Oxy Tank Questions!

[IF-Designs]

What should the PSI be on a 250CF tank when its full? when you put on the regulator what should the PSI on the rank side of the regulator read? Im thinking they gave me a half empty tank at the supply place......

[paintingwithglass]

2,000 - 2,500

[IF-Designs]

dam ok thats about where mine was at 2000 anyway it just seems like im going ttrough oxy way to fast and I cant figure it out....im not even running my cheetah full bore and the PSI gauge has dropped to half or less with only about 6-7 houirs out of it

[hotflashwanda]

Karin,
The standard fill pressure is 2200. You should be using it more slowly with that size tank, I would think. I get at least 18-20 hours on mine with the Barracuda doing beads and using the large flame occasionally to round up a big focal. And I run an oxidizing flame.
I had a tank once that didn't last, and found out that I had a little bit of leakage in the valve connections. I also found that I was wasting oxygen by turning it on more than needed at the torch, as I was used to the generator's lower purity and pressure. My tanks are lasting alot longer now.

[IF-Designs]

ive got to have a leak somewhere :( just cant figure it out it should NOT be going out that fast

[Dale M.]

Turn on tank valve and leave torch valve off... Let regulator and hoses "charge" up... Turn tank off... Wait.... If pressure gauges start to drop over time you have leak, if they do not move (say over night) you are good... Get oxygen safe leak detection fluid and check every connection from tank valve to torch valve if you suspect a leak.

Also when you turn tank on, open valve all the way, 3-4 turns probably. The valves on oxygen tanks (and most high pressure tanks) are double seal, they need to be full open so the stem seal is engaged and oxygen does not leak around stem (below handle/knob) when tank is on.

Dale

[alissa]

I couldn't get my darn hoses to stop leaking where they attached to the barbs on the end of my torch... so I grabbed a lighter and heated the barbs until the hoses melted a tiny bit to make a seal. I'm sure that's not recommended, and wasn't good for the hoses or torch... but it fixed a leak problem that I'd been struggling with for quite a while. I lost half a tank of propane and a lot of oxygen before I got it all worked out. : (

[Trey Cornette]

Put a little dish soap and water in a spray bottle.
Spray down all your connections and hose.
If there is a leak it will bubble.
:spank: me very much!

[SadiesJewels]

What do you have your PSI set too? I was wondering if you possibly have it set a bit too high. I've used tanks for a long time and yes occasionally I have leaky ones - grr ... so checking with the dish soap stuff is a good way to check them out. It's really easy to get a small leak where the hoses connect to the tank - I'm acutally not strong enough to tighten them to the point of non minute leakage so I use a tape around the screw opening there - one rated for gases ...

sadie

[Dale M.]

What do you have your PSI set too? I was wondering if you possibly have it set a bit too high. I've used tanks for a long time and yes occasionally I have leaky ones - grr ... so checking with the dish soap stuff is a good way to check them out. It's really easy to get a small leak where the hoses connect to the tank - I'm acutally not strong enough to tighten them to the point of non minute leakage so I use a tape around the screw opening there - one rated for gases ...

Sadie

Putting tape on threads is a waste of time and effort. The threads do not seal tank connection. The tank valve to regulator seal is the round bulbous end of regulator seating into the tapered female portion of valve. This is a metal to metal seal. The threads just apply pressure on bulbous end to seat it into female portion of valve. IF you cannot get a perfect seal several things are probable, you have dirt in connection or you have valve with damaged connector on tank or end of your regulator.

2480

If you do not have enough weight or strength to tighten fitting proper, get a LONGER wrench... Added leverage (longer wrench) will allow you to properly tighten connection.

Dale

[smutboy420]

If your tank was only at 2,000 psi its not being filled all the way. if its a "K" tank it should be 3,200-3,500psi and if its a 282 cudic foot tank it should be over 4,000psi. You should ask the place that you get them from what pressure they fill to.

But on to the leakes. couldn't get my darn hoses to stop leaking where they attached to the barbs on the end of my torch

If you don't allready have them you should put hose clamps on them. I have had hoses pop off from the line pressure. let me tell you having a propain hose come off in the middel of torching can be a bit scarry. Just picture a big fire breathing snake whiping around. NOT COOL! cause you have to grab that sucker and kink it off. tho it is pretty impressive to see 5 foot flames shooting out of a rubber hose. If it whips acrost your face or your hair you'r all done. get to the hard ward store and get a set of hose clamps they are 59-89 cents and they are a good oz. of prevention.

Please! get these. Not to be superfishial or any thing.
But
there are too many good looking ladies around here I don't want to see any one have to ware a stocken mask for the rest of there lives.

