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I talked to my local independent welding supply about this a couple of weeks ago. He claimed this is all a Airgas problem and Airgas is trying to make people think that the shortage is industry wide. He said he had all the acetylene you want and his supplier said there is no shortage on their...
I found this info in the "Fortney Welding Manual". Acetylene- 5800deg, Natural Gas- 5025deg, LP- 5200deg. It list Mapp gas with a BTU of 2250 but doesn't give temp. It does say Mapp is the next best thing to acetylene.
LP is more stable but it doesn't burn as hot as acetylene.
Of the most widely used torch fuels, acetylene burns the hottest and is why it's the fuel of choice. Mapp gas is the next best thing with LP comming in third.
LP will work fine but you might have to go with a bigger tip and/or turn...
This thread reminds me, I saw a setup at a trade show a few years back that used gasoline instead of acetylene. The guy doing the demo made it look like it worked very well. I don't have any idea how it would work in the real world though.
plasma is real nice but there are still some things a torch just works better and is more handy. It's hard to heat rusted bolts and such with a plasma cutter.
I haven't heard there was a shortage. It's been about a month or so since I've bought any though.
It doesn't work as well but you can change your tip and regulator and use propane if you have to.