Portable O/A torch question

After a long hiatus of several years, I attempted to fire up my Victor portable O/A torch last weekend. I went to the welding supply store and got new bottles and when I attempted to open the regulator on the acetylene tank, it made a wierd puffing noise and the low pressure needle bounced up and down in time with the puffs. I decided to shut it down at that point. Any thoughts on what was happening?

Thanks for your help,
Rob

I know NOTHING about welding, but my first thing to try would be just opening the bottle with nothing attached and see if it does it. If it doesn’t I would think either the gauge is busted or something (ie spiders) got into the gauge or hose. My guess would be for a broken gauge.

Joey P may be on to something. You should always crack the bottles before you connect anything, to purge the valve, etc. Most likely there’s some dirt between the regulator and the bottle.

The regulator was attached to a bottle while dormant. Also, in accordance with good practice, I cracked the tank valve a bit to blow out any dust before attaching the regulator.

Thanks,
Rob

Acetylene bottles are filled with diatomacious (which I apparently can’t get close enough for my spell checker to recognize) earth and acetone. If they are transported in any orientation but upright, they need quite some time to settle…otherwise you get a fair amount of acetone out along with the gas. Trying to flow gas at too high a rate (like opening valve with no regulator) will cause the acetone to foam, and the bottle will spit acetone.

The bottle was on its side for a little while, so that could be it. Will this problem sort itself out, or does the regulator now require service?

Thanks,
Rob