The following is a list of frequently asked questions about General Regulator, Inc. products. We have provided answers which will be helpful to both customers and sales representatives.

1. What is a Regulator Bubble Test?
2. What is a Regulator Static Test?
3. Are Our Torches Tested For Performance?
4. Why Is The Filter In Torch Tip Important?
5. What's Wrong With The Competitor’s Long Flames?
6. What Is Flame Speed - "Q"?
7. Why is flame speed important?
8. What Is Laminar Flow vs. Turbulence?
9. Where is our flame stabilizer?
10. What Are Piston Regulators?
11. Why Are Our Aluminum Regulators Good?
12. Who's Responsible For Solder In The Torch Tip?
13. Why Is Torch Weight Important?
14. Why Is It Important To Have Tamperproof Designs?
15. Why Introduce BTU’s/Hr Ratings?
16. Why Are Bronze Filters Bad?
17. Do I Have To Operate Our Torch @ The Correct Pressure?
18. Why Do We Have Teflon® Tank Seals?

1. What is a Regulator Bubble Test? On our data sheets we state that 100% of our regulators are bubble tested. The valve in the pressure regulator uses a soft seat, Buna-N "O" ring and has a dual function. First it is used to regulate the output pressure for variations in the tank pressure and second it is used to guarantee that the regulator provides a gas tight seal in the off position. The last test performed on the regulator after the unit is calibrated for the correct output pressure is the bubble test. For the bubble test, the end of the swivel tube is placed in a small container of water with the regulator shut off. The test technician makes sure no flow of air bubbles are observed at all. This guarantees that the valve is gas tight.

2. What is a Regulator Static Test? On our data sheets we state that 100% of our pressure regulators are tested at full pressure for 4 hours minimum. This test procedure was to guarantee that our products did not have any external leaks. We have developed a process and manufacturing fixture which completely eliminates the possibility of a defective product getting shipped to a customer. To accomplish this, we test every single seal in the pressure regulator. Every pressure regulator we manufacture is screwed into the test fixture. The fixture is comprised of multiple manifold assemblies. Each manifold assembly contains 7 fittings for attaching the pressure regulators under test. The manifold is filled to 100 PSI minimum and the manifold is shut off with its own shut off valve. Air is then removed from the input of the manifold shut off valve. This creates an air tight assembly. The manifold assembly holds a relatively small volume of compressed air so if there is any air leaks, there will be a significant reduction in pressure after 4hrs. We monitor the manifold pressure for a minimum of 4hrs and there must not be ANY reduction in pressure. If we get any reduction in pressure, we use a leak detect solution to determine which unit had the manufacturing defect. The defective unit is removed and replaced with another pressure regulator for testing. ALL the previously tested pressure regulators in that manifold are then tested again for another 4hrs minimum. This is a time consuming test but we feel it is well worth the effort and we have experienced "ZERO DEFECTS" in field returns for external leaks.

3. Are Our Torches Tested For Performance? 100% of our torches are fired up to make sure their flame performance meet our high standards. In addition this test will find any dirt problems which would clog the torch tip nozzle.

4. Why Is The Filter In Torch Tip Important? We rarely get a customer complaint that the torch tip has clogged and no gas pressure will come out. We have a special stainless steel, fine mesh screen mounted in the torch tip, to prevent large dirt particles from plugging the nozzle. We likewise have a special filter in front of our regulating valves so rust particles from the tank will not cause a problem like in other competitor torches. The other source of dirt particles are small slivers of metal from the screw machine parts themselves which go to make up the product. No matter how clean the parts are, the propane fuel is an excellent cleaning solution and will dislodge any material and would clog the torch tip if it weren’t for our screens. If the torch tip ever clogs it meant we didn’t do a good enough job in cleaning and inspecting the surface area between the screen and the nozzle hole. This happens very rarely and we let our assembly people know if we get field returns.

5. What's Wrong With The Competitor’s Long Flames? Some of our competitors have very long flames in the 7" to 8" range. This is a competitive disadvantage to them because if the work piece being heated is near combustible material like studs in a wall, the plumber is very likely to burn the walls and cause a possible fire. Our flame is approximately 3 1/2" long and very intense and less likely to burn the surrounding material. When working in close areas to combustible materials, it is still a good idea to slip a piece of sheet metal behind the copper tubing being heated. Our torches heat up the work piece so quickly that the surrounding materials is less likely to heat up and burn.

6. What Is Flame Speed - "Q"? This is a standard method in the industry for measuring flame performance. A manometer, an instrument for measuring the pressure of gases, is connected to a small 1/8" stainless steel tube via a rubber hose. This small tube is bent in a curve at 90o and then placed in the flame, approximately 1/8" to 1/4" away from the end of the torch tip. The flame will produce a gas pressure in the manometer which displays a reading in inches of water. Our Model TT2000CLO flame tip produces a typical pressure of 1.75 to 2.0 inches of water. The term "inches of water" has been replace by the term "Q" in the industry. We use this instrument in production testing for checking the performance of our torches. The flame speed is in the 100 M.P.H. range.

