propane/oxygen new studio question

cdmaam · #1 2009-07-20, 11:23am

I have searched the archives but can't find anything so please forgive me if this has been answered already.

I am hoping to set up a home studio. We have a finished room over our detached garage. It was meant to be my husband's study but he never uses it so I am thinking about claiming it as my own.

However I am wondering about running propane and oxygen line up 1 story. We could have a professional install a propane tank outside and run to the second story, but does it affect the pressure to run the pipe up? Also I have a great place to safely store a couple of oxy tanks but again the line would have to run upstairs. Would this affect the pressure of the oxy to my torch or is it just a pain to run up and down stairs to bleed the lines?

I would be using 1 mini cc only...

Thank you in advance for you help.

AVC-Ed · #2 2009-07-20, 12:38pm

There are no problems with working one story up.

If you have concerns regarding pressure, instead of using standard 1/4" lines, use 3/8" or 1/2" lines. Because of the length and location, at a minimum, I'd recommend 3/8" copper lines for both propane and oxygen.

You might want to consider using a concentrator instead of tanked oxygen, as that will allow you to keep the concentrators in the room.

Dale M. · #3 2009-07-20, 1:29pm

You can safely run the oxygen and propane up to second floor with copper lines... Just be sure oxygen line when completed is oil free..... There is "clean" soft copper tubing available for just this purpose as close as nearest plumbing supply (home center)....

As for outdoor storage, a Rubbermaid Tall outdoor closet/cabinet works quite well...

http://www.rubbermaid.com/rubbermaid...at=HPCat100670

You DO NEED to have shutoff valves on ends of copper tubing on inside of studio for safety purposes...

Here is kind of a how to:

http://www.artglassanswers.com/forum....php?f=7&t=208

You can use the soft copper tubing to make the vertical run instead of rigid piping...

Dale

cdmaam · #4 2009-07-20, 1:51pm

Thank you both so much for answering my questions. I really want/need to do this right. I appreciate you sharing your knowledge. I was wondering about a oxy con too.
thanks again!

amm1majus · #5 2009-07-21, 4:38pm

My two cents, Jill--I just got an oxy con after a year with tanked oxygen. I thought the oxy con was "too expensive" to start out with, but the hassle of running out of oxygen in the middle of a session, plus having to haul it back and forth to refill was a much greater "cost' in the long run! Wish I had saved the money on the tanks and gone straight to an oxy con instead!

NMLinda · #6 2009-07-21, 5:28pm

If you decide to get an oxycon, you still, of course, need to run the propane up to the second story and have the tank outside. As Dale indicated, it's not that hard to do.

I have a mini cc also. If you decide to get an oxycon, as AnnMarie suggests, be sure you get one that has enough lpm and pressure to drive the mini cc. I have both an M-10 and M-15 oxycon. The mini cc is ok on the M-10 but marginal in my opinion. Works way better on the M-15.

Linda

cdmaam · #7 2009-07-23, 4:36pm

Thanks Ann Marie and Linda,
I am leaning toward a oxycon but feel like I am finding conflicting information.
I inquired about a 10 psi concentrator and was told the mini cc only needs 6 psi to run. Where I torch we have tanked oxygen at 11 psi which is great! Carlisle seems to recommend 5 psi for the mini cc. But it sounds like with you, others and my experience (limited as it is) that more pressure is needed to run it how we like it! I think I need to do more research to make sure I get the right oxycon.
Thanks again!

NMLinda · #8 2009-07-23, 5:28pm

You might ask over in the Torch section about what oxy pressures other folks find best with the mini cc. One of the valuable things I learned on this forum is that the mini cc is a bit unique - if you don't run it with enough 02, the knobs get pretty hot. Because of that, I always used 9-11psi on tanked 02 before I shifted to an oxycon. On the M-15, I haven't noticed the knobs getting hot on me. Haven't spent enough time on the M-10 to know if it would on that machine.

Kimberly/kbinkster once posted a great table showing how a given torch performs on a given oxycon. Don't have a link handy, unfortunately, but she checks in on the Torch section frequently and is a wonderfully knowledgeable person.

Linda

cdmaam · #9 2009-07-24, 11:48am

Thanks Linda!

Beckah · #10 2009-08-02, 7:32am

With an oxycon the critical number is LPM not PSI. Kimberly and others have explained why but I don't remember the details off the top of my head. But check the Torch room and the Tips sections -- there are numerous posts on the topic.

The MiniCC is happiest with an oxycon that can provide at least 7LPM of flow. The M-15 provides either 7 or 8 LPM. The M-10 is only 5LPM. I ran my MiniCC on an M-10 (5LPM) for a year then went to the Regalia (10 LPM) and it made a significant difference not only with the knobs but also with getting good colors from the glass -- particularly ones that require striking or reduction.

kbinkster · #11 2009-08-02, 10:53am

Flow is more important than pressure for the Mini CC. The flow is the volume of oxygen getting to your torch. The pressure is just how hard the machine pushes it to get there.

cdmaam · #12 2009-08-03, 11:48am

Thanks Beckah and Kimberly. There is so much to learn to get it right, I appreciate you sharing your knowledge.