hot head help!?!??

[meadowesky]

I bought shane a hothead on here a few months ago and we are setting up tonight. I get it all hooked up with the bulk hose and i can barely get it lighted. It keeps blowing out the flame. I tried opening up the propane tank in different amounts. and I tried messing with the knob that is on the hot head itself. the only way I could get it lit was to wrap my hand around the little air ports and light it that way. What am I doing wrong??
When I started I had the flameworks torch and that wasnt near as loud as this is. Is this normal?
And did I get the old style or the new? The head of the torch seems to rotate about a 1/2 turn but there is just the one knob that has the on/ off on it.

[Judi_B]

Oh you bring back memories of the first time I tried to light my hothead :roll: They are hard to light! The trick is to sneak the flame up to the bottom edge of the mouth of the torch while turning on the gas at the torch valve. The valve on the propane tank should be open all the way. And yes, hotheads are loud :lol: I loved my hothead while I used it, but I don't miss the noise :wink:

[Dale M.]

Open tank valve all the way.... Open torch valve small amount, bring flame from match or striker up from underneath torch head....Do not light match and put in front of torch head and turn torch on... IT will blow out match every time....

There should be nothing loose to rotate on torch body or head.... Other than control knob...

If you have new model of HH it is very poor when it comes to flame adjustability....

Dale

[meadowesky]

I just hooked up my old flameworks torch to the bulk line. It works fine. and is a bit quieter. is it okay to run the flameworks on the bulk??

how do I know if the hothead is the old or new one? When I am feeling less frustrated I might try the hothead out again for him. I guess we will see.
now I have to share my glass :(
LOL

[meadowesky]

the valve on the propane should be open all the way?!?!? is that the same on the flameworks then??

[meadowesky]

Shane wants to know why is it that when the propane tank is off you can still get propane from the line. I mean the normal "bleeding the line" is fine but after that time it still has stuff coming out of the hose. Is it just air that smells like propane or ???

[Judi_B]

Yes, the main valve on the propane tank should be open all the way for all torches.

[daffodildeb]

My HH used to take forever to burn off--a lot longer than my Minor. Both on the same tank with the same length hose.

BTW, I agree with the advice to bring the match up from below. That was the way I was taught in my first classes. Worked for me!

[Judi_B]

There shouldn't be any propane coming out after bleeding the line off. It does take a lot longer to bleed the line on a hothead because the propane in the line was at 100+ psi. With an oxy/propane torch the propane in the line is only at 2-5 psi. Lots more gas in the hothead line. I hope thats all it is. Oh yeah, the flame will go out before the line completely bleeds out - not enough pressure to support the flame. So you will have to bleed off the rest of the propane without burning it. That may be what's happening.

[meadowesky]

okay, so I am not going to blow up.. that is always good news LOL

[meadowesky]

so one last question,
how do I tell if I have the old version or the new and
ooo one more,
is it okay to run the flameworks on the bulk line??

[ellyloo]

never mind. :)

[Judi_B]

I don't know the answer to either those questions :-s
One more thing on bleeding off the hothead. I used to do it in short bursts after the flame went out, giving time for the gas to disperse in between. I didn't like bleeding off that much propane all at once. Also a note of caution if you are using the hothead or flameworks inside - be ultra careful about checking for leaks. At 100+ psi a lot of gas can escape in a very short time.

[meadowesky]

thanks alot for all of the advice Judi! and everyone!
We sprayed the connections to be sure there were no leaks.

[KEW]

I used to pull stringer, attach small ends, lots of stuff in the time it took for my HH setup to bleed out (it's surprising how much you can get done!). I also wore protective ear muffs to quiet the noise. It's loud.

[meadowesky]

so to make sure I have this right, I should turn off the tank and continue to keep the hothead on while the propane burns out? and then bleed the rest of the line.
It bothers me to no end thinking of releasing all of that propane into my room. Especially with another torch and a big kiln running. Arent you guys scared ? :lol:

[x_phoenician]

My HH torch doesn't have a head that rotates that I'm aware of, maybe you can go here and email them
http://www.hotheadsource.com/index.html
and ask if they know which one you have (old or new) and if there's concern over the torch head swiveling. I don't think I'd be using it until I found out.

[Dale M.]

If you have proper VENTILATION there will be no danger of propane explosion because the ventilation SHOULD pull all the gas out of studio... IF you smell propane during bleed off process, your ventilation is not adequate...

Dale

[Judi_B]

so to make sure I have this right, I should turn off the tank and continue to keep the hothead on while the propane burns out? and then bleed the rest of the line.
It bothers me to no end thinking of releasing all of that propane into my room. Especially with another torch and a big kiln running. Arent you guys scared ? :lol:

I never used my hothead inside. Even bleeding off the propane outside I did it in short burst over a half hour or so to allow the gas to dissipate. If you're using it inside, be sure your ventilation is pulling everything out immediately. I don't think releasing that much propane into the room would be good at all.

edit: I type slow, Dale beat me to it :)