View Single Post
  #2  
Old 2012-05-05, 8:07pm
Bunyip's Avatar
Bunyip Bunyip is offline
Pyromaniac
 
Join Date: Jun 27, 2006
Location: Out there on the interwebs
Posts: 1,784
Default

15 LPM should give you enough oxy for a lot of happy boro work, provided you have enough pressure. Brent Graber worked his magic on 2 M-15's (16 LPM total) I believe, though I think he has since gone liquid. You won't be making 2" marbles quickly, but then again, that's not so quick on a barracuda even on tanked. And the radiant heat from the barracuda in general, oy... My fingers look like raw meat if I rage too much...

If you go the K tank route, get 3 tanks (It's what I have). Best bet long term is "customer owned", preferably buy used tanks at a reasonable price rather than from the supplier at full retail for what amounts to used tanks (it's a racket). Legitimate customer owned tanks will not have anything stamped on the collar just below the valve - except on rare occasions when they will say 'customer owned' or something similar. Tanks with writing on the collar identifying a company may be considered stolen goods by an oxy provider. This is a bad thing and if you have a touchy oxy supplier things can go badly. While you will probably not be arrested the tank will most likely not be filled and may be confiscated when you try to have it filled.

The benefit of having 3 tanks is less trips to the oxy store, and you can get into a fairly simple routine: When you hook up tank #3, remember to go to the oxy store before you kill it. Working boro on the cuda's center fire only you're good for up to 10 hours on a tank (maybe 12 but that's pretty optimistic), depending on how conservative you are - I get more like 8 unless I'm working soft glass....and of course you get less if you run the outer ring or even if you're raging the center fire.

If you go the liquid oxy route, there's a lot to consider. I've done the research but have not used liquid oxy in my work except at other's shops. Here is what I've gleaned thus far: If you're not using enough oxygen, it may vent. Loudly. The neighbors will likely think this is a bad thing, perhaps even an emergency worthy of calling 911. Which would be a bad thing in itself. Next off is the "own it or rent it" dilemma, which I will leave to you after suggesting you try to find a used dewar... Finally, most oxygen providers will not deliver to a residential neighborhood, and if you're renting may not rent to you if they think or know it will be located in a residential area. This will vary by location. In most residential situations, my conclusion has been that it would be better to have a "customer owned" dewar and transport it yourself. I believe Trey Cornette went this route, and utilizes a small trailer for this. Ideally you could leave the dewar on the trailer, back it up to the hookup, and save a lot of hassles.

PS: When talking to oxygen suppliers, I would suggest calling around and getting prices multiple. If possible, don't identify yourself in this initial stage, but hint that you're thinking of SWITCHING suppliers from a competitor and were wondering what their prices were like. Whatever amount they give you initially will likely be a much higher rate than you should be paying. Make sure they are aware that you know that. I pay just under $10.00 a tank these days. Your quotes will be more than twice that, perhaps even triple unless you can establish that you know what you are talking about and foster a good working relationship with your supplier. I've heard it said by some that trinkets seem to smooth that path but I've yet to resort to that in my negotiations. One last hint: Save the guy who is closest and most convenient for last... that way you'll be armed with much more knowedge when opening negotiations.
__________________
Chris Scala

Fortune Cookie say, "When things go wrong, don't go with them!"

Current Glass-Melting Apparatus:
GTT Lynx powered by 2 5 LPM Oxycons and
a sexy Barracuda running pure tanked Oxy
Reply With Quote