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This torch allows a small and concise flame that is about one quarter to three eights of an inch long.The manufacturer quality seems to be excellent.The attachments are intended for the use buy a hobbyist and should be considered a consumable if used more than occasionally.
The oxy bottles were about $10 and didn't last very long. Very simple yet hot enough for my jewelry making. This little propane torch is great if you don't want to mess around with the fuel-oxy kind. This is my second one, I wore out the first, then I tried the duel fuel Gentec. For the price, convenience and performance this is the torch I choose. I just couldn't master it, always melting the silver or making glass of the flux.
This is a fantastic torch setup for your bench at home. The pointy flame is a dream come true. Before I got this torch, I was using a Blazer with triple-refined butane to make sterling, copper, and brass bezels. It is easy and inexpensive to replace your propane tanks, which you won't need to do very often. That works great, but this is even better, and it works fast -- be prepared for that solder to run sooner than you think it will.
It takes less than a minute, but that's how he was taught to do it in his college labs, so this extra step seems like a good idea to me. The torch is easy to light, but I'd like to mention some safety procedures my rocket scientist son taught me, which are not clearly indicated in the package directions. This exhausts any gas remaining in the hose. Don't let the low price fool you. I work in my basement with a window open. I have tried the torch tips and hoses available at the big box home centers, and they do not work nearly as well, though both work well enough to melt hard solder easily. The torch is so easy to light with a striker that I've become completely comfortable using it, and use it many times each day. After you turn off the tank, open the valve on the handpiece, wait for it to stop hissing, and then close the handpiece valve.
Combined with an inexpensive firebrick, a solder-rite board and/or charcoal block set on top of a shallow pan full of some heat-resistant material, which could be set on a rotating lazy susan type thing, all set on top of a heavy workbench covered with a big sheet of welding steel (less than $15 at your local home center), this torch will perform as well or better than a much more expensive two-tank system. But the nice small handpiece of this torch, which feels a lot like the handpiece of my flexible shaft machine, is ergonomically designed and very comfortable to hold, offering greater control. This tool is a great addition to my studio. When you are done soldering a piece, turn off the handpiece first, then the tank, reversing the way you turned it on, which was tank first, then torch.
It does not work on gold.I may get another just to have a backup. BERNZOMATIC ST900D Mini Torch #019527 This is the answer. I love this little torch. I am using it 4-6 hours a day. It has limited power but it is light and easy to use + it has a pencil tip that just makes the cleanest solder for silver and copper.
They are not sold individually, You must buy a "kit" with all 3 tips ($15 each). I get the sense that Bernzomatic doesn't actually have any interest in supporting their products. So, when I saw the ST900D, I was not too sure about another Bernzomatic. This is a throwaway tool that is not likely to last the 30 hours that your propane tank does.Longer version:This is my second Bernzomatic solder tool.
Buy it, use it a few times, throw it away and buy another one. Sadly, Bernzomatic does nat provide any repair or replacement parts for this. The tips are only sold as a kit and that is if you can find it. I was surprised to see that the tips were stated to have a catalytic element that under optimal condition may last as much as 10 hours use. but no. Short version: The 3 tips provided last a maximum of 10 hours use and must be replaced.
The other was a small butane model whose filler receptacle failed. But, given the features, the use of a user supplied propane take and interchangeable tips, I decided to go for it. The is no mention of any of this on the Bernzomatic website. I assumed that I could buy a box of the solder tips. The kits are not sold most places that sell the torch. When I got my torch from Amazon, I read the instruction booklet.
I will be looking for another supplier and may well send the ST900D back to Amazon. Since, they make a big deal about it going 30 hours on a single tank of gas, you might think it would be mentioned that your tips won't last that long.
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