Gas welding safety question

[limax2]

Can a knowledgeable person on gas welding/brazing safety tell me if it is safe to use any of the following equipment which hass not been used for about twenty years:- regulators, flash arrestors, hoses with check valves and a lightweight torch. Also a small acetylene cylinder which still contains some acetylene. Or should i ditch the lot and start afresh with new equipment. (I think I know what the answer will be!)

Details

Details

[BBROWN1664]

I'm no expert but I would have said the torch will be fine but the rest should be tested/binned.

[tommyardin]

tommyardin <<<<<<<<<<< See this bloke? He knows fuck all about it.

I have a recollection that (Might be false) that that type of gas welding equipment has to be licensed or the user licensed , as it will make a rather loud bang and a nasty smell if it all goes wrong (The nasty smell is where all your neighbours for 1/4 mile around you shit themselves when it goes off)


Whether the fittings gauges to bottles are the same threads might be worth checking (Imperial/Metric) the cylinder of acetylene sounds a bit iffy. The torches and gauges look in good nick, and as long as the rubber pipes are not perished at all (Likely places to perish would be around the jubilee type clips or where the pipe work it likely to be stressed by constant bending.


But the main thing to remember is:

tommyardin <<<<<<<<<<< See this bloke? He knows fuck all about it.

[tommyardin]

See the second line of text in my post there are 3 X 'Thats' in the sentence and all in a row next to each other, now how the hell do you take any notice of someone who does that.  

[lew600fazer]

If the acetyline cylinder has been lying on it's side it will be knackered. Also I would remove the flame arresters if possible, strip them down and soak in vinegar. All threads and connections should be exammined for damage. There are also non retun valves in the torch tthese should be looked at. As said flex the hoses and if any sign of cracking on the outer rubber / covering replace. Finally if you are satisfied that all is in order, slowly open the O2 bottle and in a well ventilated area purge through the line upto and including the torch. When satisfied with that do either but preferably both shut the O2 valve on  the bottle and torch and observe if there is any pressure drop, all so though it is a good idea to do a soapy water test around all connections. Repeat the same procedure for the acetyline.
UNDER NO circumstances be tempted touse any oil or grease based products on any threaded sections of the gas bottles or gas regulators.

[limax2]

Thanks for that lew600fazer, all sounds good advise. 👍

[tommyardin]

If the acetyline cylinder has been lying on it's side it will be knackered. Also I would remove the flame arresters if possible, strip them down and soak in vinegar. All threads and connections should be exammined for damage. There are also non retun valves in the torch tthese should be looked at. As said flex the hoses and if any sign of cracking on the outer rubber / covering replace. Finally if you are satisfied that all is in order, slowly open the O2 bottle and in a well ventilated area purge through the line upto and including the torch. When satisfied with that do either but preferably both shut the O2 valve on  the bottle and torch and observe if there is any pressure drop, all so though it is a good idea to do a soapy water test around all connections. Repeat the same procedure for the acetyline.
UNDER NO circumstances be tempted touse any oil or grease based products on any threaded sections of the gas bottles or gas regulators.

lew600fazer <<<<<<<<<<<   See this Bloke? he knows what he's talking about

[limax2]

But the main thing to remember is:

tommyardin <<<<<<<<<<< See this bloke? He knows fuck all about it.

Not 100 percent sure but this might also be good advice! Either way the world loves a trier. 

[mtread]

Let us know how you get on.... .. if you can 

[celticdog]

    I'm a bit rusty as I don't use the tools so much nowadays fella, but have a look at the back of the regulators- there should be a date stamp or a date code. I'd assume that they're well past it if they've been lying as long as you say. Where I work they'd be replaced before use but It really is up to you fella. If you want to test a flashback unit- fill the hose, turn off at the keys at bottle and remove the regulator. The back flow will pop the lever out if all is okay. Refit the regulator and reset the lever. Remember it's left hand thread on the acetylene fittings so it turns the other way.

[limax2]

Thanks celticdog. There was indeed a date on one of the regulators, 1978 😲. Since the rest of the gear is about the same age I have decided to scrap it on safety grounds and have a fresh start. My thinking at the moment is to just use my existing mig setup for my welding needs and go down the oxy/propane route for the occasional brazing job. I already have a rent free oxygen bottle and a propane bottle so cheaper than the acetylene options for what I need. Cheers.

[Bretty]

I can't answer the question but know that acetylene is mega stuff
At college about 20yrs ago, our tutor showed us what happens if you fill a glass milk bottle (remember them? Back in the day when some dodgy looking fella that looks like me used to leave them outside your house!)... anyway fill a glass milk bottle with acetylene
and put a match to it? BANG! and the bottle would literally turn to dust you could rub between your hands!!!

[DILLIGAFF]

From my long ago days working in a metallurgy lab I remember that acetylene cylinders are prone to explode if dropped or banged !!!!