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  #1  
Old 2016-09-13, 7:03am
knittyditty knittyditty is offline
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Join Date: Feb 13, 2013
Location: Deep in the South...Mississippi
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Default Torching and Humidity....

I would like to hear everyone's ideas, helpful hints, and problems when torching and humidity.

I have to work outside under a covered patio, not screened in, and I live in the Deep South. Humidity is a major factor, as well as heat and bugs. I have adjusted and just don't get to torch as often as I like. Now that the weather has the potential to improve, I might get to torch more often on my days off.

I now have a oxygen concentrator....Are there any issues I need to know about? Some say, keep inside, some say only store inside. I have everything covered (torch, bench, propane etc) when not using. Mainly to keep from getting dusty, dirty, "buggy"....

Do I have to watch for anything with the concentrator and humidity?
What is everyone's experience with the torch?
How about bead release? I've had issues all over the map...sometimes flaky sometimes won't release....

Thanks
Kristin
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  #2  
Old 2016-09-13, 1:02pm
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Lorraine Chandler Lorraine Chandler is offline
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Lots of threads on humidity...here's one.

http://www.lampworketc.com/forums/sh...+high+humidity
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  #3  
Old 2016-09-13, 2:24pm
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PennyLane PennyLane is offline
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When the humidity is bad my concentrators don't put out the purity that they normally would.
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  #4  
Old 2016-09-13, 2:25pm
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KJohn KJohn is offline
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That sounds similar to my set up. I have always worked on a covered porch. I am in AZ so dust is more of an issue than humidity, but we also have heat, bugs and rain (occasional).

I had to move my work bench so that I was near the porch light (and added a lamp) and also near a door. I had the oxycon inside the door and ran the hose.

Now, I have an enclosed porch to help with the dust, so I have it outside. I have already lost one, just inside its one year warranty, but that was soon after I made the switch so I think that was just misfortune.

But if we had high humidity here, I would probably keep it inside too and just run the hose out. They are usually quite long.

No advice for the bead release. I struggle with mine, too. And that doesn't count humidity. I need to adjust it for the different times of year. The most reliable brand that I have found is Blue Sludge. I usually mix with Alices dry release to help stretch it.

Hope this helps. Yay for more torch time!
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  #5  
Old 2016-09-26, 11:20pm
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Speedslug Speedslug is offline
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I keep my bead release upside down so the cap paper is always moist from the bead release inside.

I wind up with a lot less drying out that way.


As for humidity, the welders and garage shops often have desiccant in the lines of their air compressors and often trade the desiccant beads out with fresh stuff that gets dried out in their welding rod warming ovens. I think the ovens run about 180 degrees f to drive the moisture out of the coatings on the welding rods and also out of the desiccant.

Perhaps there is a need for input air dryers for oxycons using large buckets of desiccant?
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  #6  
Old 2016-10-21, 9:02am
dusty dusty is offline
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Quote:
Originally Posted by Speedslug View Post
I keep my bead release upside down so the cap paper is always moist from the bead release inside.

I wind up with a lot less drying out that way.


As for humidity, the welders and garage shops often have desiccant in the lines of their air compressors and often trade the desiccant beads out with fresh stuff that gets dried out in their welding rod warming ovens. I think the ovens run about 180 degrees f to drive the moisture out of the coatings on the welding rods and also out of the desiccant.

Perhaps there is a need for input air dryers for oxycons using large buckets of desiccant?
That's a great idea for bead release.

The larger oxygen systems, like the OnSites, require an air dryer to be used. Oxygen concentrators pass such a quantity of air (only a small fraction of the air passed through the machine comes out as oxygen) that dessicant air dryers aren't economical, so you need a refrigerated air dryer.

I've got my oxygen concentrators in a box that keeps them from breathing their own exhaust, and I've got a heater in the box that kicks on when it's within 5 degrees of freezing. If it was more humid here, I'd run a dehumidifier in the summer. Medical units are made to deal with a certain amount of humidity, so I don't think that the expense of a refrigerated air dryer is worth it, but I'd be interested to read any hard data on input humidity vs. output purity (and whether or not an enclosure with a dehumidifier would sufficiently solve any problems).

Last edited by dusty; 2016-10-21 at 9:07am.
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  #7  
Old 2016-10-22, 9:10pm
snoopdog6502 snoopdog6502 is offline
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Anything you can do to insure the oxycons get clean dry air is worth it.
I keep my oxycons inside when I torch outside in the summer,just run lines outside.
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