gasoline hand torch

[leach]

i found a gasoline torch where i work i found the hand torch less the hose's 2 tips still looking for the pump valve that goes on the tank has anyone ever seen one of these in action i cant wait to try it out but also i dont want to blow it up or me lol plus i found the instructions in bad shape but still readable


                                                                                                                                    LEACH

[Aunt Phil]

May I suggest you polish it up, hang it on your wall, and brag on owning a Petrogen.

What you have is the gold standard f gasoline cutting torches, probably hitting the $2000 a copy mark right now.  The company is still in business, and last I knew had a very good site explaining & extolling their product. 

NOW, the reality.
Unless you're cutting a lot of scrap, or minimally 2" thick steel 8 hours a day, forget gasoline cutting.  Unless the torch is absolutely clean and 100% maintained it's a major league PITA, and that's without dealing with alcohol containing gasoline "fuel".

Petrogen and the cheap China made imitation come up about once a year on nearly every welding board, some dipwad crying about the cost of acetylene kicks the discussion off, and 12 people who never been in the same shop with a Petrogen chime in with their brilliance. 

If you positively, absolutely insist you must test drive that torch, contact Petrogen and get all the information you can.  When used properly it is a safe tool.  When dirty or banged up, it quickly becomes dangerous.   

[RWalters]

Very interesting. I had no idea such a thing even existed.

[johnsironsanctuary]

If they are like propane-acetylene torches, the only way to run them economically is if you buy oxygen  3000 cu ft at a time. PA torches consume a lot of oxygen.

[Aunt Phil]

If they are like propane-acetylene torches, the only way to run them economically is if you buy oxygen  3000 cu ft at a time. PA torches consume a lot of oxygen.

I'll interpit that to mean your torch cart isn't a K-5 Chevy Blazer with a LOX Dewar in place of the passenger and rear seat that got dropped in place with a crane, and you don't have 2 100# propane bottles over the rear axle.

Propane is your best bet if you're cutting steel, and even better if you're cutting used r rusty steel, and yes it does consume more oxygen.  Gasoline is comparable to propane in that respect.  To my recollection, gasoline does not perform as well as propane on rusty or multilayer cuts. 

Gasoline is far more sensitive to the torch being clean as well since the Petrogen design employs a gas generator in the torch head to convert liquid to vapor for burning.  If you ever see a factory rep demonstrating the torch you'll note his torch is almost operating room clean.  Old hands at using gasoline torches often take a different approach, like a roofer's torch warming the gasoline head up in the morning and after lunch.  I don't recall seeing Petrogen suggesting that approach.

Honestly Petrogen has been around for over 25 years I'm aware of, they have some good selling points, such as gasoline is pretty much always available, and my presumption is they have a good product since they remain in business.  Personally it was never a product I was comfortable with.

[leach]

thanks for the info phil i watch the video i dont trust what they say i use a torch everyday at work and i watched how they cut with the gasoline torch mine is alot smother cutting than what they do