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Jelveh Designs - Glass Beads Torched One-by-One

Beads of Courage


 
  #1  
Old 2006-09-09, 5:56pm
Kitty's Avatar
Kitty Kitty is offline
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Unhappy oxygen leak?

Hey-

I just purchased a nortel minor and got hose, regulators and flashback arrestors from Wale.

My hubby and were setting up and at first there was a leak in the oxygen (from either the new regulator or tank). I tested with soapy water and you could hear a hiss.

Then we realligned the regulator after taking off and realligned and put back on. No hiss and no bubbles. I thought it was fixed.

So, I worked today for about 3.5 hrs and the oxygen ran out. I was using a
20 lb tank. So I either went through that much oxygen because I was using my torch incorrectly or there was a leak or a 20 lb tank doesn't last very long???

I am happy that I have this new burner. My beads are actually resembling beads now. Wow.

Thanks for any suggestions.
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  #2  
Old 2006-09-09, 6:11pm
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Dale M. Dale M. is offline
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20 Pound???....... Usually oxygen tanks are described by volume not weight... Usually smallest about 2 feet high is a 80cuft (cubic feet).....

If you are using a very small tank, its going to go fast.... You probably want a tank the holds something like 180 to 220 cuft at 2200 psi... Tank will be about 4+ feet tall and weigh in about 100 lbs...

http://www.airgas.com/content/produc...x?chart_type=6

Dale
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  #3  
Old 2006-09-09, 6:31pm
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Kitty Kitty is offline
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Boy, I sure am showing my NEWBIENESS!

Yes, it is a small 2ft tall tank, about 8" diameter. It weighs 20lbs. Damn thing cost $60 to rent and then next time it is $17 to refil. This is an expensive hobby! I rented from National Welders. Is this expensive?

Thanks!
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Old 2006-09-09, 6:55pm
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Kitty Kitty is offline
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OK- I looked on line and I had a 20cf tank. No wonder.

Dale, thanks again. You have been such a big help!
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  #5  
Old 2006-09-09, 7:24pm
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bhhco bhhco is offline
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Quote:
Originally Posted by Kitty
Hey-

I just purchased a nortel minor and got hose, regulators and flashback arrestors from Wale.

...

So, I worked today for about 3.5 hrs and the oxygen ran out. I was using a
20 lb tank. So I either went through that much oxygen because I was using my torch incorrectly or there was a leak or a 20 lb tank doesn't last very long???

...
Thanks for any suggestions.
As Dale said, an oxygen cylinder is measured by capacity... how many cubic foot (CF) of oxygen (at normal temp/pressure) that it can hold. Yours holds 20 CF?

The marvelous thing about the Nortel Minor is that it can be a itty bitty torch or a flame thrower. Usually, a bead maker will use about 5 cubic foot of oxygen per hour (CFH), but the minor can be cranked up with a very large flame and use upwards of 50 CFH. All controlled by how far the torch's oxygen valve is opened.

So a 20 CF cylinder could last about 4 hours at 5 CFH... or just under 24 minutes at 50 CFH... all depending on how high the oxygen is turned up at the torch.

So what to do... hmmmm ... 1) Get a bigger cylinder; or 2) get an oxycon.

An oxycon is a machine that extracts oxygen from the air and produces 85-95% pure oxygen. The basic machines produce about 10 CFH. It runs on electricity, so your only cost is the cost for the machine and electricity.

A 10 CFH oxycon (more frequently referred to as a 5 LPM oxycon) costs from $140-$400, depending on the seller, warranty, used "mileage" etc.. A lot of bead makers find this is better, cost and simplicity-wise, than uisng "tanked" oxygen. The cost of the electricity is less than the gasoline used to drive to get another tank of oxygen. So while it's not "free", it's reasonable.

There are oxycon sellers that advertise on Lampworketc.

Me
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Last edited by bhhco; 2006-09-09 at 7:32pm.
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