Stale fuel

[wildwes]

$150/lb. for electrodes?? You are not blessed by Lincoln…… you are being SCREWED ROYALLY!

That was a typo on my part, it should have said $1.50/lb

I wasn't born yesterday, I certainly wouldn't pay $150 a pound for consumables, period, ever.

$1.50/lb is cheapers than the welding supply stores can buy Lincoln consumables around here. If it was $150/lb I could only buy 30lbs of consumables with my ENTIRE budget for the year if I bought NOTHING else, that wouldn't work at all...

 

[Mad Professor]

Oh yes, the balloon is very dangerous if you are filling it up by hand, I stopped doing that once I realized how dangerous it was. I haven't done it in a couple of years, the next time I have the class I do that in I intend to fill it remotely with a long piece of surgical tubing, and light it with an electric match and a model rocket ignition box, so I am not close to it at any time. I saw someone else who had it set up that way and it was pretty slick, and safe.

My terminology is probably not the right chemical terminology, but by neutral mixture I meant the mixture where a torch burns cleanly, with no excess acetylene or oxygen.

And I agree about being safe with the stale gas, lots of ways to dispose of it, not all of them safe.

Yes, the people filling the balloons were filling directly from a welding tip on a set of tanks.

For your demonstration a peizo ignitor for a gas grill or stove would work. Also a spark plug and automotive coil.

I'd not heard the term "neutral mixture" but understand it well now. I've spent a lot of time with torches brazing, and getting that perfect acetyl/oxy mixture with the bright blue inner flame. I imagine that mixture may vary a little bit with the nature of the welding tip used.