Natural gas or acetylene?

[Roseland triker]

Any one got a choice for brazing gas rather than propane or butane?

Gas bottle rental is getting expensive and I'm going to be making various components which I want to make from steel.
Mainly a trailer but also a frame for kyack transport on it so I don't have to pay for parking.

I have considered aluminium construction however steel tube is alot cheaper.

 

[numbnuts]

Arc welding would be cheaper, MIG gasless....not the best IMO, MIG with gas mix is very good

 

[Roseland triker]

I've got MIG and gas.

I also use oxy acetylene for welding other materials and running low.
Just wondering if any similar alternative has been used for frame brazing.

 

[slowmotion]

You could try disposable bottles of MAP/Pro gas which ( I think) is a propylene/propane mix. The flame temperature is good up to 2400C. I don't know if it's an economical alternative.

 

[Lookrider]

Don't you have to form steel tubes to braze
Like a copper tube slips into a fitting thats soldered ?
Will it not be difficult forming steel like this
As you cannot " butt" pipe to pipe then braze as if it was a butt to butt weld

 

[Roseland triker]

Don't you have to form steel tubes to braze
Like a copper tube slips into a fitting thats soldered ?
Will it not be difficult forming steel like this
As you cannot " butt" pipe to pipe then braze as if it was a butt to butt weld

It's easy .

 

[Hover Fly]

I’m not qualified enough to be comfortable giving advice over a forum, but trade papers are making much of natural gas brazing being better than acetylene lately. Not a question of just jubilee-clipping your torch hose to the pipe you disconnected from the cooker though, pressure boost is needed, as well as a blown air or oxygen supply. Whether it works out cheaper with the extra gear is a moot point. Get professional advice.
http://www.gas-tec.com/brazing.html

 

[Adam4868]

You could use C02 if you really wanted and depending on the quality of the welds you needed.Ive used it with MIG without any problems.
I'm pretty sure you could set it up to braze with the right connections to the bottle.
If it was me I'd be using a arc welder....but only because it's what I know and best at,especially for home use.I use mig when I'm lazy and can't be arsed,especially for thin sheet metal stuff.

 

[SkipdiverJohn]

For the sort of fabrication projects the OP has in mind, a good quality semi-pro type MIG welder is ideal. The more expensive they are the easier to use and are more controllable at low current settings. I have a Portamig 181, which was a very decent machine when new. The current 186 model is even better, so I'm told.
Gas is good for brazing and repairing thin rusty metal, but there's a lot of heat input which means more distortion. Gas is almost obsolete in commercial fabrication, MIg is miles more cost-efficient and quicker. Gas is most useful for repairs, heating stuck things up, and hot bending.

 

[Roseland triker]

Like I said I have MIG but requie gas for other proiects