OXYFUEL CUTTING PRACTICE

MIGUEL ANGEL GARCIA BARAJAS

1. Put on your welding safety equipment: goggles with filter
lens (or tinted face shield), cap, high-top shoes, fire
retardant coat, cape sleeves and bib or cotton or wool long-
sleeved shirt, and pants and welding gloves.

2. Firmly secure the oxygen and acetylene cylinders to a

welding cart, building column, or other solid anchor to
prevent tipping during storage or use. Non-flammable
material must be used to secure the cylinders. Remove the
safety caps.

3. Momentarily open each cylinder’s valve to the

atmosphere and re-close the valve quickly to purge the
valve; this is known as cracking a valve. Cracking serves to
blow out dust and grit from the valve port and to prevent
debris from entering the regulators and torch. Stand on the
opposite side of the cylinder from the valve port when
cracking.
4. With a clean, oil-free cloth, wipe the valve-to-regulator
fittings on both cylinders to remove dirt and grit from the
fittings’ connection faces and threads. Cleanse both
regulators’ threads and faces. Remember, never use any oil
on high-pressure gas fittings. Oxygen at high pressures can
accelerate combustion of oil into an explosion.

5. Check to see that both the oxygen and acetylene

regulator pressure adjustment screws are loosened (but not
falling out of their threads), then screw each regulator to its
respective cylinders. Snug up the connections with a wrench.

Caution: Oxygen cylinder-to-regulator threads are right

handed; so are oxygen hose-to-torch screw fittings.
Acetylene cylinder-to-regulator fittings and acetylene
hose-to-torch fittings are left-handed threads. This
arrangement prevents putting the wrong gas into a
regulator or torch connection.
6. Verify the cutting torch has flashback arrestors installed.
7. Stand so the cylinders are between you and the
regulators. S-L-O-W-L-Y open the oxygen cylinders valves.
Be sure to open the oxygen cylinder valve until it hits the
upper valve stop and will turn no further.

Caution: Look for the high-pressure—or cylinders side—

gauges to indicate about 225 psi (15.5 bar) in the
acetylene cylinders and 2,250 psi (155 bar) on the oxygen
cylinders.
8. With the cylinders between you and the regulators, open
the acetylene cylinder valve gradually and not more than
one and a half turns. If there is an old style removable
wrench on the cylinders, make sure to keep it handy in case
you must close the cylinder valve immediately in an
emergency.

Caution: Look for the high-pressure—or cylinders side—

gauges to indicate about 225 psi (15.5 bar) in the
acetylene cylinders and 2,250 psi (155 bar) on the oxygen
cylinders.
9. Purge each torch hose of air separately: Open the
oxygen valve on the torch about threequarters of a turn,
then screw in the pressure control screw on the oxygen
regulator to your initial pressure setting. After several
seconds, close the torch valve.
Do the same for the acetylene hose.

Comment: We do this for two reasons, (1) to make sure we

are lighting the torch on just oxygen and acetylene, not air,
and (2) to get the regulators set for the correct pressure
while the gas is flowing through them. If the gas hoses are
more than 50 feet (15 m) long, a higher regulator setting
will be needed to compensate for the pressure drop in the
hoses.

Test the system for leaks at the cylinder-to-regulator fittings

and all hose fittings.
10. Proceed to light and adjust the cutting torch:

a) Setting the regulator pressures from cutting reference

tables for 1⁄ 2 inch steel: acetylene at 6 psi (0.4 bar) and
oxygen at 30psi (2 bar).

Never adjust the acetylene regulator pressure above 15 psi

(1 bar) as an explosive disassociation of the acetylene could
occur.

b) Open the oxygen valve on the back end of the torch all
the way.

c) Light the torch by opening the acetylene valve on the

torch handle about 1⁄ 16 turn and light the acetylene using
your flint igniter. Alarge, smoky, orange flame will result.
Also, you must have your tinted welding facemask over
safety glasses (or your welding goggles with a number 5
lens shade) on prior to lighting the flame.

d) Increase the flame size by slowly opening the acetylene

valve until most of the smoke disappears.
10. Proceed to light and adjust the cutting torch:

e) Open the oxygen preheat valve on middle of the torch

and adjust for a neutral flame.
11. Shutting Down Oxyacetylene Cutting Equipment:

a) Turn off the oxygen and then the acetylene with the
torch handle valves.

b) Turn off the oxygen and acetylene cylinders valves on

the cylinders.

c) One at a time, open and reclose the oxygen and

acetylene valves on the torch handle to bleed the
remaining gas in the lines and regulator to the
atmosphere. Verify that both the high-pressure and low-
pressure gauges on both gases indicate zero pressure.
Bleedoff the oxygen first to eliminate the possibility of
providing oxygen to the remaining acetylene.

d) Unscrew the regulator pressure adjustment screws on

both regulators in preparation for the next use of the
equipment.