7. Why is flame speed important? The objective in soldering and brazing is to get the work piece temperature to the correct temperature so that the solder or brazing material will flow into the joint and make a good water tight / air tight connection. There are many factors which remove heat from the work piece being heated and may even prevent the joint from getting up to temperature in a reasonable amount of time. The copper tubing is the number one contributor because it is an excellent thermal conductor, i.e. heat sink. Fortunately copper tubing usually has a relatively thin wall; however, as the tubing size gets larger, there is more localized material to suck away the applied heat of the torch away from the joint. The air surrounding the work piece is also removing heat from both the work piece and the torch flame itself. The larger the surface area of the work piece, the more effective the air is in removing the heat and cooling off the work piece. This is why some applications are performed better if the work piece is placed in a fire brick oven. Large flames also have larger surface area to be cooled off by the air. The torch itself is a heat sink for the flame! Competitor torches which have very hot flame tube temperatures are heat sinking energy away from the flame and cooling it off! Our standard Models TT2000CLO, TT2100CLO, and TT3000CLO have very cool flame tube temperatures when operated at their correct operating pressure. Our Model TT100 is not as fast as the other torches so its flame tube does get warm/hot to the touch at the correct operating pressure.

As you can see there are many factors trying to cool off the work piece being heated. This can be overcome in a couple ways. First you could use a large torch with a higher BTU rating, and engulf the work piece with a big flame. This is not economical and can be unwieldy. The other approach we use, is a very fast, compact flame. With a fast flame, the hot flame gases are less likely to make contact with the surrounding air and lose less energy. The fast flame also hits the work piece harder and imparts a higher energy level. An analogy is the reverse of "wind chill factor" in the winter. When the wind is blowing, your body will feel colder than the actual air temperature. For torches, think of the flame speed as the "Hot Factor". The benefit for our torches is we do more work with less fuel, thus saving the plumber money. The contractor can use our torches to precisely put the heat where he wants it without heating up the world!

The science of flame technology is very complex and we don’t pretend to know all the answers. That’s why we had an expert review our products. It is important to know that the design difference is good for General Regulator, Inc. because we didn't infringe on the TurboTorch® patent. The difference is good for the customer because we have a more efficient flame combustion, giving the customer more value for reduced fuel consumption.

9. Where is our flame stabilizer? Our flame stabilizer can be found by taking a flashlight and looking into the end of the torch tip. You will see a four blade sheet metal structure approximately 1.5" from the end of the tip. It looks very similar to our logo on our literature. The flame stabilizer is used to make the swirling action of the flame and suck it into the flame tube where it is protected from the wind on windy days and won’t blow out.

10. What Are Piston Regulators? A piston regulator is another way of making a pressure regulator which doesn’t use a flat diaphragm. In place of the diaphragm it uses a piston which has an "O" ring groove and "O" ring. This piston/"O" ring assembly slides up and down a cylinder wall within the regulator to provide pressure regulation. There has to be sufficient compression of the "O" ring to prevent gas from escaping by it to the outside world. Conversely there can’t be too much compression to prevent leaks or the piston wouldn’t move at all and the regulator wouldn’t regulate the output pressure. The surface onto which the "O" ring travels must be extremely smooth and free of any nicks or scratches or the gas will leak by the "O" ring. During assembly, any dirt on the "O" ring or cylinder walls could contaminate the "O" ring sealing surfaces. As you might expect, the tolerances on the screw machine parts have to be very tight to guarantee that "all" the regulators work correctly. To compound matters, the regulator metals parts have a different temperature coefficient of expansion then the "O" ring material. At low temperatures, the "O" rings become hard and lose some of their elasticity which is used for sealing purposes. Are your nervous yet? Are these piston regulators being statically tested for 4 hrs for external leaks?

With our diaphragm construction, a thin (0.015" thick), nylon reinforced, Buna-N material is clamped between two surfaces which never move; so you and the customer can forget about it. To make you feel even safer, we statically test the pressure regulator for four hours!

12. Who's Responsible For Solder In The Torch Tip? When the contractor is soldering a joint overhead and is not careful, liquid solder can fall into the torch tip and either block the flow of gas or cause erratic flame performance. This problem is not General Regulator’s fault but approximately 75% of all our field returns are for this problem and the wholesalers are asking for complete new torches because they gave a contractor a new one! With the introduction of CLO solder clean out torches in 1998, the contractors can easily remove solder from the torch tips and our field returns have gone way down.

13. Why Is Torch Weight Important? Our Model 2000 weighs only 5 oz. and most of our competitors are in the 16 oz. range. This is important to the plumber because a full, fuel cylinder by itself weighs over 1 1/2 pounds (24oz). With continuous overhead use, there is a definite fatigue factor with the heavier torches.

14. Why Is It Important To Have Tamperproof Designs? Our torch is designed so it cannot be taken apart. This is important from a safety point of view because you do not want a contractor causing a potential leak problem. This should be a selling feature because you know the distributor wants to sleep peacefully at night and not wonder if any of his sold torches are going to cause him a problem in the future.

15. Why Introduce BTU’s/Hr Ratings? We have responded to claims by competitors who now lists the BTU’s/ Hr for their torches. We still maintain that what really counts is the time it takes to heat up copper tubing. That is why you should rely upon the Copper Tubing Size Capacity Chart we publish in our brochures. Our ratings are on the conservative side; especially for soft soldering. A lot has to do with the size of the copper being heated. We used long copper tubing when making the chart.

16. Why Are Bronze Filters Bad? General Regulator, Inc. uses stainless steel filters which are 3 to 4 times more expensive than bronze filters. Airco, Inc. the manufacturer of MAPP gas states clearly in their specifications for MAPP gas: "Avoid alloys with more than 67% copper". Commercial Bronze is 90% copper. You tell us if you think we should save some money and switch to bronze filters! When a large company like Airco, Inc. tells us not to do something, we listen! The avoidance of 67% copper also applies to acetylene gas. Some will say that the bronze filters are plated so as not to expose the bronze. We want no part of that situation.