[TheForge] Re: [knife-list] Oxy-Acetylene Questions

[John Frankl]

Craig and Everyone who responed,

Thanks alot. I really appreciate the info. Looks like I'll be holding off
on it until I have a safer space.

John

On Tue, 26 Feb 2002, Craig L Smith wrote:

> John,
>
> About that acetylene,
>
> Unless you have specific applications that require Mapp gas or anything
> else, I would use acetylene. It is hotter for cheaper than the others.
>
> However, I would never use it in a basement. Acetylene can reach, what,
> 6300 degrees F? That's a lot of heat in one place for a basement. Plus it
> produces copious amounts of carbon dioxide which we found out two
> centuries ago would do things like kill mice. A nice thought now and
> then, until we realize that what kills mice...
>
> At high temps, too, acetylene will produce some other compounds such as
> benzene which is really nasty stuff to breathe.
>
>
> And if your apartment basement has a smoke or fire alarm, you'll cause
> some interest in your doings in the basement. Unless you own the place,
> you might  want to think twice before running an oxyacetylene rig down
> there.
>
> I own one, and it is extremely convenient for me in what I do, which is
> hobbyist-grade doodlings in steel and aluminum. The tanks are fairly
> expensive to buy (depending on the size, expect to pay about $140 to $150
> per tank), but the price of the gas after that is quite reasonable, about
> $20 for a 195 cubic foot oxy tank and about twice that for a No 5
> acetylene. These are midlle-sized tanks, but they fit on my cart so I
> stay with them.
>
> The acetylene, by the way, is dissolved in a liquid--toluene?--because
> even in its liquid form it's explosive, so you can imagine how unstable
> it is in a compressed gas form. A hundred years ago, when we didn't know
> this, we had acetylene generating and compressing plants in the US, but
> eventually every single one of them blew up because this stuff is so
> touchy. So now we hold it in solution and everybody's happy. And safe.
>
> Anyway, I would encourage you to  go ahead and get some oxyacetylene if
> you have a use for it and a place to fire it up, but I would never do so
> in any enclosed place. You could do so many times without problem, but
> all it takes is just one little mistake, and you'll be making friends
> with your local firefighter real fast.
>
> Craig
> ________________________________________________________________
> GET INTERNET ACCESS FROM JUNO!
> Juno offers FREE or PREMIUM Internet access for less!
> Join Juno today!  For your FREE software, visit:
> http://dl.www.juno.com/get/web/.
> [ to unsubscribe send text "unsubscribe knife-list" to majordomo@swcp.com ]
>