPa (30 lbf/in) (absolute pressure) acetylene is unstable and may explode.

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This may happen in fire emergencies, where police snipers are sometimes called in by fire service to puncture the welding vessels with rifle shot to let the pressure escape. (Once the heat reaction starts, cooling the tanks with water spray cannot prevent the eventual explosion but only delay it, so the tank must be punctured to prevent much destruction). There is about 1700 kPa (250 lbf/in) pressure in the tank when full. Acetylene when combined with oxygen burns at a temperature of 3200 C to 3500 C (5800 F to 6300 F), highest among commonly used gaseous fuels. As a fuel acetylene's primary disadvantage, in comparison to other fuels, is high cost. As acetylene is unstable at a pressure roughly equivalent to 33 feet/10 meters underwater, water submerged cutting and welding is reserved for hydrogen rather than acetylene.

Compressed gas cylinders containing oxygen and MAPP gas.

Other fueles:
Gasoline
Oxy-gasoline (= oxy-petrol) torches have been found to perform very well, especially where bottled gas fuel is not available or difficult to transport to the worksite. Tests showed that an oxy-gasoline torch cut steel plate up to 0.5 inch thick as well as oxyacetylene; and 0.5 to 4 inches thick better: 3 times better at 4 inches thick. The gasoline is fed from a pressure tank whose pressure can be hand-pumped or fed from a gas cylinder. Another low cost approach commonly used by jewelry makers in Asia is using air bubbled through a gasoline container by a foot-operated air pump, and burning the fuel-air mixture in a specialized welding torch.

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Hydrogen
Hydrogen has a clean flame and is good for use on aluminium. It can be used at a higher pressure than acetylene and is therefore useful for underwater welding and cutting. It is a good type of flame to use when heating much material. The flame temperature is high, about 2,000 C for hydrogen gas in air at atmospheric pressure, and up to 2800 C when pre-mixed in a 2:1 ratio with pure oxygen (oxyhydrogen). For some oxyhydrogen torches the oxygen and hydrogen are produced by electrolysis of water in an apparatus which is connected directly to the torch. Types of this sort of torch:
y

The oxygen and the hydrogen are led off the electrolysis cell separately and are fed into the two gas connections of an ordinary oxy-gas torch. This happens in the water torch, which is sometimes used in small torches used in making jewelry and electronics. The oxygen and hydrogen are drawn mixed from the electrolysis cell and are led mixed into a special torch designed to prevent flashback. See oxyhydrogen.

MAPP gas
MAPP gas is a registered product of the Dow Chemical Company. It is liquefied petroleum gas mixed with methylacetylene-propadiene. It has the storage and shipping characteristics of LPG and has a heat value a little less than acetylene. Because it can be shipped in small containers for sale at retail stores, it is used by hobbyists, and large industrial companies and shipyards because it is only as volatile as water[citation needed] while stored in cylinders, and is therefore much less dangerous than acetylene. MAPP gas can be used at much higher pressures than acetylene, sometimes up to 40 or 50 psi in high-volume oxy-fuel cutting torches which can cut up to 12 inch thick steel. Other welding gases that develop comparable temperatures need special procedures for safe shipping and handling. A MAPP gas leak is easy to identify because of its particularly terrible odor.

Propane
Propane does not burn as hot as acetylene in its inner cone, and so it is rarely used for welding.[6] Propane, however, has a very high number of BTUs per cubic foot in its outer cone, and so with the right torch (injector style) can make a faster and cleaner cut than acetylene, and is much more useful for heating and bending than acetylene. Propane is cheaper than acetylene and easier to transport. Like propylene, most propane tips are of a two piece design. Propane often gets unfair criticism because it really needs changing your torch (from an equal pressure torch to an injector torch) and not just changing your tip to get the best performance. Most torches are equal pressure and designed for gases such as acetylene which are lighter than oxygen. Propane is a great deal heavier and runs much better through a low-pressure injector torch with a setting from a few ounces to about two pounds per square inch when cutting.

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Propylene
Propylene is used in production welding and cutting. It cuts similarly to propane. When propylene is used, the torch rarely needs tip cleaning. There is often a substantial advantage to cutting with an injector torch (see #propane) rather than an equal-pressure torch when using propylene.

