Hot Head w/ Mapp Gas Bottle-Flame Gone Off???

[chimehk]

I'm new in making glass beads. Just set up my Hot Head torch using MAPP gas bottle last nite. After using it for over an hour, the MAPP gas bottle becomes cold and moist. I stop for a break and use it again after 2 hours, but in the middle of making a bead, the flame just turn off by itself. And I have to reignite it again. It's very hard with a mandrel of a half finish bead on one hand. Is this normal? Any suggestions on ways that I can be able to used it continuously for hours?

[-o<

[SassyCassie]

It's not "normal" for it to just shut off. Usually when it starts to get cold, the pressure will drop and your flame will get weaker, but not abruptly shut off.

With the newer HotHeads, if you turn your flame down too low, it does shut off. Were you working with a low flame? If so, that's probably your culprit!

Cass

[chimehk]

Thanks Cass
I think that might be it. I didn't turn it full blast since the flame is already very strong coz the gas bottle was new. Also I think it shut off when I placed the mandrel on the torch surface for support to poke holes on the beads. Don't know if that causes it as well.

[Sue in Maine]

Rather than wait for 2 hours for the mapp bottle to thaw, you can set a bowl of warm/hot water under the tank and hold it up onto the tank to thaw it. I used to do that before I went to the larger tank of propylene on my hh.

Some people will switch tanks but I didn't like to do that cuz the torch head was so hot. Not being very coordinated, I always seemed to burn myself when switching tanks.

Sue