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Posted by Robert11 on November 28, 2007, 10:17 am
Hello,
Guess this dates me, but when I did a fair amount of house plumbing, there
was pretty much
only the Propane type of torches.
I see now at Home Depot, that they apparently sell a lot of MAPP torches for
this purpose.
So, may I please ask:
a. which is more popular now for occasional house use to run a new line,
repair a leak, etc. ?
b. With MAPP, does one still have to "completely" drain the line of any
water first ?
If so, "fully" drain ?
c. MAPP more expensive ?
d. Pros and cons, etc.
Thanks,
Bob
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Posted by Doug Miller on November 28, 2007, 10:51 am
>Guess this dates me, but when I did a fair amount of house plumbing, there
>was pretty much only the Propane type of torches.
>
>I see now at Home Depot, that they apparently sell a lot of MAPP torches for
>this purpose.
Yep. Pricey in comparison to propane, but well worth it.
>
>So, may I please ask:
>
>a. which is more popular now for occasional house use to run a new line,
>repair a leak, etc. ?
Why do you care which is "more popular"? Shouldn't you be interested in which
one works better?
I have no idea whether MAPP is more popular than propane for occasional house
use, but I can assure you that it works far, far better. I finally bought a
MAPP torch about two years ago, and haven't even touched a propane torch
since.
>
>b. With MAPP, does one still have to "completely" drain the line of any
>water first ?
> If so, "fully" drain ?
What's the difference between "completely" drain and "fully" drain? <g>
With propane, you need to have the joint completely dry. With MAPP, you need
to have it pretty nearly dry. You can't solder a joint that's full of water,
no matter what you use.
>
>c. MAPP more expensive ?
A MAPP torch costs about twice as much as a propane torch; of course, the
torch is a one-time expense.
A bottle of MAPP gas costs nearly three times as much as propane ($8 vs. $3
at Lowe's), but you don't need to use nearly as much of it as you do propane
to get the job done. In my experience, the overall cost of the gas is about
the same.
>
>d. Pros and cons, etc.
MAPP gas stinks, and it burns with a sooty flame. But it's *much* hotter, and
so sweating a fitting with MAPP takes a small fraction of the time it takes
with propane. The higher temperature of MAPP is especially useful when
sweating valve bodies, or pipes larger than 1". Propane is pretty close to
useless on anything over 1-1/2". Also because of the higher temperature,
there's more risk with MAPP of setting framing members on fire. A fireproof
protective pad is a good idea, e.g.
http://www.lowes.com/lowes/lkn?action=productDetail&productId=173498-138-31400
--
Regards,
Doug Miller (alphageek at milmac dot com)
It's time to throw all their damned tea in the harbor again.
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Posted by Dave Martindale on November 28, 2007, 5:03 pm
spambait@milmac.com (Doug Miller) writes:
>I have no idea whether MAPP is more popular than propane for occasional house
>use, but I can assure you that it works far, far better. I finally bought a
>MAPP torch about two years ago, and haven't even touched a propane torch
>since.
It seems there are two differences with MAPP torches: different fuel,
and different burner construction. All of the MAPP torches I've seen
use "swirl combustion" burners that make a lot of noise when operating
compared to the cheap but quiet propane torches.
Now, at least some of the MAPP torches (I think mine is a Turner) have
an internal pressure regulator that can be adjusted for either propane
or MAPP fuel. The swirl torch is hotter when burning propane than an
ordinary propane torch, though not as hot as the same swirl torch
burning MAPP.
So I tend to ignore my "normal" propane torch and use the swirl torch
all the time - but I burn propane for smaller jobs (e.g. half-inch
copper plumbing) where it provides enough heat. I switch to MAPP for
larger jobs.
Dave
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Posted by on November 28, 2007, 5:10 pm
On Wed, 28 Nov 2007 22:03:21 +0000 (UTC), davem@cs.ubc.ca (Dave Martindale)
wrote:
>spambait@milmac.com (Doug Miller) writes:
>
>>I have no idea whether MAPP is more popular than propane for occasional house
>>use, but I can assure you that it works far, far better. I finally bought a
>>MAPP torch about two years ago, and haven't even touched a propane torch
>>since.
>
>It seems there are two differences with MAPP torches: different fuel,
>and different burner construction.
... and different materials for the higher temps
>All of the MAPP torches I've seen
>use "swirl combustion" burners that make a lot of noise when operating
>compared to the cheap but quiet propane torches.
>
>Now, at least some of the MAPP torches (I think mine is a Turner) have
>an internal pressure regulator that can be adjusted for either propane
>or MAPP fuel. The swirl torch is hotter when burning propane than an
>ordinary propane torch, though not as hot as the same swirl torch
>burning MAPP.
>
>So I tend to ignore my "normal" propane torch and use the swirl torch
>all the time - but I burn propane for smaller jobs (e.g. half-inch
>copper plumbing) where it provides enough heat. I switch to MAPP for
>larger jobs.
>
> Dave
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Posted by John van Gurp on November 28, 2007, 11:09 am
On Wed, 28 Nov 2007, Robert11 wrote:
> Hello,
>
> Guess this dates me, but when I did a fair amount of house plumbing, there
> was pretty much
> only the Propane type of torches.
>
> I see now at Home Depot, that they apparently sell a lot of MAPP torches for
> this purpose.
>
> So, may I please ask:
>
> a. which is more popular now for occasional house use to run a new line,
> repair a leak, etc. ?
>
> b. With MAPP, does one still have to "completely" drain the line of any
> water first ?
> If so, "fully" drain ?
>
> c. MAPP more expensive ?
>
> d. Pros and cons, etc.
>
> Thanks,
> Bob
I tried to make up an elbow joint of 1" copper at my furnace a while ago
and couldn't get it hot enough, so called on a friend who arrived with
MAPP and voila! Good clean sweat - easy as pie. So if you need extra heat
go with MAPP.
Cheers,
John
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