Gas burner on a can: selection and use

Recommendation points

• The main varieties of portable burners
• Tourist burners
• Blown blow torches
• High temperature gas burners
• Choosing the best option

Both in everyday life and in professional repairs, portable gas burners are very popular. The scope of their application is very wide, and there are several varieties. You can choose the right burner for the current task and learn how to use it correctly by studying this article..

The main varieties of portable burners

Gas burners in the form of nozzles for cylinders with collet connections should be considered as a separate class of tools. They are used in high fire safety conditions at sites where heavy construction equipment does not work and the risk of damage to the burner itself is minimal..

Burners are primarily characterized by the temperature and shape of the flame. The simplest devices have a combustion temperature close to the minimum, only 700–1000 ° C. Air enters the burner naturally, so it is always in short supply. At the same time, more expensive products have a special shape of the air supply channels, due to this, the air flow increases, and the combustion temperature rises to 1200 ° С.

An even hotter flame is produced by ejector-type burners, in which air is supplied to the hearth due to rarefaction, the flow force is directly proportional to the working gas pressure. This makes it possible to raise the temperature to 1500–1600 ° C and to regulate it relatively smoothly together with the flame length by simply turning the tap. There may be several combustion centers in the burner, such a tool is not intended for delicate work, but it heats up large areas perfectly.

The highest combustion temperature for burners is 2000–2400 ° C and it is achieved due to the concentration of the forced air in the combustion center and the use of a special gas: methylacetylene propadiene (MAPP). A high-temperature cone is formed in the flame of the burner, comparable in power and temperature to gas-oxygen welding, but not capable of autogenous cutting.

Optional for all types of burners there is a flexible or swivel tube, piezo ignition and a highly sensitive control valve. With a large temperature range, there is the same wide selection of burners in terms of power and corresponding gas flow.

Tourist burners

Low temperature burners solve a really wide range of tasks and are suitable for domestic use and professional construction. Such blowtorches are most often replaced by electric hair dryers in places where only autonomous operation is possible..

The main disadvantage of burners without an injector is low flame stability, which is especially noticeable with sharp turns and tilts. Liquefied gas splashes do not have a significant effect in burners of a more expensive class with a special reducer and a heating circuit.

As a rule, such torches are not used for soldering. Their main purpose is to ignite firewood and coals or to heat materials that allow the use of an open flame. Such a tool is also irreplaceable for thawing pipes, heating automobile engines or unpacking squeegees on tow, burning paint for removing it and other rough work..

Blown blow torches

Ejector blowtorches have a more specific device and purpose. They are the constant assistants of many designers and craftsmen in the processing of non-ferrous metals. The high temperature and flame control make the burners ideal for brazing and hardening metals or other heat treatments that require high temperature accuracy and a well-defined cone.

Due to the specific application, the size of burners and nozzles can vary greatly. Miniatures are used for soldering jewelry and thin metal, despite the lack of a supply of pure oxygen, they cope even with filigree work. Medium class torches have a cone thickness of 3 to 9 mm and are best suited for the electrical soldering of cable joints, copper and aluminum tubes.

Due to their high power, larger burners are rational to use in such industries as art forging, precision bending or metal stamping. It is these tools that home craftsmen use as the basis for homemade gas furnaces and hardening furnaces..

For ejector burners, the concept of an unstable flame is purely figurative, and although periodic gas bursts are possible, the core temperature remains relatively stable. The gas preheating circuit is used more to improve the efficiency of the burners, faster reaching the operating power and accurate temperature control.

High temperature gas burners

Burners that use MAPP gas instead of a propane-butane mixture cannot be overlooked. The combustion temperature of the flame in them is 2200-2400 ° C, while the main energy is concentrated in a cone, which is quite stable and has a pronounced border.

Such burners are used for heating, forging and bending high-carbon steels and massive parts. The high temperature also allows for better hardening and tempering of the metal.

When it comes to brazing and welding, MAPP gas torches do an excellent job with stainless steel, without overheating even delicate parts. Another advantage of MAPP gas is its low boiling point, which makes it possible to use it at temperatures of -20 ° C even in burners without a heating circuit..

Choosing the best option

When choosing a gas burner for various tasks, you should pay attention to individual nuances. For tourism purposes, the simplest, naturally aspirated torch burners are well suited. Even cheap Chinese products can cope with lighting a fire or heating food, it is absolutely not a pity to break or lose them.

For household purposes and minor repairs, it is better not to purchase tools from the amateur series. Slightly more expensive semi-professional burners have a more sophisticated design and are devoid of such non-obvious drawbacks as, for example, melting of the plastic lining of the mouthpiece or a piezo ignition that malfunctions. Another argument against the average price category is the almost universal absence of a normal control valve, which can be important even for rough work..

If the torch is selected for fine work, soldering or welding, additional attention should be paid to ergonomics and balancing. During such work, the burner has to be switched on and off often, so the shape of the housing and the placement of the control elements should allow for ignition and precise adjustment with one hand..

When choosing a power, one should be guided by the thickness and material of the workpieces. A burner of 500-700 W will be sufficient for firing paint or soldering copper wires. Non-ferrous metal tubes and steel products up to 3 mm thick will warm up well at a flame power of about 1200–1500 W. Burners of 2-3 kW are used to heat and bend fittings up to 14 mm thick. There is one more feature: the flame of powerful high-quality burners can be adjusted for finer work, but it is impossible to heat a massive part with a low-power burner.