donaldduck
2007-10-30, 12:10pm
For the love of GOD, people, I could really use a straight answer...
My mother and I have been using hot head torches for the last six months or so, and are frustrated by the freezing up and the constant bottle changes. We took the leap and ordered 2 GTT Bobcats, and two 5LPM oxycons from pyronamix, which have been sitting at the house for months now, waiting for us to pull the rest of the studio together. Mom remembered that we have an unused residential propane line running to our laundry room, which butts right up against the rec room, where we were planning to install torch space. We've got the floor, the bench, metal backsplashes, a 500 cfm vent fan and plans for a DIY hood solution, and last week, I called the gas company to talk about the gasline.
I've seen a lot of discussion here about natural gas and Bobcats, but little or nothing about using residential propane. (One might start thinking, gee, perhaps there is a reason for that?) I scheduled a consultation with a rep for our local gas company and met with him last tuesday to explain what our goals were, and show him the gas connection, the torch, the hoses, and everything else we'd amassed. Roger (We'll call him by his name, because it's quicker to type than "clueless unhelpful money-grubbing moron") assured me that everything would work perfectly fine, they'd run the gas line through the wall to the opposite side, adjust it to our desired height and fit everything out for $400. Which...to be honest, seemed really high to me, (the "adjustment" is about 6-8") but I wanted it done quickly, and he was able to schedule the appointment within the week, which brings me to this morning.
At 9 a.m., Jimbo-the-installer (a very nice, knowledgeable, respectful and HELPFUL individual, but again, "Jimbo" is shorter to type) arrived to begin the work. I walked him again through our goals, and he pointed out right away that Roger had given him the wrong nozzles to install, and that we'd need adaptors to go from the house line to the hoses. He also raised the question of what pressure our propane lines were, though apparently (according to the propane guy at our supplier. We'll call him "Chad", because that's his name, but he gets even nicer descriptors than Jimbo, despite being the bearer of bad news. He is awesome.) it ought to have been a no-brainer that the line in question, being meant to supply a gas dryer, could only be a 1/2 psi line at most.
I talked to someone at GTT (unfortunately, I didn't get his name. My bad. But also extremely helpful) who said that the torch could run at 2 psi or even 1 psi, no problem, which (since I hadn't yet spoken to Chad) reassured me that I was still okay. I've also seen several references in this forum and others to running small torches like bobcats and minors on 1/2 psi Natural Gas. Having since had the Chad-talk, (and to make an extremely long story much, much shorter....)
Can I run a GTT Bobcat on 1/2 psi residential propane, or not?
If the answer is no, then Roger is most certainly NOT receiving any of his $400. (And I'd like to charge him for the day and a half I've taken off work to meet with him, but I'm sure they won't pay it.) If the answer is yes, then he'll be receiving that amount, minus whatever else it costs me to adapt the 1/2 black malleable pipeline to my already purchased torch hoses, which he assured me they'd be able to connect by the end of the project.
Help me, Lampworketc gurus. You're my only hope.
My mother and I have been using hot head torches for the last six months or so, and are frustrated by the freezing up and the constant bottle changes. We took the leap and ordered 2 GTT Bobcats, and two 5LPM oxycons from pyronamix, which have been sitting at the house for months now, waiting for us to pull the rest of the studio together. Mom remembered that we have an unused residential propane line running to our laundry room, which butts right up against the rec room, where we were planning to install torch space. We've got the floor, the bench, metal backsplashes, a 500 cfm vent fan and plans for a DIY hood solution, and last week, I called the gas company to talk about the gasline.
I've seen a lot of discussion here about natural gas and Bobcats, but little or nothing about using residential propane. (One might start thinking, gee, perhaps there is a reason for that?) I scheduled a consultation with a rep for our local gas company and met with him last tuesday to explain what our goals were, and show him the gas connection, the torch, the hoses, and everything else we'd amassed. Roger (We'll call him by his name, because it's quicker to type than "clueless unhelpful money-grubbing moron") assured me that everything would work perfectly fine, they'd run the gas line through the wall to the opposite side, adjust it to our desired height and fit everything out for $400. Which...to be honest, seemed really high to me, (the "adjustment" is about 6-8") but I wanted it done quickly, and he was able to schedule the appointment within the week, which brings me to this morning.
At 9 a.m., Jimbo-the-installer (a very nice, knowledgeable, respectful and HELPFUL individual, but again, "Jimbo" is shorter to type) arrived to begin the work. I walked him again through our goals, and he pointed out right away that Roger had given him the wrong nozzles to install, and that we'd need adaptors to go from the house line to the hoses. He also raised the question of what pressure our propane lines were, though apparently (according to the propane guy at our supplier. We'll call him "Chad", because that's his name, but he gets even nicer descriptors than Jimbo, despite being the bearer of bad news. He is awesome.) it ought to have been a no-brainer that the line in question, being meant to supply a gas dryer, could only be a 1/2 psi line at most.
I talked to someone at GTT (unfortunately, I didn't get his name. My bad. But also extremely helpful) who said that the torch could run at 2 psi or even 1 psi, no problem, which (since I hadn't yet spoken to Chad) reassured me that I was still okay. I've also seen several references in this forum and others to running small torches like bobcats and minors on 1/2 psi Natural Gas. Having since had the Chad-talk, (and to make an extremely long story much, much shorter....)
Can I run a GTT Bobcat on 1/2 psi residential propane, or not?
If the answer is no, then Roger is most certainly NOT receiving any of his $400. (And I'd like to charge him for the day and a half I've taken off work to meet with him, but I'm sure they won't pay it.) If the answer is yes, then he'll be receiving that amount, minus whatever else it costs me to adapt the 1/2 black malleable pipeline to my already purchased torch hoses, which he assured me they'd be able to connect by the end of the project.
Help me, Lampworketc gurus. You're my only hope.