[IF-Designs]

they "said" they fill their tanks to 277CF its a 250CF tank I thought I was getting ripped! I knew it should be lasting longer. Thank you for that info. Im gonna call my place and get some info to find out whats going on.

[Mr. Smiley]

You should be able to run a Mirage or Tiger shark that long on that much Oxy... I hope you figure it out. ;)

[Dale M.]

If your tank was only at 2,000 psi its not being filled all the way. if its a "K" tank it should be 3,200-3,500psi and if its a 282 cudic foot tank it should be over 4,000psi. You should ask the place that you get them from what pressure they fill to.



I think research will show that high pressure oxygen tanks are only filled to 2300 PSI.....

Dale

[Mr. Smiley]

My 330's are supposed to be filled to 2400, but they are routinely 2600-2700.

[IF-Designs]

they gave me an undersized tank a 2015 psi maxed tank.

[pam]

I think you have a problem somewhere along the way. Using my Cheetah, my oxy dropped about 100 lbs. of pressure an hour, perhaps a little more. You must have a leak somewhere. I think my torch is usually about half, or perhaps more, open when I'm making beads. Of course, that varies, but that is probably average. Sometimes when I get my 250 tanks filled they will be at 2000 and sometimes 2500, but usually around 2200.

dam ok thats about where mine was at 2000 anyway it just seems like im going ttrough oxy way to fast and I cant figure it out....im not even running my cheetah full bore and the PSI gauge has dropped to half or less with only about 6-7 houirs out of it

[smutboy420]

I turns out they can be all over the place on psi depending on where you get em. 2,200psi 2,400psi 2,500psi 2,700psi 3,000psi it just seems to be a matter of where you get em from and how there filled.
3,200psi- 4,500psi are useally only on certian tanks.

But a few extra 100 psi makes a pretty huge diffrence in the amount of gas you do get.
Its been a long time sence I had to worry about tanks. But a tank that started out at 2,800 I could torch for awhile till it was down to 2,000-2,200 psi range then I knew I had ABOUT half a tank still. once it was down to 900-1000 range I knew it was going to be nneding a changing soon. But them times when I'd get tank filled. 3,000ish range the extra psi was a lot more gas.

[IF-Designs]

Ok another question when setting the oxy regulator should you set it with your system closed or running? Thats never been explained very well. Should I set it preliminary and start the torch and adjust it to 20psi or should I set it at 20 PSI before I open up the torch?

[kbinkster]

With your torch off, go set your pressures a couple of pounds higher than needed at the regulator. Then, go turn on your torch. While the torch is running, go back to the regulator and adjust it to the right pressure.

[pam]

Kim is right, I think. I have had two-stage regs from the start, so I just set it when it is off and forget about it. Of course it took me a couple of years to figure out why my oxy and propane did not vary like everyone elses. I usually set mine for my Cheetah at 18.

[alissa]

If you don't allready have them you should put hose clamps on them. I have had hoses pop off from the line pressure. let me tell you having a propain hose come off in the middel of torching can be a bit scarry. Just picture a big fire breathing snake whiping around. NOT COOL! cause you have to grab that sucker and kink it off. tho it is pretty impressive to see 5 foot flames shooting out of a rubber hose. If it whips acrost your face or your hair you'r all done. get to the hard ward store and get a set of hose clamps they are 59-89 cents and they are a good oz. of prevention.



I've got clamps - they still leak!

[Dale M.]

Only accurate way to set pressure is with torch valve open...

It is the way it has been taught in welding schools since time began...

There will be a differential between a closed torch valve and open torch valve when setting regulator. So if "normal" use is open valve at torch , and you want exact pressure, you need to set regulator with torch valve open.

Dale

[Dale M.]

I've got clamps - they still leak!

You are doing something wrong if you can not stop leak..... Take torch and hoses to welding supplier or industrial hydraulic hose supplier and ask for technical assistance. Stopping a leak at barbed connection should not be that difficult.

Dale

[alissa]

You are doing something wrong if you can not stop leak..... Take torch and hoses to welding supplier or industrial hydraulic hose supplier and ask for technical assistance. Stopping a leak at barbed connection should not be that difficult.

Dale


I was doing something wrong, actually a few things. First I didn't have the hoses on as far as they needed to be. The hoses I bought from the welding supply were so tight on the barbs that I couldn't get them on far enough. Once I clamped them, they actually leaked more. I finally got a stronger friend to help me, and it's mostly fixed.

