Lol, I didn’t mean to insult your intelligence. Yeah stuff like that seems scarce. I’d find one I like and then ask their customer service department these things. Theirs will be the best of course but you might get good answers to the rest.
1 Like
Isn’t oxyhydrogen also used for certain kinds of glasswork?
I have no direct knowledge but I would think that the decorative glass shaping you often see in malls would be done with oxyhydrogen because there would be no problems with contaminating the glass.
1 Like
… and for a whole lot less, I use one to solder big connection bundles, wiring a trailer for example.
2 Likes
Really? I wouldn’t have thought to use them for soldering, but i guess there’s no reason why you couldn’t. (That’s thinking outside the box!) 
2 Likes
Heat is heat, now I wonder if they are hot enough to silver solder small parts such as jewelry?
1 Like
I think it may come down to amount of gasflow a given unit generates. One of these on amazon has some folks asking similar questions and the answers seem to both ways…some say yes others no. It should work as these are used for soldering platinum (doesn’t like carbon from oxy acetylene torches), but those units run quite a bit higher (1000 and up). My guess is that those either give you a higher gas pressure or better duty cycle vs the cheap ones. I haven’t read up enough on the differences…can’t afford platinum and already have a oxy propane setup for silver. Do note that hydrogen flames are hot and bright and you get both IR and UV emissions…(if I remember correctly) , so wear the right eye protection
2 Likes
maybe…
Well, according to the calculations I used to run for a safety analysis on electrodeionization experiments, 1 amp of current will theoretically evolve 0.4 L/hr of hydrogen gas assuming that there is sufficient electrical potential to drive the reaction. As I recall the minimum potential for electrolysis is 1.4 volts DC. Assuming that the generator consumes 600 watts and uses that power to generate hydrogen and oxygen gas with 100 % efficiency, you end up with around 171 L/hr of hydrogen, so I suppose that the claim of 95 L/hr is possible.
I didn’t have much luck finding compressed gas prices on the web but when I worked in a large lab, we paid about $120 for 260 cubic feet of Zero Grade H2, which is far more pure than would be needed for flame polishing. I’d guess commerical grade H2 could be had for around $50 for the same volume. To that add around $250 for a regulator and another $50 (not sure - could be a lot more) to buy the cylinder yourself and you will have around 6100 L of H2 or around 61 hours worth of flame polishing. The upfront dollar cost for a hydrogen cylinder is about the same as for the electrolysis system but you won’t have the ongoing electrical cost, though that would not be an issue for most users. I’d personally feel safer with a cylinder of hydrogen than with a China-imported electrolysis system but have never seen the latter in person so may be overly pessimistic there. The reports here of the Chinese lasers don’t instill one with confidence but they can make a good product if they want (and are paid) to do so.
I had a go with a small butane torch here on some small milled pieces of acrylic with mixed results. They were awkward to flame though, so it was not a good test and like most things, results probably improve with practice. One possible con to propane, butane, acetylene, etc. fuels is that they all contain carbon which may generate soot if the flame is not properly adjusted. That’s not a problem with hydrogen.
1 Like
If you had multiple smaller"hand-held" pieces that you wanted to polish, do you think it would be easier to move the torch/flame around the piece, or mount the flame steady and handle the piece more as you rotate and move that? Easier or more precise.
1 Like
Yes, any torch that consumes oxygen produces UV, the effect on the eyes is cumulative and irreversible.
Platinum also has a very high melting point, it reduces at 1774 C, or 3225 F - just below titanium! The appropriate solder will melt lower because it is alloyed. You can use 14k gold to solder 18K for example.
1 Like