My oxygen is gone already??

[mamagerbs]

I just got my Red Max set up, with a small (maybe 2 feet tall) oxygen tank. I played for about 3 hours yesterday and an hour today, mostly on the minor, a bit on the big one. And now my oxygen is gone? Seriously?

My husband set the torch up for me and I think he probably set the pressure too high on the regulators. What should the settings be for a red max? Is it different for different torches?

[LarryC]

That tank sounds very small. I run a Lynx on S size tanks (4+ ft tall) and I get 8-10 hours on one. I am guessing your tank is no more than half the volume of mine so 4 hours sounds just right.

[Baywinger]

the red max part of your torch will consume oxygen at a high rate
when I borrowed friends wildcat torch and a midrange plus torch, I would run through my large 240cf tank in about 6-7 hours.
I wound up getting a second 240cf tank.

[Bunyip]

Yep. Sounds about right. Welcome to oxygen junkie land.

[patienthand]

you need bigger tanks

[menty666]

Yup, the red max is a great torch. It's not an efficient torch though :)

I set mine at 5/15

[cheng076]

Go with the largest tanks you can;
a. afford
b. move around

oxygen is less expensive in larger quantities... bigger tanks. If possible buy your tanks as the rental fees are amortized quickly.

PJH

[LePatron]

I'm surprised you got that long off of that sized tank. On a tank twice the size you'd normally get 4-6 hours on a Red Max. You'd be wise to upgrade to a K tank or a 160cuft size tank for sure. Good luck with everything.

[obsessionwoman]

I suggest a larger tank and buying a backup...I have 2 S tanks..these are the largest that
I myself can put in my SUV....hopefully my hubby can do this for me....thus the backup..
You will still be torching on a fresh tank and he will be running down to get your other one filled.......Lenora

[LarryC]

I suggest a larger tank and buying a backup...I have 2 S tanks..these are the largest that
I myself can put in my SUV....hopefully my hubby can do this for me....thus the backup..
You will still be torching on a fresh tank and he will be running down to get your other one filled.......Lenora

Same setup as me. I chose the S for a similar reason. When I handle a tank, though, I always roll and never lift. If this goes south for some reason, the S is the heaviest tank I can handle the weight of myself. K's would be nice but a bit beyond me to lift.

[menty666]

I used to throw the S's over my shoulder, but when I moved up to the K tanks I started using the moving dolly.

[Conrad Hoffman]

I have the same size tank for my bullet and that sounds about right. My projects take little time so that small tank works well for me, plus the gas people are just across town and don't charge too much. IMO, any serious glass worker going for hours at a time needs to be running the big tanks!

[Juln]

I like S tanks. They're a comfortable weight to move and handle, and hold a decent amount of oxygen.

Usually use Ks though, since I go through oxygen quickly, but I hate handling them. It's horrible.

I don't like being on anything other than liquid, really. I have a 160L liquid tank at the moment.

What should the settings be for a red max? Is it different for different torches?

Yes, pressure is definitely different for various torches. I run Lynxes at 3-6 propane and 15-25 oxy, and then larger torches all the way up to 25 propane and 100 oxy.

[Rareripes]

When I found myself going through 20 dollars and 2 trips to get my oxygen every week,I decided it was going to be more cost effective to get an Oxybox.I never run out and it has paid for itself at least 2 times over.I know its an investment a lot of people can't make at one time but if you can..its a great way to go.

[laserglass]

ALL TORCHES HAVE THE SAME EFFICIENCY. it has nothing to do with anything except chemistry. not pressure, not fuel, not the torch. possibly you should purchase a high volume oxycon with at least 15 l/min output.

[ginkgoglass]

Maybe I am misunderstanding what you are saying, but I respectfully disagree with the statement about torches.
My barracuda which is technically a smaller torch than my Mirage, is an oxygen sucker and seems to eat it like I can eat chocolate. The Mirage is hotter and more penetrating with the same oxygen tank. I think because of that fact I use the outer ring less on the Mirage and end up using less oxygen.

Even the crickets that are in the teaching studio seem to work better with boro than the cuda.
Don't get me wrong, I love my cuda, It gets the finest needle flame as well as a bushy flame but it takes a lot of oxygen to get the job done.

[Bunyip]

Yep. Cuda seem to be oxy hogs, but I'm glad I have one. Now to copy Lana and get a Mirage so I can pick the flame I need for any particular job :)

I use K tanks (technically 220's), and I have 3, which means that I don't have to make a trip to the oxy store quite so often. They're pretty easy to get into and out of a pickup, and you can spin them on their bottoms to move them (2 at a time if you're real skilled!) or use a dolly. I use a dolly =) One suggestion: Get a dolly with inflated tires rather than solid. It makes life a lot easier when you can just roll over little bumps rather than having to heave.