I've still got a tiny leak, but I can't figure out where it is. I've spent quite a while painting soap onto connections and checking them out. However, the leak's so slow that I'm not seeing bubbles anywhere. I've tightened and retightened all connections to no avail. My hoses are brand new, too.

[VickieLee]

I also run a Cheetah and go through "about" 100 lbs per hour maybe a bit more if I'm running a little harder with it. I have seven 281 tanks and can go through half a tank in a full day if I'm working ALOT. My pressure is set around 18 psi. As far as the amount of oxygen in your tanks....check the rim of your tank. A 250 tank will be stamped with the DOT # 3aa 2015, and when full will normally read 2,100 when you hook up. A 280 tank is sometimes called a K or a KH tank depending on the company and on the rim will read DOT 3aa 2265 and will have around 2,300 when you hook up. Both of these tanks look exactly the same size so checking the stamped numbers is always a good idea, especially if you are doing an exchange and don't want to go from a 281 to a 250 for an exchange without knowing it.

Vickie

[Dale M.]

Here is a little information to back up what Vickie was saying...


http://www.airgas.com/content/productChart.aspx?chart_type=6

http://www.worthingtoncylinders.com/hp_billet_spec.html
http://www.worthingtoncylinders.com/hp_plate_spec.html

The AIRGAS site will give you the popular "name" for tank size. But only references names to DOT specification (column near left side)... The Worthington site gives you actual physical dimensions of cylinders and capacities (DOT specification)

But according to resident "expert" on another site, you only need to ask for tank by XXX CFM at local gas supplier... ](*,)




Dale

[smutboy420]

You only need to ask for tank by XXX CFM at local gas supplier...

It would seem like going by the cubic foot size would be the easy way.

[kbinkster]

My supplier has gone to using a barcode scanner. I like that he just "scans the can" and all the info is right there.

[Dale M.]

My supplier has gone to using a barcode scanner. I like that he just "scans the can" and all the info is right there.

Providing who ever put scan code label on tank knew what he was doing... Might be a quality control issue...

Dale

[Dale M.]

It would seem like going by the cubic foot size would be the easy way.


If you don't care about accuracy of gas suppliers methods... If you accept his word as gospel, you may have been getting screwed for years and been quite happy till you find out the truth...

Dale

[IF-Designs]

I will agree with dale here....my supplier is just a reseller from the main supplier they are a sattellite place to get tanks so you ddont have to drive a county over. This sucks because they dont know jack crap about what they sell even though they use it! I talked to them about the capacity # and they told me they were all the same and I told them nono they are not some are 2015 some are 22something so on so forth
they didnt believe be till I went back in the back with them to the tanks and showed them here this one is a 2015 this one here is a 2165 and so on...they had no cllue!

Im still having problems though using about 2X the amount of oxy I should be when torching.

[smutboy420]

I was meaning easy as far as terminolgy. But I could see it being a problem if a place don't know the interchanges of the terms.
Like if i go in to the place I used to go to for tanked o2. I can say to the guy at the counter I need to swap out a 255 o2 tank . But when he picks up the walkie talkie to call up to the back He says "we need a K tank of o2 up front" or whatever size it is. I could see it being a problem if a place don't know the conversions. you could even very well be told oh I don't think we have that size if you ask for it in a term they don't use.
I've seen an almost simuler situation happen when a local girl was getting frustrated cause she called every welding place in the book looking to get her tank filled and they all keep telling her no they can't fill her tank.
I turns out. She was asking If she brings in her tank "can they fill it for her." Instead of saying no but we can swap it. They all just said NO we don't fill tanks. She was starting to think they had some thing against her cause she knew others have gotten em from some of the places she called.

What I'm wondering with the amouts from tank to tank vary so much from one place to the next and from one tank to the next at some places. is there any kind of weights and measures issue if a tank is not filled to a mim amount of what it supposed to have in it. if its by cubic foot or some form of measure? it would seem if some one pays for 255 cubic feett of o2 that the tank should have to have atleast 255 cubic feet of o2 in it. Dale do you know if that would be like any other product sold by volume like milk and gasoline?
you seem to be the resident gas guy here. So I figured that might be some thing you might know?

[Dale M.]

Here is chart of popular sizes....Notice wide variation of tank names, all referenced to same dot number.

19665

If you go to the WORTHINGTON site mentioned above and look at tank dimensions per DOT number it will give their specific design capacity (CF) at a specific pressure (psi) it should clear up any mystery.... All tanks have DOT number stamped into top of tank, even last inspection date and some other information we probably don't need. Some tanks have same DOT number so the other criteria for size (capacity) is physical dimension of tank.

Dale