Oxy Turbo V Rothenberger Roxy v Other?

Hi All,

So, after many years paying the rental for my BOC PortaPak the latest bill came through yesterday and I really couldn't justify the cost, especially if like the previous years it didn't get used (sods law states I'll need it tomorrow of course). I took them back this afternoon.

So, just so that I've got something a bit more focused / hotter for 'heating' (typically rusty nut removal / light bending ) than a blow lamp and the odd bit of mini welding / brazing so I thought I'd look into those little portable brazing sets.

It looks like I can get either set mentioned in the title for about £125 and I assume they would both do pretty well the same things but is one better than another and if so why please? Anyone got either and what do you think of them?

Like, are both sets of gasses equally expensive and equally obtainable. Do they use the same fittings (so I could use whatever gas I found easiest / cheapest).

I still have my BOC account and Saffire kit so could always get some more bottles if I had a specific job etc.

The next one to go will be the Argoshield, when I get a non rental Argon / Co2 bottle that is.

Every little helps .... ;-)

Cheers, T i m

Reply to
T i m
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Years ago, me and my friends cars used to suffer from a historical oddity called 'rust' and the resulting garage plating and welding costs caused many tears and much gnashing of teeth. Thought I'd give the welding thing a go and it was suggested (by one who claimed to be a welder) I used a kit similar to the Rothenberger one. Think the gas stuff may also be called Mapgas?. I liked the one off cost idea and the buy gas cylinders as needed, so bought one. Twas a really bad idea. Indeed with hindsight, the idea was shit!. No heat and the (expensive) cylinders empty within 10 minutes. May as well as just waved a Propane torch about. Paid out for a BOC Portapak kit and over the next few years did a lot of plating and welding and brazing and bending and nut freeing and glass melting and lots of other interesting geeky stuff that can't really be done without Oxy/Acetylene. Then cars got better engineered, I got richer and the kit had less and less use until finally stolen by scumbag burglars. I've recently developed a hobby CNC interest that seems to use miles of square section tubing. I know of no faster, neater way of joining tubing than a gas weld, so the Portapak may return. Roxy no way ;)

Reply to
john

Having a lathe (Myford ML10) and knowing myself how much flex there can be in what at first glance to be a very strong , hard and stiff piece of tool steel or cast iron watching stuff like that amazes me even more.

I have one of the disposable Argon / Co2 cylinders but not used it yet (it's a backup or if I was to take my MIG set offsite).

Yep, I know that as / when my one is empty I too won't be able to just throw it away. It's different with ordinary tin aerosols or the little GampingGaz canisters but not these chunky babies. ;-(

If you cut the ends off and welded them back together you could make a nice steel ball ... and the tubular sections could be joined together to make some steel tube? ;-)

Similar with the big Calor gas bottles. I must have 5 of the 15kg ones in various states of emptiness and you can't seem to even give them back to Calor, let alone get a refund on them (without a receipt).

I understand they make good compressor expansion cylinders but I'm not sure I want to play that much.

Re my MIG and the Argoshield rental. There was a Co in Kent that sold Argon / Co2 bottles outright but apparently they aren't doing so any more, however I read somewhere that Air Liquide may be doing such rent free?

Cheers, T i m

Reply to
T i m

Have a look at

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may find a source.

Rick... (The other Rick)

Science and sound engineering will always prevail in the end "for nature cannot be fooled" [Feynman]

Reply to
Rick... (The other Rick)

Thanks Rick (not that one the other one), spookily I just found / joined and asked etc. ;-)

I've had an answer to my "Non rental Argoshield' question and whilst it's much (much) better than the BOC deal it's still not quite 'non rental' (ie, £45 / 3 years or summat).

No feedback on the mini kits as yet.

Cheers, T i m

Reply to
T i m

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