Oxt-acetylene welding, and popping

[1937 Chief]

What will make the torch pop when welding. I get a good puddle going then it will pop, and blow a hole in the thin metal I am welding. If I have a very hot flame it will not pop. With the hot flame it melts the metal too soon, and I have another hole. thanks Stan

[kf2qd]

Too big a tip, and too low a flame setting.

Also getting the tip too hot and the flame flashes inside the tip - see suggestion 1

[jaybird]

You may want add flashback arrestor to your torch.

[Cami]

That pop is a backfire; the flame burns back into the tip for a moment. If it backfires and keeps burning in the mixing chamber or further upstream, that's a flashback; worker's compensation board where I am requires flashback arrestors on oxyfuel torches.

What causes that backfiring? An overheated tip is usually the culprit. A dirty or damaged tip can run hot, as can using the wrong sized tip, wrong gas pressures for your tip, or getting in a tight spot like in a corner where there's a lot of heat reflecting back at the tip. Acetylene welding puts a LOT of heat into the work and with smaller pieces of work sometimes the only solution is to stop and let it cool off.

Bumping the tip against the work can make it backfire too but that's not so much a setting issue as an operator thing.

Do you have a tip pressure chart to follow?

[roundrocktom]

My old victor would pop constantly. Mainly I was using too big of a torch, and attempting (ha!) to weld thin metal.

I did break down and bought a Meco. I love it! Most of my welding is down around 0.035" tubing, but used the Meco with a #7 tip to put together my welding table from 1" steel that was 0.100" thick.

Handy Tip Chart:

http://bikesmithdesign.com/Welding/Tips.html

[Amay]

I had this problem, and finally someone told me to replace the O-rings in the torch. They were old, and this fixed it. I had some trouble finding replacements, though.

Good luck

[BillDaCatt]

It sounds like you are using too large of a tip. If your current tip is a "1", switch to a "0" and see if that works better for you.

You should also try cleaning the tip. If the tip is fouled with carbon build up, it can and will behave erratically. If you don't have a set of tip cleaners they are usually less than $5.00 at most welding suppliers and will last a long time if handled carefully.