How much work time do you get out of an oxy tank?

[Lisi]

I was talking to Sara (midniteburner) on the phone the other night and I was amazed to find out how long an oxy tank will last with the hours that she puts in. She was talking about the full size tank, like about 5ft tall?? Someone please educate me, what is the typical tank size, is it by cubic measurements??

So, how many work hours do you get from a tank, and what torch are you using? I'm trying to justify using it for boro or for the outer ring on a torch, like the Barracuda, for example. I run my Bobcat with a generator, but I want a larger torch for borosilicate. Eventually, down the road...

[bclogan]

I have a Piranha that I run on propane and oxy tank. My oxygen tank is the 125 cuft size. I don't know the exact dimensions of the tank though off-hand, and I'm not at home to measure it.

I can get about 3 eight-hour sessions from that tank, if I'm careful to turn off the torch when I'm not actively making a bead (like to search for another rod of glass, etc, NOT just to put the bead in the kiln and then start to make the next one).

[kbinkster]

Well, how much oxygen a particular tank holds varies by supplier. A typical K tank holds about 285 cubic feet. How long that lasts depends on several factors, including the torch being run, the type of flame being run (in both size and chemistry), the working style of the user, the size of the piece being worked, etc.

A good benchmark to use is the oxygen consumption rate of the torch being used. If you know that the torch was tesed out to use X cubic feet per hour while running its maximum neutral flame, then you would divide the number of cubic feet you have in your tank by X and get the number of hours you could run the torch at that setting.

Of course, few people run the torch at that setting non-stop. Most run it much lower than that setting, but do bump up the oxygen when running an oxidizing flame. So, the consumption rate just gives a rough approximation of the top range of what you could expect to use. Now, if you are constantly running an oxidizing flame, you could use more than the consumption rate at the largest neutral flame per hour simply because you are passing more oxygen through the torch than is needed for a neutral flame. You will end up using more oxygen per piece worked, as well, because an oxidizing flame is not efficient (it is cooler than a neutral flame) and it takes longer to heat a piece using an oxidized flame than a neutral one.

[PaulaD]

Lisi if you want a bigger torch stick with the GTT's. You will be much happier than with a Barracuda unless you like getting burnt on the barrel all the time or all of the heat that the barrel throws in your face...I have no idea who designed that torch but IMHO it's awful.
Paula

[G.L.McBead]

A Knight Bullet is a lot less $'s and a much better torch IMHO.
Oh and it don't get to hot to touch.
G.

[ginkgoglass]

I've got a Cuda which I dearly love, but I'm sure there are other great torches out there. I switched to 2 oxycons because I was ripping thru a tank of oxygen every other day and I got tired of lugging the tank back to the welding shop for more. I don't think I was even running my torch 6 hours a day.

[barbaracollins]

Now that I have three M-15's from Unlimited Oxygen, I have no Oxygen worries. I love it!

[bclogan]

A Knight Bullet is a lot less $'s and a much better torch IMHO.


What size concentrators are you using for the center fire of the Bullet? Would one M-15 be enough? That's the concentrator I'm thinking of getting when I can scrape the cash together. And down the road I'm thinking of going with the bullet. So I'd rather get the right oxycon from the start. And I don't really want to use 2, for space considerations.

Barbara

[SadiesJewels]

I recently upgraded to a GTT torch and went back to tanks - I have two and they are 282 .... I am told that 251 is the normal in my area (so they have problems swapping them out usually and simply add more O2 to the tank)??? I think I still get "K" tanks ... They're heavy and hard to swap ... to cut down on the delivery (currently $25 in my area) I now take them to the suppliers and swap out there. I get through a tank a month or so depending on how much I am torching. I expect it to run out sooner if I need to torch every day but I've been very pleased with how much I can get out of the tank with the GTT torch.

Sadie

[Cosmo]

With my CC, I can get about 8-9 hours out of one of the big tanks (I think mines a 290) if I'm running it wide open the whole time. If I'm running the center fire most of the time, I can get a week or so out of it.