Re: Oxy acetylene consumtion
First thing I thought of is the safety rule to not run A over 7PSI, I was taught this 45 years ago and also run my A and O about the same at 4/5PSI each. I also see my A emptying out quicker then the O for "the same size" tanks.
The flame is what determines the relative rate of gas consumption. A neutral flame will use the same amount of gas independent of the reg's output PSI. I use a neutral or a slightly reducing flame for the vast majority of my work. Andy
Re: Oxy acetylene consumtion
Three things, your oxygen bottle is probably larger and is filled to a much higher pressure, acetylene is suspended in a porous material in the bottle to stabilize it, which takes up space inside the bottle. So not only do you have more oxygen in a larger bottle, but there is nothing else in the oxygen bottle taking up space. For normal brazing you'll run out of acetylene faster than oxygen. Torch bottles are paired based on consumption for cutting, as it's more common than brazing in modern industry. For bike builders who don't do anything but braze with their torches, it's not a bad idea to go up a size or two on your acetylene bottle.
Re: Oxy acetylene consumtion
Thanks Eric, Andy. That's the answer I was looking for Eric. In my mind, I couldn't figure out why they would pair these 2 bottle sizes, but that makes sense about cutting with the higher O2 pressures.
Thanks,
Chris