Why does my welding torch pop

All these questions are essential in order to fix the problem. Let troubleshoot a little bit here. See below to learn how you can assess and fix different sounds your torch might make, assess the issue, and keep yourself safe and your work clean. Backfiring happens when the flame is smothered out and gets sucked back up into the torch.

To fix this problem, try holding your torch further away from your work. When the flame gets sucked back up into the torch, it continues to burn, causing a hissing or sizzling sound. The flame could continue burning inside the tip. Flashbacks are the leading cause of explosions as well as death in the welding profession. Not having a neutral flame could cause more of a constant popping in the welding torch. To fix this problem, first, learn how your flame should look. Your flame should be blue, and the shape should be a perfect cone.

When you have a neutral flame, the noise will be loud, but not as loud as when you have the flare or feather on the end. You do not want to have feathers on the end. To get a neutral flame going, turn on the acetylene. Note that you should always turn acetylene on first and turn it off first. Then light your torch. Would low tank or line pressure cause this to happen? I was going to ask what pressures you are running to the torch.

I am not trying to insult anyone, just running all the bases here. Torches and Rosebuds are obviously different pressure-wise than welding torches. I may run 5 oxy and 5 acet to the welding torch, but I run 40 oxy and 10 acet to the cutting torch. It may be different for your application and YOUR torch.

Obviously the manual will dictate this. Again, just running the bases here. You do not want a flashback situation and "IF" that is what you are getting you need to find out WHY before you continue.

I noticed that my new torch and tips are coated with some kind of clear coat, I guess to keep metal looking new and shiny. Make sure that orifice is not plugged up with that clear coat, one of my tips was not fully open up.

It was 4 and it looked like 1. One run with wire cleaner and it opened up to where it supposed to be. Popping is mainly from too low fuel pressure. Crank it up to 7 or 8 , open the fuel valve, give it some gas and see if it goes away. Very common with larger tips like rosebuds. You are starving the thing for fuel, its trying to burn back to get it. Last edited by Sberry ; , PM. There are two things to cinsider with "bad sounds" from torch tips, cutting or welding THAT is very dangerous.

A backfire is often caused from a spark blowing backwards into the orifice, and then back firing it out the orifice A flashback, is usually dirty tips combined with poor gas flow regulation and such.

I would not blame the equipment yet. I would also use a fine file, and file the face of the tip off. Just enough to take the orifice shape back to a squared off 90 degree edge, a true cylindrical shape, with no rounded edges.

You would file before running the tip cleaner through. See if any bubbles come out. Do the soap water test along the entire line, including the hose, regulator and cylinder connections.

A really common place for leaks is around the O-rings. Try cleaning and re-seating them, and look for cracks, wear and damage. Turn off the torch with the torch valves. When the flame is out, open up the oxygen valve. Then dunk the nozzle in water. Equipment is exposed to wear and tear, and your nozzles are no exception.

I've been working in manufacturing and repair for the past 14 years. My specialty is machining. I've managed a machine shop with multiaxis CNC machines for aerospace and medical prototyping and contract manufacturing. Now I run a consulting company to help others solve manufacturing problems. I really like using rebar for making all kinds of industrial-looking welding projects.

It's also useful for things like reinforcing concrete, surprisingly. There are also a lot of different tools If you're newly introduced to blacksmithing, you might be wondering about all the funny shapes that make up an anvil. Actually, the physical design on anvils is something that has been refined over Skip to content. Table of Contents.