Re: Regulators

Like the torch, OA regulators come in a variety of shapes and sizes, and are often taylored to specific applications. Many will work fine for frame building, some will not. So, how do we determine the difference?

Victor, for example, embeds valuable information in the model number. Looking at a Victor SR250B-540, we can determine the following:

The "SR" means it employs single stage regulation. Not the best, but certainly doable. If the Victor model # began with "VTS", then this would indicate that it is a more desireable (and expensive) "dual stage". Dual stage regs provide a smoother and more consistant gas flow, and the operator isn't bothered with constant regulator tweaking as bottle pressures drop.

The "250" is capacity, with larger numbers indicating larger capacities. (i.e. Victor 250, 350, 450, 700, etc). Any of these sizes will suffice for most frame building.

The lonely "B" tells us its effective "delivery range" in psig. With most torch work on bike frames being done with smaller tips and line pressures well below 10 psi, (I use 4 to 6 psi), the "A" and "B" stamped regs are preferred. The "C" and "D" regs will do, but flow regulation suffers and regulator adjustments become overly sensitive at their lowest delivery pressures. (I have a VTS450D which simply shuts-off when any attempt is made to adjust it below 6 psi.)

A = 2 to 15 psi
B = 2 to 40 psi
C = 4 to 80 psi
D = 5 to 125 psi

The "540" tells us it is for oxygen and uses a CGA-540 inlet fitting. If the regulator is stamped "510", then we know it's for acetylene and likely has a CGA-510 inlet fitting installed.
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When buying regulators, always ask for the model number - then refer to the manufacture's specifications to determine if it's suitable for what you plan to use it for. Also, avoid purchasing or using ANY regulator whos line pressure gauge (aka. low pressure gauge) displays ANY + or - reading when it is detached from the bottle.