TYPES OF FLAME
In oxy-acetylene welding, the tool used is not really the torch; its the flame. The torch should never touch the material being welded. The only purpose of the torch is to provide a gas mixture which will produce the flame best suited to the work to be done. There are three distinct types of oxy-acetylene flames, usually termed: Neutral Excess Acetylene (or carburizing) Oxidizing (or excess oxygen ) The type of flame produced depends upon the ratio of oxygen to acetylene in the gas mixture which leaves the torch tip. The neutral flame (Fig. 5) is produced when the ratio of oxygen to acetylene, in the mixture leaving the torch, is almost exactly one-to-one. Its termed neutral because it will usually have no chemical effect on the metal being welded. It will not oxidize the weld metal; it will not cause an increase in the carbon content of the weld metal. The excess acetylene flame (Fig.6), as its name implies, is created when the proportion of acetylene in the mixture is higher than that required to produce the neutral flame. Used on steel, it will cause an increase in the carbon content of the weld metal. The oxidizing flame (Fig. 7) results from burning a mixture which contains more oxygen than required for a neutral flame. It will oxidize or burn some of the metal being welded.

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Chemistry of the Flame

When acetylene is burned in air, the end products are carbon dioxide (carbon plus oxygen) and water vapor (hydrogen plus oxygen). A chemical equation covering complete combustion reads like this: 2 C2H2 + 5 O2 = 4 CO2 + 2 H2O In everyday terms, this means that to burn two cubic feet of acetylene you must use five cubic feet of oxygen, or 2- 1/2 times as much oxygen as acetylene. Yet we have just said that the neutral flame is produced by burning a one- to-one mixture of oxygen and acetylene, and that the neutral flame does not contain an excess of either gas. This might seem to be a bit of a contradiction, but it is not, since the equation given above represents an over- simplification of the combustion process. Actually, combustion in the oxy-acetylene flame takes place in two distinct stages; for the first, the oxygen is supplied by the mixture leaving the torch; for the second, the oxygen is supplied by the air around the flame. In the first stage of combustion, the acetylene breaks down into carbon and hydrogen, and the carbon reacts with the oxygen to form carbon monoxide. In chemical terms: C2H2 + O2 = 2 CO + H2 In words, this means that you need one molecule of oxygen for each molecule of acetylene. A cubic foot of acetylene contains the same number of molecules as a cubic foot of oxygen. In the second stage of combustion, the carbon monoxide (CO) reacts with oxygen from the air to form carbon dioxide (CO2). The hydrogen reacts with oxygen from the air to form water (H2O). The chemical equations are these: 2 CO+O2= 2 CO2 2 H2 + O2 = 2 H2O (or, H2 + O = H2O) It is this two-stage combustion process which produces the well-defined inner cone in the oxyacetylene flame. The first stage of reaction takes place at the boundary between the inner cone and the pale blue outer flame. The second stage takes place in the outer flame. If the proportion of acetylene supplied to the tip is increased, a white feather appears around the inner cone. This feather contains white-hot particles of carbon which, for lack of sufficient oxygen in the original mixture, cannot be oxidized to carbon monoxide at the inner cone boundary. On the other hand, if the proportion of oxygen fed to the tip is increased, the inner cone will shorten noticeably and the noise of the flame will increase. Flame Adjustment For most welding, a neutral flame is desired. Not even a skilled welder can distinguish visually between a true neutral flame and a slightly oxidizing flame. But anyone who knows what to look for can tell the difference between a neutral flame and a flame with a slight excess acetylene feather. Therefore, we always adjust the flame to neutral from the excess-acetylene side. We start with an excess of acetylene when we light the torch and then
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increase the flow of oxygen until the excess-acetylene feather just disappears. If the flame is then too large for our purposes, we reduce the oxygen flow first, to produce a feather, then cut back on the acetylene flow until the feather just disappears. Occasionally, you will read instructions which call for a slight excess of oxygen, or a slight excess of acetylene. Generally speaking, such instructions imply that a slight excess of one gas cannot cause trouble, but that a slight excess of the other gas may. Unless otherwise defined, a slight excess of acetylene means that you can just see a short feather. A slight excess of oxygen means that youve reduced the acetylene flow until the feather has disappeared, then reduced it a bit more to cause a slight shortening of the inner cone. For some operations, a substantial excess of acetylene is desired.

