Hothead 101
 

I think I need a refresher course. I am going to list the things I am doing and please if anyone sees a problem, correct me because if I don't solve the streaking problem on my encasing glass you will have to listen to me whine ( trust me, you don't want that!)

I am running on a propane tank. Two months old. Hothead is umm less than a year old I think.

1. I use to turn the propane tank fully on until I read here last year that others don't. So I give it about two turns. Is that correct?

2. When I turn on the hothead I turn it really only about one turn , maybe two.

3. I am working above the blue cone and I actually measured it lol. It is about four inches from the head of the torch.

4. When I bleed the lines, I keep the torch running and turn off the propane. It actually burns out in less than two minutes, very quickly. Is that normal?

5. I have tried hanging my hoses upside down but I have never seen anything come out of the hose. I am really stumped here as far as this goes.

6. When I clean my clear glass, I have washed it in liquid dish soap and rinsed it really well. Last night I tried a few by just cleaning them with alcohol or vineger and rinsing well. One I tried just vinegar and no rinsing as I had read here last night someone saying not to rinse them in water (no idea why)


Thanks

For (1), I believe there are two schools of thought on this, but here is what I am assuming: If the tank is close to you, some people open the stop as little as 1/4 turn so it can be shut quickly in an emergency. Otherwise, if the valve is not fully open (it is essentially fully open when it is at least about halfway open - e.g., 2 turns out of 4) the gas cools as it passes through the valve and the valve can freeze and you will get some pressure drop.

For (2) the only comment I have is on lighting the torch, the instruction sheet says that if you have difficulty getting the torch to light, then the valve should be opened more (all the way). After that you can control the flame wherever you want to get the results you desire.

I ran a HH on bulk propane for 6 years.

Propane was always about 95% open - not fully open so it wouldn't stick in case of an emergency, I'd open all the way then turn it down less than 1/4 turn.

How high the torch was turned on depended on what I was doing - ivory loves abuse. Clear is a bit more delicate. Depending on the HH model - it changed through the years - it could be a different number of turns. It didn't need to be the stereotypical "roaring dragon" to work effeciently, and bulk propane seemed to be turned lower than MAPP or Mapp-Pro.

When I bled out the lines, how quickly it bled out depended on how full the tank was, what temperature it was outside, etc. I would crank the torch up high to burn out any nastiness in the lines. Sometimes 5-10 minutes, sometimes 2.

If you hang the hose upside down, make sure you have the torch head on it, and opened to allow air flow. I did it into a trash can filled with newspaper so it would absorb the smelly nastiness, then I could dispose of that easily and quickly.

My clear was cleaned with soap and water, dried with microfiber cloths. (Love those, they make it sparkle.) I've also heard of good results with alcohol, but haven't done much with it.

Good luck!

Omg, I have been hanging the hose with the torch off! Thank you!!!


What are microfiber cloths?

YES - hopefully we fixed one issue, then! :)

Microfiber cloths are cleaning cloths - I've picked them up at the dollar store - they're a 'grippy' fiber that seems to clean better. I like that they're not toxic, no chemicals are supposed to be used, just a wet one and a dry one cleans windows marvelously - so they should work for glass, right? They can also be found in automotive for cleaning cars.

Yes you have fixed one issue.......I have been asking about this for a few years but no one mentioned leaving the torch on. My son and I were both stumped lol

I will look for the cloths today and hang that sucker outside on the balcony.



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Make sure it drains onto something you can dispose of. I made sure it made contact with newspapers so it would "wick" the oils away. Good luck!

Okay thanks and I am going to hang it tonight. No point in making more streaky beads. This is kind of like medicine.........eliminate the obvious to try and get a diagnosis.

The reasoning behind opening propane (fuel) valve on tank all the way is so in a emergency, it will only turn one way- OFF..... Under panic conditions one is likely to turn valve in a particular direction and keep turning it till it stops... The particular direction may not be correct one for situation......

Also most high pressure tanks (oxygen) have double seal valves, meaning they actually have a seal at the stem when tank valve is all the way open so you do not have a leak at valve stem when tank is all the way on......

