Has anyone seen this before?

[Lorraine Chandler]

MYSTERY PROBLEM SOLVED...WE THINK. GO TO THE END OF THREAD FOR ANSWER.


Here are some photos of my fuel line with a quick disconnect with arrestor combo.

Torch symptoms....could hardly get any flame..just a tiny blue cone.

Checked out concentrator. It is spotless and runs fine. I got a fairly large propane only flame when I lit up the torch that morning but when I turned up the oxygen only a tiny little blue flame about 1 inch long appeared.

I cleaned out the torch head...nothing was plugged, seemed fine.

I pulled off the hoses, opened up where the quick connect was and found what you see in the pics. What the heck is all of that gunk. Tacky and dry crusty white and green. What brass does when out in the elements?? The weird thing is it wasn't just inside the quick connect, it was also starting to appear in the grovves on the clamped part you see in the third pic.


Oxygen hoses were fine. So far nothing has dripped out of the hoses.

Torch is new, only used about 40 hours. Ran great up until now. I am using a pancake regulator set around 10-15? with a 1 pound bottle....it was about 1/3 full. I can use them usually until they are empty with no problems and torch runs great. My concentrator is set at 4. It is a 5 lpm DeVilbiss.


I never smelled anything because I wear a respirator...so if it was leaking around the quickconnects I didn't know it. When I took off the respirator I never smelled anything strong or stinky.

Any ideas..I am stumped. I have a BBQ tank and nice regulator I can use....but I am kinda afraid to try it in case the quick connect/flashback arrestor is mal-functioning or if it is something else I can't fathom right now. Everything else was fine except for what the pics show. Maybe I should hook it all up again and test that area for leaks???
Lorraine

[Lorraine Chandler]

ANYONE??? Anyone at all?


Figures..I'd get something no one else has seen!!:x:pout:

Dag Nab it!!

Lorraine

[Starrr]

Take off the quick connects, you don't really need them, and hook the hoses directly to the regulator and light the torch again. If that doesn't work swap out the propane tank.

[jhana]

It looks the same kind of corrosion you see on some propane tanks used in the drug trade.
Do you swap out your tank or refill it?

[Lorraine Chandler]

Jhana...eeewwwww!!! Nope. I bought my tanks clean and fill them myself.

Edie, Nice hear from you. How are you doing? I hope much better?

I will do that sometime this week.:-D
Thanks

[NMLinda]

Hi Michelle! The green looks like classic oxidation/corrosion of the copper used to form brass. You're in a high-humidity area if I'm not mistaken.

The zinc in the brass might be oxidizing and forming the white powdery substance. I thought zinc oxidized pretty slowly, though, so I'm not sure.

Hope someone with some chemistry knowledge chimes in

Linda

[Lorraine Chandler]

Hi Linda, How are you doin?

The scary part was that it was on the inside..and my torch will not work..I hung up the hoses to drain just in case. I will check them tomorrow.
Lorraine

[rg9403]

weird

[ewdb]

(i'm just guessing here - no chemistry background)

do you live near the beach? it looks like the kind of corrosion associated with salt water? and can you clean it off?

my only other thought was what kind you soap did you use to test for leaks? maybe it was acidic enough to cause this reaction?

hope this helps...

[Abacus Beads]

The gunk on the inside looks like the stuff they put into propane to make it smell. Don't know how to get rid of it. Maybe a new set of hoses or perhaps call a shop where they sell welding stuff. They might know
Liz R

[RSimmons]

It looks like salt corrosion to me. Anyone spreading salt on the roads near you?

Robert

[Dale M.]

The flakiness, grainy stuff is just corrosion..... Happens to the best of things when left out in elements... Has noting to do with anything in drug trade and can happen to anything anywhere even kept indoors and protected....

Try removing anything not absolutely necessary between tank and torch or concentrator and torch to eliminate anyting that may be causing the problem....

As other have mentioned, maybe propane tank... And although concentrator seem like its 100% is should also be suspect, it can loose purity and still appear to be functioning properly....

Dale

[effemess]

It looks very much like the corrosion we used to find on aluminum masts when we went sailing...

[Lorraine Chandler]

Thanks everyone....

Dale, I considered the concentrator and that may still be a problem.
BUT....

The funny thing is all of the other brass parts on the oxygen hose and on the propane hose are all fine..except just this one unit.

I am going to check it for leaks because after considering all the facts, that seems to be the most obvious.

If it 'was' leaking that would explain why only that area was affected. Maybe it was a defected one. I can then take it back to the welding supply I bought it from.

Thanks everyone for all of the ideas and guesses.:-) I will report back later so this thread will be complete in case anyone else has this happen to them.
Lorraine

[Lorraine Chandler]

Here is what we think happened. I called my welding supply house manager (MIKE) and he said the additive in the canister of propane is the culprit.

DH came home this morning and said the same thing. I used the can like I usually do but this can apparently had lots of that stuff in it. :cry: More than usual.

My quick connect was also the low spot in the hose line so it all makes sense now. SHEESH!

I hope this might help someone else in the future.:waving:

Hugs
Lorraine