Propane Regulator was not working, but is now fixed
 

Yesterday I tried to light the torch, and the 2nd gauge did not do anything at all when I turned it on. I took it to a welding supply place today after calling to see if they both sold and did repairs, to see if they could do anything with the old one, but prepared to buy a new one.
I got there and he stuck it on his tank, and it worked. I told him it was not moving at all yesterday, and the flame had been changing on me the last few times at the torch, so even though it was working, he opened it up and found rust! He took that part out and cleaned it, then cleaned everything else in there and put some of his "non-grease grease stuff" (I forget what exactly it is) and put it all back together. It doesn't even squeak when I turn the knob anymore. Then he handed it to me and told me no charge. I tried a couple of times to talk him into charging me something, but no dice.
I did go leave them a 5 star review, and will go back to buy more TIG rod another day, but still feel a little bad that he wouldn't take any money because he didn't replace any parts.

Anyway, if yours goes bad, maybe find someone to see if they can repair it before buying a new one!

great info, Eileen and glad that he was so nice. Things like that can make your day.

I went out and made a few beads to test it out, and wow it is nice to not have the flame changing size on me!

I think it has been happening more than I realized, I guess it just got worse the last few times. I remember thinking it was how the sun was changing, and coming in through the tree and hitting it instead of being constantly in shade that was doing it. But today it held steady and let me torch without fiddling with the knobs unless I wanted to change the flame! Yay!

LOL! We are crossing paths a lot lately. Thanks Eileen. I hadn’t thought about trying to fix my old regulator. I think I bought it in 1998. So maybe it is time to retire it?

I just came to search on the possibility of my 2-stage propane regulator causing or contributing to changes in the flame. The gauge on my regulator “breathes” even though I increased the propane pressure a bit per some thread in this section.

I switched from an oxy-hog Barracuda to a Cricket last month, and that helped but did not entirely eliminate the problem. (That is how I justified the new torch. :) ). The other suspect is my OG-20.

Glad to hear that your flame is behaving properly now!

Aye, regulators should be 'overhauled' by a a tech once every ten years or so even if you don't use them very often.

There are springs and seals and teeny tiny passages that determine how they function and they can get clogged or gummy over time especially with the extremely low pressures we like to work with.

It's also a really good idea to let your fuel and oxygen tanks sit still for some half a day before opening the valves.
That way any gunk in the tanks settles to the bottom.

Oh and using propane in hoses made for welding with acetylene can cause the hoses to disintegrate and get gummy and spit crap and clog your torch.

The same is true of using a regulator made for acetylene with propane gas.
The seals and diaphragms inside regulators can have the same reaction.

I decided to just get a new one, after all these years.

I never heard about letting your tanks sit before opening them. Thanks Phill!