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Must have had my head in the sand, COST OF Acetylene, what happened?

Phil in Montana

Stainless
Joined
Jul 31, 2007
Location
Missoula Mt
I was a 10 man shop so I had a lot of full tanks... well after 2 years I ran out of Acetylene, no problem off to the welding supply with 2 empty's, then I got hit 98 bucks a tank for 125cf...last time I filled up the cost was 34 bucks, sure cant cut scrap with Acetylene anymore, is this the going price? ...Phil
 
Same high price around here. Several years back there was an explosion in one of the few remaining acetylene facilities. That explosion sure sold a lot of plasma systems.
 
Get a propane tip for your torch, put the acetylene reg on the propane bottle and dont look back. It will take a tiny bit longer to preheat the metal to start cutting but after that all is about the same. I use the BBQ size bottles.

I looked into that a couple years back, I seem to recall there were some things it did not work well for, cannot remember the details at the moment, but stuck with acetylene.
 
I looked into that a couple years back, I seem to recall there were some things it did not work well for, cannot remember the details at the moment, but stuck with acetylene.

propylene is a better alternative to propane, but you still will have a really hard time (ie not going to be pretty) gas welding. acetylene is so clean and intense, a waste to use it for heating/rosebud work.
 
For white metal work and heating steel for shrink fits, buy a different torch it just uses LPG ( gas bottle ) and the air no oxy bottle.

Mine is a primus brand torch with pilot light, so you can use it for weed removal as well.

will save buying another gas.
 
Wow,weed removal with a torch.....bushfire season here we come......I dumped acetylene at least 50 years ago,might have been more .....Its lovely stuff ,clean spot heat ,quiet, steady,even smells nice .....and horrifically expensive......Used it at the sandblasters ,and the golden ones had free run of the workshop weekends,every Monday ,down to the gas shop ,two big acetylenes ,two big oxys....Young Morons(aka golden ones) couldnt turn a valve off.
 
If your weeding a small patch in winter or when everythings green, your not using chemicals just burning weeds. The pilot light limits gas flow when your not burning and pull the trigger and spot burn, not so wasteful on gas. on edit you don't have to obliterate the weeds just enough to cook them.
Summer time just forget that idea...

Acetylene has its uses, just need to be a bit more specific now and use substitutes where you can..
 
It was $75 the last time I exchanged an ace tank, but that was maybe 8-12 months ago, so we're not burning through it like crazy. Even still, We have several propane-only torch rigs that I've been trying to utilize more for odd stuff and save the oxy-acetylene for welding and brazing.
 
HF weedburner has got to be the best deal in that store.

I light the woodstove with it, the BBQ, the firepit, burn weeds, heat up parts. Big size BBQ tank lasts me 2-3 years.
 
I looked into that a couple years back, I seem to recall there were some things it did not work well for, cannot remember the details at the moment, but stuck with acetylene.

The only thing it will not work for is gas welding. You "can" use the same welding and rosebud tips for heating. Cutting needs the proper propane tips and works really well.
Heating is much nicer with the propane, it wont melt or burn the surface of the steel if you leave torch in one spot for to long.
 
Ive noticed problems brazing with BBQ gas.....seems to be a greasy or oily residue that inhibits brass flow ....I know from forklifts there is a gooey petro polymer that forms in the gas,as well as the odorizer......Shield the metal from direct flame,and the brass instantly flashes over everything.....Still ,cheapness is everything ,IMHO.
 
I went to the carbide site for grins, and 16 oz is $19.99
I got curious and did the calculation:

Calcium Carbide CaC2 64.099 g/mole

16 oz calcium carbide = 1,024 g

1024g/(64.099g/mole) = 15.97 moles

Decomposition of 1 mole of Calcium Carbide makes one mole of acetylene.

At standard conditions (STP) 15.97moles *(22.4 liters/mole) = 357.8 liters

357.8 liters/(28.4l liters/ft^3)=12.6 ft^3

$20/12.6 = $1.59/ft^3 at best.

From Wikipedia "As an example, the British and German standards for the content of the coarser fractions are 295 L/kg and 300 L/kg respectively (at 101 kPa pressure and 20 °C (68 °F) temperature). " This works out to $1.89/ft^3.

$98/125 cubic feet = $.78/ft^3

A bargain!
 
Today I was going through a box from my Dad's house and found this miner's lamp:

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The lower hexagonal compartment holds the calcium carbide, and the small flip lid on the top is the water fill. The lever on the top adjusts the water flow to control the rate of acetylene production. You can also see the striker built into the reflector. The wire on the back allows it to be attached to a hard hat. The overall height is about 4"
 

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I am a small time user, I went to the local ACE hardware store that exchanges bottles, I had one small oxygen and one small acetylene and it cost me $281.00 to get out of there. I said there was no way that could be right, they called the new manager he tried to discount it agreeing it was too much but the store computer wouldn’t let him.
If I didn’t already have the full bottles loaded I would have tried something else.
When I started buying oxygen many years ago I remembered paying $10.00 a bottle for small oxygen it hurt when it went to $14.00 now it’s $69.00. The rest was for the acetylene and tax.
Is that anywhere near right for small time over the counter exchanges?
 
I am a small time user, I went to the local ACE hardware store that exchanges bottles, I had one small oxygen and one small acetylene and it cost me $281.00 to get out of there. I said there was no way that could be right, they called the new manager he tried to discount it agreeing it was too much but the store computer wouldn’t let him.
If I didn’t already have the full bottles loaded I would have tried something else.
When I started buying oxygen many years ago I remembered paying $10.00 a bottle for small oxygen it hurt when it went to $14.00 now it’s $69.00. The rest was for the acetylene and tax.
Is that anywhere near right for small time over the counter exchanges?

I don't know what "small" bottles are, but you're paying 2-3 times what big bottles cost for a small user.
 








 
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