Dale

Thanks for the info, Dale!

Yes thank you Dale.

I now have my torch hanging over the shower into a garbage can. I wait with great anticipation for gunk. Nothing so far.......

I left mine overnight when I did it... If that helps at all, it's maybe a teaspoon of gunk, not a sudden flood. And it STINKS! :LOL:

About torch hose gunk....

http://www.artglassanswers.com/forum...php?f=12&t=219

Dale

Yes I found that earlier thanks Dale.

So a glass friend of mine said a friend of hers got the same streaks on her glass beads as I am and said it was due to dirty propane. I sure hope that is all it is and can be fixed quickly. Do I just take the tank back to the gas station Can they empty it and then refill?

Though, if I buy the propane from the same place I could end up with the same problem..

I've had the streaky problem from one bad propane tank also - I'd trade in the actual tank instead of a refill in case there's residue, or relegate it to the BBQ grill instead.

Ack I just bought this new tank though.

Another thought - how long have you had the hose for? Could it be degrading?

The bad one for me was a brand new one, too. :(

LOL! I've been trying to drain my hose with the torch off and after my husband tried to blow it clean with compressed air and said it essentially had flash-back arrestors in I couldn't see how anything could come out. My hose is clogged with the nasty gunk and I get extra flames which makes me absolutely crazy. Also got some dirty propane. About clean propane. Find out when your supplier gets a fresh supply of propane and that is when you want to fill your bottle--right after a new shipment. My husband fills my tank and they get their new shipment on Friday. I had him fill my tank after they got their new propane and it has been acting much better.

Celeste

Good hints thanks. I discovered today that I was hanging my torch the wrong way. I had the torch end lying above the newspaper, not the end that goes onto the propane tank. Umm was this suppose to obvious? Maybe I am blonde...

Anyways, I will hang the torch properly this time tonight.

Plus I am armed with some mapp gas

Plus I am armed with another hothead a local supplier kindly lent me.

I will be testing and taking notes all weekend.

This WILL be solved!

I am in australia and we now have a swap'n'go system for BBQ bottles in most places, so who knows what is in em or how old the bottle is ..... but I do drain my hose each time I get a new one and seem to get a few drops to half a teaspoon of stinky oily crap, but still find, and have been told by experienced beadmakers over here, that the first bit of a bottle will always give some streaky crap in clears, and over the last 5 or 6 bottles, I find this correct !!! just don't try clear encasing on the first half of a bottle and u may have a bit more luck .. works so far. I still got to turn the HH down even on 2nd half of bottle and work in top of flame to avoid streaks and don't bother trying to encase with moretti clear, have had much more luck with super clear, vetro I think it is, tried and even though it looked amazing, 90% of encasing cracked !!! so using it only for all clear beads with surface decorations and it is really nice ...... good luck and although I have really seriously thought about upgrading to a big girls torch, I just keep my first little HH and love it .............. I think, what would I do differently with a bigger torch, and I think although it would be much quicker, and maybe I could sell more beads u know, time verses money, ra ra ra and all that, but the enjoyment ?????? gee dunno ....... the age old question ..... and the answer is, ? differen strokes for different folkes ????

sorry ..... I drain the hose every time I get a new bottle not a new hose !!!!!

I use a HH occasionally and had problem with smutzy clear sometimes. I use Chemtane and have my own tank that I get refilled. I've decided part of my problem was the clear because I had the same issues with it on my Cricket and my Scorpion. I also turn my flame down a lot when I use clear on the HH and have more luck with that.

When I drain my hose I hang it upside down too with the valve open. I bunch up a few paper towels and put them in the bottom of a small baggie and wrap in around the torch head with a rubberband. I can just take it off and toss it without having to smell that horrid smell.

As for the microfiber cloths...if you are a Costco member they have them in the automotive department. I think I paid around 25 bucks for at least 25 of them. I use them for everything! You don't even have to get the glass wet to clean it well with them. Love them!