Fig 5. The neutral flame, which results from burning a mixture containing approximately equial volumes of oxygen and acetylene. The well-defined core of the flame (extremely bright pale blue) is known as the inner cone. Fig. 6. The excess acetylene flame, which has a whitish feather around and beyond the inner cone.

Fig. 7. The oxidizing flame, which results from an excess of oxygen in the gas mixture, has a shorter, more sharply-pointed inner cone than the neutral flame.

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Welding and cutting:

Welding
The flame is applied to the base metal and held until a small puddle of molten metal is formed. The puddle is moved along the path where the weld bead is desired. Usually, more metal is added to the puddle as it is moved along by means of dipping metal from a welding rod or filler rod into the molten metal puddle. The metal puddle will travel towards where the metal is the hottest. This is accomplished through torch manipulation by the welder. The amount of heat applied to the metal is a function of the welding tip size, the speed of travel, and the welding position. The flame size is determined by the welding tip size. The proper tip size is determined by the metal thickness and the joint design. Welding gas pressures using oxy-acetylene are set in accordance with the manufacturer's recommendations. The welder will modify the speed of welding travel to maintain a uniform bead width. Uniformity is a quality attribute indicating good workmanship. Trained welders are taught to keep the bead the same size at the beginning of the weld as at the end. If the bead gets too wide, the welder increases the speed of welding travel. If the bead gets too narrow or if the weld puddle is lost, the welder slows down the speed of travel. Welding in the vertical or overhead positions is typically slower than welding in the flat or horizontal positions. The welder must add the filler rod to the molten puddle. The welder must also keep the filler metal in the hot outer flame zone when not adding it to the puddle to protect filler metal from oxidation. Do not let the welding flame burn off the filler metal. The metal will not wet into the base metal and will look like a series of cold dots on the base metal. There is very little strength in a cold weld. When the filler metal is properly added to the molten puddle, the resulting weld will be stronger than the original base metal.

Cutting
For cutting, the set-up is a little different. A cutting torch has a 60 or 90-degree angled head with orifices placed around a central jet. The outer jets are for preheat flames of oxygen and acetylene. The central jet carries only oxygen for cutting. The use of a number of preheating flames, rather than a single flame makes it possible to change the direction of the cut as desired without changing the position of the nozzle or the angle which the torch makes with the direction of the cut, as well as giving a better preheat balance. Manufacturers have developed custom tips for Mapp, propane, and polypropylene gases to optimize the flames from these alternate fuel gases. The flame is not intended to melt the metal, but to bring it to its ignition temperature. The torch's trigger blows extra oxygen at higher pressures down the torch's third tube out of the central jet into the workpiece, causing the metal to burn and blowing the resulting molten oxide through to the other side. The ideal kerf is a narrow gap with a sharp edge on either side of the workpiece; overheating the workpiece and thus melting through it causes a rounded edge.
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Oxygen Rich Butane Torch Flame

Fuel Rich Butane Torch Flame

Cutting a rail just before renewing the rails and the ballast. Cutting is initiated by heating the edge or leading face (as in cutting shapes such as round rod) of the steel to the ignition temperature (approximately bright cherry red heat) using the pre-heat jets only, then using the separate cutting oxygen valve to release the oxygen from the central jet The oxygen chemically combines with the iron in the ferrous material to instantly oxidize the iron into molten iron oxide, producing the cut. Initiating a cut in the middle of a workpiece is known as piercing. It is worth noting several things at this point:
y

