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"remote" oxy acetylene setup?

MotoX

Cast Iron
Joined
Nov 14, 2011
Location
Enid, Oklahoma
Hi all

We are a babbitt bearing manufacturing facility.

We are currently overhauling our babbitt pouring department, and looking for an alternative for our rosebud torch setup.

I'm looking to do away with the tanks and hose being "in the way".

I had an idea to store the tanks in a remote area, and plumb some lines over to an overhead hose reel.

Is this feasible?

What would i need to use for the plumbing to the hose reel?

What would OSHA say?

thanks,
Greg
 
The first shop I worked at had an acetylene generator out back with lines into the shop. so yes it is possible.
Talk to your welding supply store, they have or can get everything required.
 
I have worked in a couple fab shops that were set up like that, the tanks were on opposite sides of the building outside in little "chicken coop" like sheds all plumbed into a manifold with a single regulator. Hoses were on reels on the wall or there were a couple drops in the middle of the shop where you could hook up a hose using quick connects. Emergency shut off system in one shop was built using a hydraulic system, pressure drop in the line caused a valve to shut down the manifolds and vent all the gases in the shop lines outside. Had gate valves and fuseable plugs all down one wall so a fire would set it off or you could hit a gate valve and dump the coolant and shut down the lines.

I have no clue if OSHA would approve or even consider allowing a system like this in a new construction. Those shops I worked in were easily 40+ years old.
 
Real daft question but with acetylene costing what it does, would it not bea cheaper to switch to propane? Or propene or how ever its spelt?

Both are liquid gas hydrocarbons, a lot cheaper and a lot easier to handle. May offer some real cost savings at minimal time costs as your only dealing with babit.

That said were i use to work was fully plumbed into every welding bay, acetlyne, oxygen, compressed air, breatheing air, argon and mig mix. Was not cheap to set-up, but sure made day to day work easy and left the store man to keep the banks changed - boc to keep the big tanks full. The acetylene was on 2 banks of multiple large bottles. Also had to be in steel lines, not copper! Unlike the other gases. The fire risk realy if anything was way down compared to bottles being in a large shop, minimal leak risks and a good shut of system linked to the alarm + shut off at night. The fire brigade loved it too as they knew the building had no big tanks in it which really did make it safer. Whilst a line failing would result in a big flame, its nothing like the potential danger of a tank going up!
 
thanks for the info!

This is far from a new building, we are just renovating. This shop has been here since 1928, the building was here before that.
 








 
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