M10 Oxy Con bubble meter

[simvet02]

I have an M10 and am wondering about the bubble meter. Does it really mean anything??? When I have had it running for about 15 minutes and am ready to torch I start turning the nob at the top of the meter. It little ball goes up but never stays up. I usually give it about 10 turns and it works just fine but I was just wondering if that meter meant anything. OR is the little ball suppose to stay up to indicate what psi I am getting? (sure hope not because it never has).

[Dale M.]

The "bubble meter" is a flow rate gauge, it doe not indicant what pressure the output of the oxycon is, the output pressure of a oxycon is a constant that is controlled by a internal regulator you can not adjust. The flow meter indicates the amount of flow or volume of oxygen that is going through the torch head.... IF you have a disconnected hose the ball should be at the top of the meter, once you connect the torch and use the knobs on torch to control amount of oxygen in flame it will have a effect on the amount of oxygen flowing through "system" and the flow rate meter will respond accordingly. It merely indicates the volume of oxygen the torch is using in liters per minute... And yes if you try to run oxycon with the ball at the top of the meter, you are probably getting reduced oxygen purity... Generally the more the flow the poorer the oxygen quality...

Dale

[simvet02]

No, when I turn the knob to turn it on it goes up but quickly drops down to the bottom, which sounds, by your description, to be a good thing. I just wondered if it was suppose to go back down. Good to know.

Thanks so much Dale,

[kbinkster]

The ball will go up and down depending on how much you open or close the oxygen valve on your torch (how big or small your flame is, oxidized or reducing).

You do not want the ball to go over the 5 LPM mark on a 5 LPM machine. You also don't want the ball resting on the bottom while the machine is running. So, you should always keep your torch oxygen valve open somewhat whenever the machine is on, except for closing the oxygen valve briefly when lighting the flame.

Concentrators are rated by how many liters per minute they can put out before the purity drops below 90%. Once you hit 90% or lower, the flame suffers and it's a bit reductive. So, running over 5 LPM on a 5 LPM machine will produce poor flame quality. Also, running about 5 LPM overruns the seive beds and is bad for the machine.

The lower the LPM, the higher the purity. So, when you run a smaller flame, so that the flow meter is resting on a lower number, your flame quality will be better.

[simvet02]

I can't see the ball from where I sit so I will have to have hubby come down tomorrow and watch it for me to see what it's doing while I torch. I've always had trouble for about the first half hour getting the flame regulated but I've just gotten use to it. I have to keep turning up the propane, but after the first half hour everything is great. I've heard the technical explanation about the grommet on the propane knob warming up or something to that affect.

Thanks for the valuable info. I'll be calling to order my Cricket soon. I need to send the Lynx in for cleaning and I want to have the Cricket as backup.

[Dale M.]

I can't see the ball from where I sit so I will have to have hubby come down tomorrow and watch it for me to see what it's doing while I torch. I've always had trouble for about the first half hour getting the flame regulated but I've just gotten use to it. I have to keep turning up the propane, but after the first half hour everything is great. I've heard the technical explanation about the grommet on the propane knob warming up or something to that affect.

Thanks for the valuable info. I'll be calling to order my Cricket soon. I need to send the Lynx in for cleaning and I want to have the Cricket as backup.


Start oxycon about 1/2 hour (with torch oxygen valve open) before you start torching to let oxycon stabilize before you are ready to "work"...

Dale

[simvet02]

Wow, I couldn't be doing it more wrong if I tried. I turn it on when I first go down to torch. Then about 15 minutes later I start the torch. So, what has this done to the concentrator?

I can't believe that I would need to have the torch valve open. I thought the concentrator had to build up a certain amount of pressure before you could torch??

[squid]

Wow, I couldn't be doing it more wrong if I tried. I turn it on when I first go down to torch. Then about 15 minutes later I start the torch. So, what has this done to the concentrator?

I can't believe that I would need to have the torch valve open. I thought the concentrator had to build up a certain amount of pressure before you could torch??

no, it doesn't build up pressure. I believe letting it run for a while before using it is to let the purity of the oxygen come up and stabilize.

ALWAYS leave the torch valve open when running the oxycon - except when light of course :)

[kbinkster]

no, it doesn't build up pressure. I believe letting it run for a while before using it is to let the purity of the oxygen come up and stabilize.

ALWAYS leave the torch valve open when running the oxycon - except when light of course :)

It doesn't build up pressure (like a steam engine), but it does build up to its operating pressure, if you know what I mean. It's "getting up to speed," so to speak.

When you first turn on the machine, it won't be putting out the best purity or the highest pressure. You have to wait a few minutes. Typically, with a good machine, really, the purity will be high enough to torch with (and not blow out your flame with air) in about three to five minutes, maybe sooner (gives it time to build up good purity AND to push air out of the oxygen hose through the torch).

When I'm testing machines with my analyzer, I let them run about ten minutes to make sure that everything is all set for a fair testing.

While the machine is building up to the purity and pressure, it needs to be free flowing. Otherwise, it back pressures the machine.

On the non-SeQual machines, what happens is that the feed air keeps getting fed into the seive cannister, and if the toprch calve is closed, it sits there longer because it is not being released out of the machine. Inititally, the purity will be really high, because it has been sitting in the seive longer than normal. BUT, this wears the seive material. So, you don't want to do that. Oh, and that high purity boost is really short lived and it will drop back down quickly as soon as the torch valve is opened back up.

[simvet02]

Ok, so I have most likely shortened the life of my machine by not having the oxygen valve open on the torch. I better go down there and turn it on now so I don't forget. I'm going to have to devise a way to remember to close it before I light it. Old habits are hard to break if you know what I mean.

How much is a new seive? I might as well prepare for that now. And, how will I know when it starts going out?

[kbinkster]

You might want to check with Jack about that (how much for new seive material). I think he puts a certain type of seive material in his machines. You might not need it right away.

You can light your torch without shutting the oxygen off, first. It just makes a "pop," and can be startling, but doesn't hurt anything.

[simvet02]

I'll do that thanks Kimberly.

As for the pop, I've experienced that a few times, not sure my nerves could stand it every time....LOL