The oxygen flowrate is critical too little will make a slow ragged cut; too much will waste oxygen and produce a wide concave cut. Oxygen Lances and other custom made torches do not have a separate pressure control for the cutting oxygen, so the cutting oxygen pressure must be controlled using the oxygen regulator. The oxygen cutting pressure should match the cutting tip oxygen orifice. Consult the tip manufacturer's equipment data for the proper cutting oxygen pressures for the specific cutting tip. The oxidation of iron by this method is highly exothermic. Once started, steel can be cut at a surprising rate, far faster than if it was merely melted through. At this point, the preheat jets are there purely for assistance. The rise in temperature will be obvious by the intense glare from the ejected material, even through proper goggles. (A thermic lance is a tool which also uses rapid oxidation of iron to cut through almost any material.) Since the melted metal flows out of the workpiece, there must be room on the opposite side of the workpiece for the spray to exit. When possible, pieces of metal are cut on a grate that lets the melted metal fall freely to the ground. The same equipment can be used for oxyacetylene blowtorches and welding torches, by exchanging the part of the torch in front of the torch valves.

For a basic oxy-acetylene rig, the cutting speed in light steel section will usually be nearly twice as fast as a petrol-driven cut-off grinder. The advantages when cutting large sections are obvious
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- an oxy-fuel torch is light, small and quiet and needs very little effort to use, whereas a cut-off grinder is heavy and noisy and needs considerable operator exertion and may vibrate severely, leading to stiff hands and possible long-term repetitive strain injury. Oxy-acetylene torches can easily cut through ferrous materials in excess of 50 mm (2 inches). Oxygen Lances are used in scrapping operations and cut sections thicker than 200 mm (8 inches). Cut-off grinders are useless for these kinds of application.Robotic oxy-fuel cutters sometimes use a high-speed divergent nozzle. This uses an oxygen jet that opens slightly along its passage. This allows the compressed oxygen to expand as it leaves, forming a high-velocity jet that spreads less than a parallel-bore nozzle, allowing a cleaner cut. These are not used for cutting by hand since they need very accurate positioning above the work. Their ability to produce almost any shape from large steel plates gives them a secure future in shipbuilding and in many other industries. Oxy-propane torches are usually used for cutting up scrap to save money, as LPG is far cheaper joule-for-joule than acetylene, although propane does not produce acetylene's very neat cut profile. Propane also finds a place in production, for cutting very large sections. Oxy-acetylene can only cut low to medium carbon steels and wrought iron. High carbon steels cannot be cut because the melting point is very close to the temperature of the flame and so the slag from the cutting action does not eject as sparks, but rather mixes with the clean melt near the cut. This keeps the oxygen from reaching the clean metal and burning it. In the case of cast iron graphite between the grains and the shape of the grains themselves interfere with cutting action of torch.

SAFETY:
WELDING GOGGLES & GLOVES:
Proper welding gloves and goggles must be worn to provide protection when using a Oxy-Acetylene outfit. Gloves should be made for welding use. Goggles ( or face shield ) must be worn to protect the eyes from sparks and hot metal, especially when cutting metal. If you ever try to weld or cut without using goggles or a face shield, try this first. Stand in front of the outfit, close your eyes tight and adjust the regulators, that's if you can find them !!! ( point made I hope!!) The proper lens shade should be selected in order to provide the maximum amount of protection. The following chart lists the recommended shade of lens that should be used for various welding and cutting operations. Application Lens shade no. Brazing 3 or 4 Light cutting ( up to 1" ) 3 or 4 Medium cutting ( 1 to 4 or 5 6" ) Heavy cutting ( over 6" 5 or 6 )
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Light welding ( up to 1/8 ) Medium welding ( 1/8 to 1/2 ) Heavy welding ( over 1/2 )

4 or 5 5 or 6 6 or 8

Regulator Safety Devices:

