MC acetylene and A oxygen bottles for a full size oxy-acetylene torch
I’ve needed to gas cylinders for my torch for a while now. I had been renting the mid-size bottles with a 5 year lease, but I’ve been thinking it’d be nice to have a more portable setup. I found some small bottles on Craigslist, an MC sized acetylene (10 Cu. feet) and an A sized oxygen (20 Cu. feet). These are the smallest bottles, sometimes referred to as a “plumber’s torch”. The oxygen bottle has the same fitting (CGA 540) as the larger ones, so my regulator would just mount up. The acetylene bottle however has a CGA 200 outlet, while the larger bottles have the CGA 510, also known as a POL fitting (the same left hand thread fitting on propane tanks). I could have gotten a new fitting for my regulator, but I like being able to use a BBQ propane tank (it’s cheaper and availible on weekends). Propane doesn’t get quite as hot, but it’s fine for cutting and brazing. So instead I ordered an adaptor from Mcmaster-Carr (~$10) that goes from CGA 510 to CGA 200. CGA stands for “Compressed Gas Association” by the way.
Now I can switch from the MC acetylene tank to propane quickly.
I guess the first thing I need to make is a little carrying stand for the tanks.
