How long does small Map-pro or BernzOMatic gas last?

[tayissa]

Hi,

I'm just trying to compare costs. How long does the small (14 oz) bottle last of Map-pro, Bernzomatic or any other gas used for Hot Head torch. And how many beads on average can you make in that time?

I'm trying to decide if I should lampwork on my apt. balcony or rent studio time at $9 hour. If I rented studio time I wouldn't have to worry about safety issues but yet may cost me alittle more.

Cheryl

[disneymama]

There are a lot of factors that determine how long one of those bottles lasts so I'm just going to relay my experience. For me, they would last about 4 hours. I could usually do about 6 beads or so. My main problem was that the little bottles would freeze up and I would find myself with a smaller and smaller flame. I'd get so frustrated because a HotHead is slow on a good day and on a bad day, it's absolutely glacial! I switched to a bulk tank to avoid that issue. Lampworking was so much more fun when I didn't have to worry about changing that little tank.

I hope that helps.

[glasshobbit]

Ditto on the 4 hours and the freezing up. Helped to place canister in water but a big pain in the you know what

[blr2449]

I solved the problem of the tank freezing (or rather, prolonged useablity) by wrapping one of the microwaved heat wraps around it. They're the kind you buy for aches and pains. I have a couple of the clay insert ones with velcro strap.

[Lisi]

Hmmm...it's been a long time ago, but I think I remember mine lasting 9 hours??

[simvet02]

I was lucky if I could get three beads out of one canister before it started to freeze up. Usually on the last bead it started going out and I never could get it finished.

I tried the a canister of propane, which was half the price of Mapp gas at my home improvement store and didn't see a difference other than the price. Which leads to being able to hook up a larger tank of propane that lasts a lot longer.

[stereoette]

considering that up here, MAPP costs around $7 a canister, and that I could only really get my hothead to run for about an hour at a time before it froze up/got less hot, working in a safe environment with a dual fuel torch for only $2 more per hour might be the better choice.

[tayissa]

Thanks,

Sounds like it would be more productive to rent studio time and therefore worth the money.

How many beads an hour on average can you make with natural gas or propane with oxycon?

Cheryl

[j2canoe]

I use the MAPP canisters and it really depends on what the size/difficulty level of the beads you are making. I can make 15 or 20 average unencased round beads before taking a break for 15 minutes or so to let the cannister warm back up. If I keep a check on how cold it is getting while torching, I can take short breaks to keep it from freezing entirely. If I can't stop, I keep a full tank at room temp beside me and switch out between them when one gets too cold. Usually one tank will last me 4 - 5 hours before going south. I keep meaning to check on getting the warmer for it like Barb has, but have not gotten around to it yet. If I am doing fairly complicated beads with lots of layers or encasement that take a long time and are larger in size, then the number of beads per cannister goes down. If you sell your beads, you can ask the Manager at your local Lowe's or Home Depot to let you take advantage of the Contractor's Discount which saves quite a bit on the indivdual cannister price. Only drawback to that is you have to buy a case at a time. You could consider doing both the HH and MAPP on the balcony and rent the studio time........weather wouldn't bother you then and your overall cost would be evened out some. Cheers! Joan:)

[pam]

Cheryl, the amount of beads per hour really depends greatly on the type of beads and the skill of the person making the beads. I can make 6 spacer beads in less than 5 minutes, but only one bead of the kind I normally make.