All regulators fitted for use with non-combustible gases (oxygen, nitrogen, carbon dioxide, argon, etc.) are equipped with safety relief devices which will let go if excessive pressure builds up in the delivery pressure chamber of the regulator. The most frequently used device is a metal rupture disk which will burst if, because of regulator malfunction, the pressure rises well above the maximum delivery pressure for which the regulator is designed. The bursting of a rupture disk is usually an indication that theres something wrong with the regulator valve and that the regulator is in need of repair. Such repair should only be made by trained personnel in a properly-equipped repair station. Regulators fitted for use with combustible gases (acetylene, hydrogen, propane, etc.) are not equipped with rupture disks, or other safety release devices. Theres always a slight chance that a disk may burst prematurely, as the result of metal fatigue, or that a spring-loaded relief valve may open due to spring failure. However, regulators approved for welding or cutting use must be made so that the diaphragm will let go, and release pressure through a vent opening in the regulator cap, before the regulator cap can blow off. (The vent opening may be covered by a thin label on some regulators, but its always there.) Cylinder-to-Regulator Connections Standards for the connections used in the U.S. on compressed gas cylinders and regulators are established by the Compressed Gas Association (CGA) and recognized as American National Standards. Each standard covers the size and form of thread to be used on the cylinder connection, the size and form of thread to be used on the mating regulator nut, and the configuration of the regulator inlet nipple and the mating seat in the cylinder outlet. For oxygen, the standard connection is designated as CGA 540. For nitrogen, argon, helium and other oil-free inert gases, the standard connection is CGA 580; for hydrogen, CGA 350; for carbon dioxide, CGA 320. Only for acetylene are there two or more standards in general use. One is CGA 510, which is used on all large LINDE acetylene cylinders, and on other brands as well. The other is CGA 300 which is used on AIRCO acetylene cylinders and a number of other brands. In addition, there are two more CGA standard connections (520 and 200) for use on small acetylene cylinders (or tanks) which usually hold 40 cu. ft. or less of gas. To complicate matters a little more, CGA 510 is also the standard connection for propane, another flammable gas. Why are there multiple standards for acetylene?
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Chiefly because standardization on an industry-wide basis was not undertaken until nearly 50 years after the manufacture of the first large acetylene cylinders for welding and cutting service. By that time, the number of cylinders in use was so great, and the connections used so evenly divided between two types, that standardization on either of the two connections in general use would have been economically impractical. The important thing to remember about cylinder connections is that you should not buy, nor should you ever attempt to make, an adaptor which will permit the use of an oxygen regulator on a fuel gas cylinder, or a fuel gas regulator on an oxygen cylinder. However, you can buy adaptors which permit the use of acetylene regulators with CGA 510 connections on cylinders with CGA 300 connections, and vice versa, as well as adaptors which permit use of acetylene regulators with either 510 or 300 connections on small acetylene cylinders. One final point: All CGA standard connections for oxygen and for oil- free inert gases carry right-hand threads; all CGA standard connections for acetylene, other fuel gases, and for gases which may have been compressed through oil-lubricated compressors carry left-hand threads except for the CGA 300 acetylene cylinder/regulator connection, and the two cylinder/regulator connections used with small acetylene cylinders. Left-hand threads are always indicated by a groove cut in the middle of the connection nut or in the hex section adjacent to the connection thread.

Goggles:
When welding or cutting, safety goggles with approved filter lenses must always be used to protect the eyes from the glare of the flames, from heat, and from flying particles of metal or slag. Goggles should fit snugly and be equipped with ventilating ports. They must have cover lenses (glass or plastic) and hardened glass filter lenses, which are supplied in several shades. Shade 4 is adequate for light cutting or sheet metal welding. Darker shades 5 or 6 should be used when welding plate or castings, or during heavy cutting. Coverall goggles which can be worn over prescription eyeglasses are readily available. Gloves Its a serious mistake not to wear gloves when welding or cutting. For light work, flame-resistant cotton gloves are often satisfactory. For most purposes, however, all-leather gloves, or gloves with leather palm and fingers, will prove more serviceable. Gloves should always have gauntlets long enough to cover the ends of your sleeves. Clothing The chief point to make about clothing is this: Protect yourself. Wear long sleeves, so that your wrists will be covered. Wear high-top work shoes if possible, especially when cutting, to keep sparks from your ankles. Wear cuffless trousers. Stay away from flammable synthetic materials if you can; cotton and wool are less susceptible to damage by sparks.

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Fig. 5-16. Oxy-acetylene welding goggles (left) and gauntlet-style leather welding gloves (right).

Fuel leakage:
Fuel gases that are denser than air (Propane, Propylene, MAPP, Butane, etc...), may collect in low areas if allowed to escape. To avoid an ignition hazard, special care should be taken when using these gases over areas such as basements, sinks, storm drains, etc... In addition, leaking fittings may catch fire during use and pose a risk to personnel as well as property.

