Comments on: Rekindling The Old Flame: A Look Back At Blowtorches

By: Snow Man

Snow Man — Fri, 03 Oct 2008 02:41:42 +0000

Nothing scary about these old torches if you follow commons sence safety rules. They must be respected, cleaned and kept in good order for safe use.
I have several all different and best suited to different aplications.
Propane is instant heat and that is its advantage.
Gasoline is ( Naphtha used in some ) is cheap, much cheaper than propane these days. And the heat well there is a lot more of it if you need it lol.

My two most commonly used torches are a Preway 45, small light and very well behaved. And my other is a C&L 308 heavy but ready to use in under 30 seconds with its secondary preheat burner.

By: Graham Stubbs

Graham Stubbs — Fri, 19 Sep 2008 16:23:07 +0000

The newsletter group “Blow Torch Association of America” BTCA exists to make collecting torches more enjoyable. The newsletter “The Torch” is published three times a year. For information about this group and regardingt the 500 page book “Vintage Blowtorches” by Carr, Smith and Stubbs, contact Ron Carr at BTCA@COX.NET.

Graham Stubbs

By: Wild Bill

Wild Bill — Wed, 30 Jan 2008 15:33:28 +0000

We had one of these back on the farm (late 60s, early 70s) that we used all the time, when you REALLY needed something heated up. The propane torch just didn’t have the right stuff. We fueled it with “white gas” (no additives and was unleaded) that used to be really cheap, of course during the so-called “gas wars” among competing stations gasoline would get down to 25 cents/gallon anyway. tmib is correct you have to get it pre heated or keep it pointed well away from anything you value! It’s a wonder we never burned down the old garage, with the gas and diesel storage tanks next to it, various fuel burning torches, heaters, electric welders and my favorite, the arc torch! Good times….. good times.

By: Old blowtorch ad charming, scary | Do it Yourself

Old blowtorch ad charming, scary | Do it Yourself — Tue, 08 Jan 2008 17:26:11 +0000

[...] Turns out Craftsman beat us to the pyrotechnic punch, according to that 1949 gasoline blowtorch ad posted on Toolmonger. [...]

By: Vintage blowtorch ad charming, scary | Do it Yourself

Vintage blowtorch ad charming, scary | Do it Yourself — Tue, 08 Jan 2008 17:09:33 +0000

[...] Turns out Craftsman beat us to the pyrotechnic punch, according to that 1949 gasoline blowtorch ad posted on Toolmonger. [...]

By: Fred

Fred — Tue, 08 Jan 2008 13:40:04 +0000

Gasoline stoves are still the only good option for cooking in extreme cold - where mild-weather propane stoves will not work (propane will not vaporize at low temperatures) and even propane-butane mix is a problem. As hinted at above, there is a need to get the generator tube warm by priming (heating) with either some raw gas or special primer paste. This insures that the presuurized gasoline from the tank is vaporized (not droplets) before it hits the business end of the stove or torch. Otherwise the device will sputter and flare up. At extremely low temperatures (55 below and less) the priming is sometimes done with ether (not for the faint-hearted or at higher temps where ether is much too volatile). Like all pressurized devices, you need to be aware of the inside (tank) pressure versus atmospheric pressure. Stoves that have been pumped up at sea level - will be over-pressurized if taken to high altitude (as in climbing.)

By: SlowJoeCrow

SlowJoeCrow — Tue, 08 Jan 2008 02:15:48 +0000

Looks like the same basic principle as our old Svea 123 stove http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Svea_123 which you more or less set on fire before using.

By: Jon O

Jon O — Mon, 07 Jan 2008 22:53:42 +0000

Under no circumstances use a blowtorch to look for freon leaks. Combusting freon releases phosgene gas, which is quite toxic and at one time was a chemical weapon. Buy an electronic sniffer if you ever need to do this.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Phosgene

Jon

By: tmib_seattle

tmib_seattle — Mon, 07 Jan 2008 21:27:40 +0000

I have a couple of them like the ones in the pictures. One of them leaks, but the other one is intact, and I’ve fired it up a few times.

It’s important to prime this much like you would a white gas stove; put some gas into the primer pan (opening and closing the valve after pressurizing is enough), light it, and let it burn down.

If you don’t preheat it like this, it becomes more of a gas squirt gun/mini flamethrower rather than a torch. Kind of neat looking, but not very useful or safe.

Incidentally, the “hook” on the top and the groove on the top front of the barrel was so you could lie a soldering iron on top. The old-style irons were basically just a shaped metal rod with a pointed tip on one end and a handle on the other. The handle would keep it from slipping through the upper ring, and the tip would sit nicely in the flame.

–TMIB

By: Stitch

Stitch — Mon, 07 Jan 2008 19:37:44 +0000

My dad took a gasoline blowtorch and made it into a lamp. For some reason, I thought my mom made him get rid of it at some point. You can imagine my relief when I saw it in the living room the last time I visited. That lamp is my birthright.

By: Wheels17

Wheels17 — Mon, 07 Jan 2008 19:21:06 +0000

I’ve got one just like the picture. Never had the nerve to fire it up…