ACETYLENE question

[hallucinas]

Hi there. I was lighting my acetylene torch a bit ago and I accidentally lit it when the valve wasn't letting enough gas through. it made a rapid succession of quiet popping noises and some smoke came from my torch tip. I closed the torch valve and the tank valve and went out of the room. A little while later I came back and turned on the torch

Comments

[bgevans]

I think this is normal. I use an oxyacetylene torch at work. Popping is normal anytime you shut off the acetylene before the oxygen. Acetylene is also quite smoky. It sounds as if you have the right idea about emptying your hoses and turning the regulator down. I use a Victor torch handle as my primary. The valve seats do wear. If so, you'll get a pop AFTER you turn the acetylene off.

Why are you using acetylene, anyway? For fine work, I'd think propane or MAPP gas would work well. Natural gas is indeed lighter than air, but if you confine it in a space and it finds an ignition source you'll be looking for a new house. The nice thing about the above gases is that they're in small containers, which limits the possible problems. Propane has a fairly limited flammable range (unlike acetylene!) so good ventilation should take care of your concerns. I'm in agreement with ramdomdreams on this one.

I am an HVAC mechanic and have done a lot of work on gas furnaces, but I like to think I'm "prudently reluctant" to fiddle with gas lines in any major way...stakes are awfully high.

[hallucinas]

hmm, this is pretty old. I figured out the problem.