Safety with cylinders:

When using fuel and oxygen tanks they should be fastened securely upright to a wall or a post or a portable cart. An oxygen tank is especially dangerous for the reason that the oxygen is at a pressure of 21 MPa (3000 lbf/in = 200 atmospheres) when full, and if the tank falls over and its valve strikes something and is knocked off, the tank will effectively become an extremely deadly flying missile propelled by the compressed oxygen, capable of even breaking through a brick wall (as demonstrated by the MythBusters). For this reason, never move an oxygen tank around without its valve cap screwed in place. On oxyacetylene torch system there will be three types of valves, the tank valve, the regulator valve, and the torch valve. There will be a set of these three valves for each gas. The gas in the tanks or cylinders is at high pressure. Oxygen cylinders are generally filled to approximately
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2200 psi. The regulator converts the high pressure gas to a low pressure stream suitable for welding. Never attempt to directly use high-pressure gas.

Chemical exposure:
A less obvious hazard of welding is exposure to harmful chemicals. Exposure to certain metals, metal oxides, or carbon monoxide can often lead to severe medical conditions. Damaging chemicals can be produced from the fuel, from the work-piece, or from a protective coating on the work-piece. By increasing ventilation around the welding environment, the welders will have much less exposure to harmful chemicals from any source. The most common fuel used in welding is acetylene, which has a two stage reaction. The primary chemical reaction involves the acetylene disassociating in the presence of oxygen to produce heat, carbon monoxide, and hydrogen gas: C2H2 + O2 2CO + H2. A secondary reaction follows where the carbon monoxide and hydrogen combine with more oxygen to produce carbon dioxide and water vapor. When the secondary reaction does not burn all of the reactants from the primary reaction, the welding processes produces large amounts of carbon monoxide, and it often does. Carbon monoxide is also the byproduct of many other incomplete fuel reactions.

The following is a list of some safety items that should be followed when using an OxyAcetylene outfit. Never use Acetylene gas at a pressure over 15 psig. Never use damaged equipment. Never use oil or grease on or around Oxygen equipment. Never use Oxygen or fuel gas to blow dirt or dust off clothing or equipment. Never light a torch with matches or a lighter. Always use a striker. When opening a Oxygen or fuel cylinder valve, always crack it open first. Always make sure regulators have their adjusting screws released by turning them counter clockwise till free before opening cylinder valves. Stand to the side of a regulator, not in front of it when opening cylinder valves. 8. Always wear the proper welding goggles, gloves and clothing when operating OxyAcetylene equipment. Pants should not have cuffs. 9. Always have a fire extinguisher handy when operating Oxy-Acetylene equipment. 10. Always replace cylinder caps when finished using cylinders. 11. Do not rely on the color of the cylinder to identify its contents as some suppliers may use different color codes. 12. Always use the proper regulator for the gas in the cylinder. 13. Always use cylinders in the upright position only. 14. Never store cylinders in temperatures over 130deg. F. 15. Always keep the valve wrench on the Acetylene cylinder valve when in use. Only open valve a maximum of 1 1/2 turns. 16. Do not carry lighters, matches or other flamable objects in pockets when welding or cutting.
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1. 2. 3. 4. 5. 6. 7.

17. Always be aware of others around you when using a torch. 18. Becareful not to let welding hoses come into contact with torch flame or sparks from cutting.

Uses:
Oxy-gas torches are used for or have been used for:
y y y

Welding metal: see below. Cutting metal: see below. Also, oxy-hydrogen flames are used: o In Stone Work for "flaming" where the stone is heated and a top layer crackles and breaks. A steel circular brush is attached to an angle grinder and used to remove the first layer leaving behind a bumpy surface similar to hammered bronze. o In the glass industry for "fire polishing". o In jewelry production for "water welding" using a "water torch". [1]. o Formerly, to heat lumps of quicklime to obtain a bright white light called limelight, in theatres or optical ("magic") lanterns. o Formerly, in platinum works, as platinum is only fusible in the oxy-hydrogen flame and in an electric furnace.

References:
www.wikipedia.org www.metalwebnews.com www.esabna.com www.google.com

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