[LarryC]

Do you deliver, Chris? :)

[menty666]

My redmax is a hog too, but it's also inefficient because it throws a lot of radiant heat laterally. Still, it's easy to use and hard to hurt it

[ewdb]

good grief, so how often do you boro users have to refill your tanks? every couple days?
<<...now seriously reconsidering whether boro is an option for me...>>

[BellaBean]

Tanked oxy is expensive around here (about $70 per fill for a K tank). I used to need at least one fill for every 20-30 hours of torch time depending on how hot I needed to work. I hated having to budget my torch time, so I invested in an oxycon.

[LePatron]

good grief, so how often do you boro users have to refill your tanks? every couple days?
<<...now seriously reconsidering whether boro is an option for me...>>

Couple days? I'd love to get a day off of one tank. :) My Mirage goes through 160cuft of oxygen in around 4-6 hours. I'm a pipe maker.

But, I do make my own oxygen. I fill a tank every 20 hours with a Homefill ($400-$600) a 15psi/5lpm concentrator ($300) and a custom high pressure tank adapter for the homefill with a gauge on it so I know when they are done.

http://i1204.photobucket.com/albums/bb416/wakeglass/Misc030.jpg

http://i1204.photobucket.com/albums/bb416/wakeglass/Misc013.jpg

http://i1204.photobucket.com/albums/bb416/wakeglass/Misc014.jpg

Tanked oxy is expensive around here (about $70 per fill for a K tank). I used to need at least one fill for every 20-30 hours of torch time depending on how hot I needed to work. I hated having to budget my torch time, so I invested in an oxycon.

You're being robbed blind. :) K tank shouldnt be over $25 to get filled on the East Coast unless your in the boonies........ If you are in the boonies, refer to the homefill pictures above :) :)

[LarryC]

$22 for a K tank fill, $18 for my S tank here in northern california. I use Praxair and own two tanks outright. I fill usually once or twice a week. I run a Lynx but am in the process of switching to a Mirage so that consumption will increase a bit.

[gmarv]

hey lepatron
who did you get your home fill system from?

[LePatron]

hey lepatron
who did you get your home fill system from?

Mine was local from craigslist, $400 with two tanks which I sold for $165 each making the Homefill compressor cost $70. :)

[Baywinger]

Tanked oxy is expensive around here (about $70 per fill for a K tank). I used to need at least one fill for every 20-30 hours of torch time depending on how hot I needed to work. I hated having to budget my torch time, so I invested in an oxycon.

Shop around if you can and talk to the shops don't just pay retail
Retail here in Norcal is $40 a K tank by shopping around then doing a little bargaining I now pay$18 a K tank

[Bunyip]

Tanked oxy is expensive around here (about $70 per fill for a K tank). I used to need at least one fill for every 20-30 hours of torch time depending on how hot I needed to work. I hated having to budget my torch time, so I invested in an oxycon.

WTFX2.

$70.00 per tank is robbery. I pay $10 for a K tank... which is on the low side. 15-20 is more common in my area. HOWEVER, the prices are very negotiable, and they will absolutely charge you whatever they think they can get away with.

At times, you also have to remember that you're not necessarily dealing with the brightest people too - and that just because they're not bright it doesn't mean they're not also crooked....

I actually recently was price shopping, I called one supplier, told them what I was getting tank fills for and they said "For you we can come down to $16.00" HUH? I guess they thought I was kidding. Way to not earn MY business. Next, I tried Praxair and they insisted I would have to pay $25.00, there was no way I could be getting the price I was getting, but maybe if I opened up an account they could give me a discount on their quoted price (up to 15%! whoopdedoo) if I did enough volume. Yea, they don't need to do me any favors either...

Thank God for my supplier =) I did find another decent price who is now my backup supplier. They want $13 but it's kind of a long drive so that's desperation city..

Re: Oxygen Concentrators - You can do boro on oxycons, but as I found it is limiting - size wise and color-wise. The tank fill systems get mixed reviews, but I hear they're pretty nice if you can get good purity - which may require additional equipment. For some things it may not matter - fumie pipes etc, but for metal-heavy colors it seems that purity is extremely important.

[castaway]

Well I wouldn't discount the oxycons, lots of people are running phantoms on them and working full time in boro, you need about 20lpm so a couple of 10s is the usual way to go, there are many different brands and they all seem to work I run two OG20s all the time and switch in a third one if I have two torches running on the bench, recently we ran two phantoms on the three, I have worked on tanked oxy and there isn't that much difference, you just have to learn to run the torch a little differently. the filling systems will cost more than two 10 liter machines and are not ideal. A cheetah or a cricket will run fine on one 10lpm machine
cheers, Bernard