Map gas!!! Finally!

[GabiLoraine]

I finally found map gas and those small propane bottles everyone keeps talking about! It also seems they were right under my nose the whole time. I feel pretty ridiculous now of course.
You see, as some of you know I'm in Panama, where as far as I can tell nobody is doing Lampwork except for me, and I've had to basically rough it down here. My beginners lamp working kit came with a hot head torch, which I was able to easily hook up to a barbeque tank... Then when I acquired my new dual fuel torch I adapted the hose from my barbeque tank to the new torch which has a different fitting from the HH, and got all of the new fittings arrestors regulators etc for the oxygen... And now I'm running low on oxygen and pretty afraid that I'll be screwed in the middle of making a bead or marble.... Of course the oxygen company won't open until Monday.
But anyway... I have devised a plan! So I went out to get a hose so I could hook up my old HH to hold me out until Monday when I can get oxygen again. And found the little map and propane bottles!!!!! So now I will have a backup torch whenever I run out of oxygen or propane!!!! Yaaaayyyy lol! And it's map! So my HH experience is about to significantly improve.

Pretty cool huh! You all are probably like, duh, what was the point of this thread?

Hahaha sorry. Eureka moment for the savage Panamanian.

[KJohn]

Haha! Good find.

[shawnette]

Actually, your experience will be much better with the hose and bulk tank. The little tanks freeze up. You can wrap them in a heating pad, or something, but they still suck. (NEVER get rid of your HH! They're awesome for traveling and stuff.)

[GabiLoraine]

Actually, your experience will be much better with the hose and bulk tank. The little tanks freeze up. You can wrap them in a heating pad, or something, but they still suck. (NEVER get rid of your HH! They're awesome for traveling and stuff.)

I'm not sure about that because the bulk tanks that I get are propane-butane combo which I understand isn't as hot as map? Correct me if I'm wrong?
What do you mean by the little tank freezing up? Do you mean that literally or in some kind of weird chemical way? If you mean literally, hmmmm the coolest it ever gets in Panama City is like 75F....
Anyway I don't know.

[theglasszone]

Yay for you Gabi! I think Shawnette was describing what happens to the outside of the tanks when you run the HH for extended periods of time - they start to "chill" on the outside, and can even form a thin layer of ice on the exterior of the canister, mostly toward the bottom where the gas is most condensed. I've heard people mention that when the tank begins to chill, it does funny things with the flame, but I've had very few problems with flame behavior (or misbehavior!) when my tank begins to chill a bit. If you're making beads, this shouldn't be a problem though as you'll probably be turning off the torch and giving it at least a few moments rest between bead creations.

I make all my murrini on a Hot Head and I run the torch for anywhere from 1 1/2 to 2 hours (it will be nearly empty at this point from running for that length of time straight) at a stretch; I find that keeping the flame fairly low (not sputtering, but a soft, steady flame) can do much to prevent chilling. I think if the tank were to chill fast (within 15-30 minutes of non-stop use) it is a good indicator that you're running it too hot. Also, in colder weather, it seems to tend to chill faster...

I'm sure you're gonna have a blast! I'm so glad you have a "Plan B" - enjoy every minute!

:)
De

[allicat]

Is it MAPP? Or Map Pro (propylene)? We cannot get MAPP here in the states anymore; the company that made it closed. Why no one else has put it into production I haven't the vaguest idea as it apparently works cleaner and hotter than Map Pro (which is a zillion times cleaner than Propane IMHO). I'm hoping, since you're in Panama, that it is the good stuff!

And yes, I use the canisters and totally have the frozen canister issue if I'm working on a bead longer than 45 mins to an hour or so - when the canister gets that cold I loose flame temperature and the pressure drops as well. But I just garage the bead till it warms up and continue.

Alli

[Lisi]

I also say NEVER get rid of your Hothead too, because you can make some pretty awesome beads with it! Seriously, there are things you can do with it that you will not be able to do well with a hotter torch. Gentle heat is very important for some projects.

Hopefully some day soon I can show everyone what I've been talking about. I've been lampworking for 11 years and I have been using a Bobcat for the last 9.5, but if I can say I still LOVE the HH, then that must be saying something!

I found my very old stash of deep rich teal petroleum green, and I'm saving it for the HH! Weee!

[istandalone24/7]

i still wish i hadn't of sold my HH.

[GabiLoraine]

Yay for you Gabi! I think Shawnette was describing what happens to the outside of the tanks when you run the HH for extended periods of time - they start to "chill" on the outside, and can even form a thin layer of ice on the exterior of the canister, mostly toward the bottom where the gas is most condensed. I've heard people mention that when the tank begins to chill, it does funny things with the flame, but I've had very few problems with flame behavior (or misbehavior!) when my tank begins to chill a bit. If you're making beads, this shouldn't be a problem though as you'll probably be turning off the torch and giving it at least a few moments rest between bead creations.

I make all my murrini on a Hot Head and I run the torch for anywhere from 1 1/2 to 2 hours (it will be nearly empty at this point from running for that length of time straight) at a stretch; I find that keeping the flame fairly low (not sputtering, but a soft, steady flame) can do much to prevent chilling. I think if the tank were to chill fast (within 15-30 minutes of non-stop use) it is a good indicator that you're running it too hot. Also, in colder weather, it seems to tend to chill faster...

I'm sure you're gonna have a blast! I'm so glad you have a "Plan B" - enjoy every minute!

:)
De

THANKS!

[GabiLoraine]

Is it MAPP? Or Map Pro (propylene)? We cannot get MAPP here in the states anymore; the company that made it closed. Why no one else has put it into production I haven't the vaguest idea as it apparently works cleaner and hotter than Map Pro (which is a zillion times cleaner than Propane IMHO). I'm hoping, since you're in Panama, that it is the good stuff!

And yes, I use the canisters and totally have the frozen canister issue if I'm working on a bead longer than 45 mins to an hour or so - when the canister gets that cold I loose flame temperature and the pressure drops as well. But I just garage the bead till it warms up and continue.

Alli

Look this is what I have 136553 which is made in the USA. My regular BBQ tank is also made in the USA but refilled locally with a butane/propane combo. When I get to using it i'll let you know if I have that freezing issue.

[GabiLoraine]

I haven't considered selling my HH at all! For many reasons!

[allicat]

*nods* It's MapPro aka Propylene. MAPP was MethylAcetylene-Propadiene Propane. It Supposedly had higher temps than even oxy/acetylene without the level of danger inherent in acetylene. I would LOVE to see what it's like to work with it, but I've never seen it anywhere; looks like the last of it was grabbed long before I started torching *sigh*

And I love my HH too! I have a Minor I plan on setting up this summer (outside torching only), but frankly I enjoy the challenges of the HH. Just recently started getting DH Clio to give me pinks on it - I'm so psyched!