The reason for having flashback arrestors at the torch rather than the tank is that you have a better chance of suppressing a flashback at its source and of protecting your hoses (as well as regulators and tanks). That said, it's good you have them in place, even if they are at the tank.
There are two schools of thought on whether you need an FBA for an oxycon (if you are working on tanked 02, I'd say absolutely have one). Both of you are using surface-mix torches, which aren't particularly prone to flashbacks, but if they do, they more often travel up the 02 side (credit Metalbone, who once posted a very nice rationale on why). Unliked tanked 02, which stores oxygen under very high pressure, the variety of oxycons popular for lampworking don't store the 02 they produce and don't produce it at particularly high pressures. Therefore, the risk of serious injury if a flashback made it all the way up the 02 line is generally considered low. For that reason, there are a number of folks who would rather not take the hit in psi/flow caused by having an 02 flashback arrestor on their oxycons. The second school of thought is that a flashback arrestor provides a degree of protection to what is often an expensive piece of equipment. Some folks would therefore prefer to take the hit on a slight reduction in psi/flow in order to protect their oxycons against potential damage in the event they did experience a flashback.
No wrong answer that I know of.
Linda
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