Doug Perry

It is vitally important that you always use the appropriate equipment for the job.  Not only does the job have to be done properly, but you have to keep safety in mind as well.  Harris makes equipment that if not used properly can cause serious injury.  In the past week I have been involved in three incidents that had the potential to hurt people.  All the answers that helped prevent this from being disastrous are found in our industrial equipment catalog.
 
In this article we will cover Case 1.  
 
Case 1 – 2290 4H tips were melting – hoses were exploding.
 
Scenario – A customer was using LPG fuel, size 4H tips, and equivalent of a 60 pound LPG cylinder. 

Question 1 – How much gas does a #4 heating tip require?
Question 2 – How much gas will a 60 pound LPG cylinder produce under ambient conditions?
 
Answers – Information on 2290 heating tips can be found on page 35 of the catalog.  For a #4 tip, the fuel requirements are 160 SCFH – 325 SCFH.  A 60 pound LPG cylinder will give you approximately 66 CFH at 600F when the cylinder is full.  This can be found on any LPG withdrawal rate chart.

The general rule of thumb is never run out of fuel gas because bad things happen quickly when you do, i.e. the flame has a tendency to go the wrong way.  In this case, the equipment could have been damaged to the point where reverse flow of gases could have occurred resulting in a truly catastrophic incident.
 
The solution in this scenario is either more cylinders or a smaller tip.