Replies

1. 
   marv | Sep 04, 2003 10:25pm | #1

   Whoever invented the instant on torch should get a medal.  Hope he hit it rich.

1. 
   johnnyd | Sep 04, 2003 10:44pm | #2

   Was also amazed at the level of intensity control of this set-up. Used it to heat shrink an underground splice outside in the wind.  Piece of cake.

2. 
   wrick2003 | Sep 05, 2003 04:49am | #3

        I made a holster for mine, that clips onto my regular belt.

          

        rg

1. 
   SamT | Sep 06, 2003 05:33am | #4

   Ricky, have you got a pic of that holster, or can you describe ?

   SamT

   I now believe all inspiration comes from God, it is meant to be shared, and it demands total commitment to succeed. When that happens, Providence acts too. John Hatch

1. 
   wrick2003 | Sep 06, 2003 06:02am | #5

        It is a piece of material from an old backpack, riveted together at the seams.  Small washers at the rivets. It took about an hour to make.

        It's an elongated pouch that's about 1/2" bigger that the cylinder in diameter, and there is a weird clip I found at a surplus store that fixes snugly to my belt.

        Sorry, no digicam.

        I also saw one in a book once that was a cylinder stand. It was made of PVC and sat on the floor, so you could either leave the thing running while you wiped the joints down, or just have an official place to keep it.

        I would imagine that a fella could whip one up out of a little ABS pipe and a glued-on cap. A belt clip is also easily made.

         Good Luck     rg   

       

3. 
   4Lorn2 | Sep 06, 2003 06:18am | #6

   Love the self-contained, self-igniting torch that can take either propane or mapp. Much easier than using a spark ignitor and safer than a lighter or match. It also saves gas on multiple small jobs by being able to turn it off and relight it quickly so you don't have to keep it burning to save time.

   Hint for anyone buying gifts for people. Anyone who works with his/her hands needs one of these units.  Two is not too many. One each in home and truck. I saw one of these units in the local Home Despot packaged with a handy looking pair of Vicegrips for about $40. Seemed like a deal.

   I usually keep a propane cylinder on mine. Biggest use is shrinking heat shrink and bending PVC pipe. Mapp burns so hot that more care is needed to keep from burning the work. I have been known to substitute the mapp when the weather turns cold and the wind picks up. Otherwise the premium gas, I think the mapp is all of 1$ more, is overkill.

1. 
   KARLSTER | Sep 07, 2003 08:13am | #8

   4lorn1,

   I couldn't agree with you more on having multiple trigges light torches.  One at work, one in the garage, and one for lighting the woodstove.  My issue is that the piezo electric lighter gets less reliable over time.  Do you know if the crystal "wears out" or if there is some maintenance I should be doing?  My favorite is the Bernzomatic higher priced models.  Ace sells them as well with their name on it but it is the same torch. 

   I blow it out with compressed air, check the spark gap, clean out any globs of solder in the tip periodically but it seems like I get so fed up with difficult lighting after two or three years I end up replacing it.

   Karl

1. 
   MisterT | Sep 07, 2003 02:29pm | #9

   If my Materials Science memory serves,trhe Piezo-electric spark is caused by applying pressure to a pice of Quartz.

   I would guess this is done by a little hammer mechanism that whacks a quartz crystal when you click the trigger.

   being that quartz is very hard, this is probably a mechanism that wears out after a few thousand "starts"

   JMNSHOMr T

   Do not try this at home!

   I am an Experienced Professional!

2. 
   4Lorn2 | Sep 08, 2003 04:23am | #10

   About the only thing I do for maintenance is to make sure the electrode doesn't short out. Normal cleaning and keep trigger area out of any water. I give it a wipe and a blow with compressed air. I sprayed one down with silicon. I don't really know if it helped but it seemed like maybe it started easier in wet weather.

   The only other thing I have done is to make sure that the electrode is held in firmly place. They always seem to get knocked out of place in time. I use a nylon tie-wrap to hold it there.

   I have found that the bottles last longer if I store the torch head disconnected from the bottle and zipped into a Klein bag, a heavy cotton zippered pouch, that I have soaked in silicon water repellant at least once. It seems to save the unit a lot of wear and tear as it rides in the truck box.

   Of course when they get old and unreliable I move them to less critical work like, maybe, starting the charcoal on labor day. I have an old spark ignition model doing this job but as soon as one of the newer ones gets weak I may retire the older one to back up status. The new one goes on the truck where the unit has to work on pain of a load cussing while I stand knee deep in mud while freezing rain trickles down my collar.

4. 
   CPopejoy | Sep 06, 2003 07:02am | #7

   Great tool, but turn off the gas before stowing it.  I heard about a guy who tossed his into the cross box on his pickup, and the torch got bounced around and ignited.  Real mess.

   Cliff