what do you prefer??

[juliehr]

New to Lampworking etc. - I'd say experienced beginner to glasswork. Thought I would ask some of you experienced glassworkers.......
I've been on a HH for a couple years. I am impatient and want to get a bigger torch. (I tend to spend hours searching, comparing, and then ping-ponging back and forth on what to do.)
I live on an island - transport of oxygen tanks may get dicey with our ferry service - (wouldn't want to blow anyone up- they get touchy about that sort of thing - I would have to 'sneak' it on the boat.
I have bounced back and forth between "should I get oxygen tank?" or
"what about those Oxy-con."
Just would like some experienced thoughts on what people recommend and why. I have looked around this site and found gobs of information, but it still gets a bit confusing.
Any recommendations on what people prefer would be super great!
Currently work with soft glass, perhaps will try boro some day...Just need something that will let me work a bit faster and bigger.

[Sue in Maine]

I run a mini-cc on two oxy-cons and have from the start. Well, had one and added a second.

I went with oxy-c's due to the cost of tanked oxy. From all I read, the oxy-cons pay for themselves within a year.

Here is one thread I found that may help you decide. There are others... I'm at work and can't search for more.

http://www.lampworketc.com/forums/sh...=tanked+oxygen

Sue

[Shane]

We're also on a Mini CC an running a DevilBliss oxycon. Works great for soft glass. Have some boro from Glass Alchemy but haven't tried it yet.

For the price of the oxycon I couldn't justify tanked O2. We're also using bulk propane. We bought the tank and had it filled locally. I have a Blue Rhino tank but haven't used it yet on the Mini, it was sooting everything on our HH. Part of the reason we upgraded. Plus it's so much more quiet than the HH. Personally I think your propane lasts longer too. It's nice to be able to make a spacer in a few minutes vs the thrity it took before on the HH.

My best advice, shop around, times are getting hard and money is tight. And if possible try the Mini. I personally love it.

[juliehr]

Thanks both of you!
It is a bit overwhelming when you try to take it all in and realize once you move from the HH to a dual fuel there's all this other stuff to consider - guages, pressures, flashback stuff, and on and on!!
Still can't think of anything that is more relaxing to do though.
Thanks again.

[artwhim]

Julie, it's wonderful to just flip a switch and have oxy, especially if the transport of tanks is a problem for you.

Do you use NG to heat your house? If so, that could be your fuel source as long as you purchase a torch that will run on NG. If you run on household pressure NG and an oxycon, you don't need pressure gauges or flashback arrestors. Once your gasline is installed, everything is pretty simple to run. Personally I really like the simplicity of my setup (Betta torch on NG with M-15 for oxy). The only "extra" required was a set of hoses and the proper hose end to connect to my NG line.

Good luck with all the decisions!

[lindag]

Just a note....Oxygen isn't combustible in and of itself so no worries it will explode. If you do decide to go with oxy, just be sure the cap is on tight when not in use and be sure the tank is securely attached upright to a wall or such.

That said, I use a Lynx on tanked oxygen but plan to get a generator in the near future.

[Kym]

I haven't had my generator (OGSI 15) long enough yet for it to have paid its way. Perhaps another year for that but they are quite expensive in australia. That said I would still go for the best oxycon you can afford. More is better than too little.
My Ogsi was off line for a couple of weeks waiting for a repair (these repairs are really only necessary it seems on imported generators- seems that the aircraft holds freezing and the shipping containers boiling in the sun don't agree with generators - who would have guesssed?) Anyway I hired a 4' tank of oxy for the duration....sigh.....I had forgotten what it was like to have tanked oxy! Now the OGSI is going again and working perfectly, I would still like to run tanked O2 occasionally, specially if I can run two torches at once.
Good luck with whatever you choose, oxy Generators definitely will save you money and backstrain in the long run.

Kym

[Abacus Beads]

For me the oxy-cons were the only way to go. I had struggled with tank s for about a year then decided that the oxy-con was a much smarter way to go. They cost less in the long run and are less dangerious than the tank oxy. I don't have to brake my back getting the tanks down to get them re-filled.
Liz R

[Dennis Brady]

An oxycon big enough to allow you to work boro will be pricey. Instead of starting with a big unit, I'd recommend starting with a 15 and if you want more capacity you can later add a second 15 and run them together in tandem - or get a booster to increase capacity.

When you buy a torch, don't just look for one with huge capacity but instead get one with the greatest versatility.

[Dennis Brady]

Originally Posted by Kym

I haven't had my generator (OGSI 15) long enough yet for it to have paid its way. Perhaps another year for that but they are quite expensive in australia. That said I would still go for the best oxycon you can afford. More is better than too little.
My Ogsi was off line for a couple of weeks waiting for a repair (these repairs are really only necessary it seems on imported generators- seems that the aircraft holds freezing and the shipping containers boiling in the sun don't agree with generators - who would have guesssed?) Anyway I hired a 4' tank of oxy for the duration....sigh.....I had forgotten what it was like to have tanked oxy! Now the OGSI is going again and working perfectly, I would still like to run tanked O2 occasionally, specially if I can run two torches at once.
Good luck with whatever you choose, oxy Generators definitely will save you money and backstrain in the long run.

Kym

The biggest cost factor in getting concentrators to Australia is freight. I'm working now on ways to provide better pricing on shipments to there - especially for glass, kilns, and oxycons.

Have you considered getting together with other glassers (get the stained glass, kilnformers, and glassblowers to join also) to put together co-operative shipments to cut freight costs? Freight costs have always been a problem and are assured to get worse. I know that it pretty much doubles the cost of kilns and oxycons to Australia and Europe. Group orders are a terrific way to cut costs. I just put together a shipment for a small group in Hong Kong that included a bunch of kilns, a sandblasting outfit, and a case of sheet glass. Because the glass weighs a lot but takes up little space and the sandblaster takes up a lot of space but weighs very little - one of them travelled freight free. Oxycons are relatively lightweight so if you shipped glass with one, either the oxycon or the glass would get free freight. It's the same with kilns.

As freight costs continue to increase, all will have to decide whether they want the convenience of being able to order frequently in small lots - or prefer to cut costs by ordering larger lots less frequently. Working with co-operative groups is a way to compromise and have relatively frequently supply with relatively lower costs.

[Kym]

It sounds good Dennis but Aust. doesn't have that many beadmakers who want to get an oxycon at the same time. Someone would have to foot the bill and then sell them off one by one. And I worry about machines with no techs for them in Aust. One of our members has a Puritan Bennet and havng a lot of trouble even getting someone to look at it, let alone know what they are doing. In theory, it would be a great thing. If I had the money, I would financially back it by myself. I suppose the distance between the beadmakers we have is also an issue because then we have to freight from state to state and our states are big cause we only have 7. (sorry, that's me, always looking on the downside!)

Something to keep in mind tho'

regards
Kym