Using HotHead in Ethiopia

[dzinn]

Hello everyone -- it's been several years, since I've posted here at the Forum. I'm now in my 2nd year in Ethiopia - and am having fun working with local jewelry designers. (My 'day job' is in Higher Education.) There is only one active glassbeadmaker in Addis Ababa (the capital where I live) & he uses a Minor Burner.

A friend brought a Hot Head via Australia.... however, our problem is described below -- can anyone help?

In terms of the Hot Head, we have the metric adaptor (from Australia).

However, here's the deal -- when we went to try the fitting (with or without adaptor) to the local gas bottle...

1. The metric adaptor (used in Australia) wasn't needed/didn't work.

2. The HOLE (that releases the gas) in the hothead is off-center, but the matching pin in the Ethiopian-available gas tank is in the middle/center. Therefore, no gas is released. (And we still haven't completed the test to see if the gas will work with the HotHead, but we think it will.)

3. In other words, we can we can screw the Hot Head onto the gas bottle, but no gas is released!!!

(And we don't know if it will be 'secure' & non-leaking until we have the gas released, but we think maybe some of that plumbers tape would work???)

Any thoughts or ideas are welcome!

It's hard to communicate via email -- so sorry for any unclarity!!

Deborah Zinn

[Kuehlmorgen_D]

Hi Deborah

Do you have a hose that fits to the Hot-Head? If you have this the solution is pretty easy. Find a hose that fits to the gas bottle, better to a pressure reducer with a fixed output of 2...4 atmospheres. Cut off both "useless" screw-connectors from the remaining ends of both hoses. Find a short length of metal pipe that fits into the ends of the hoses and secure the hoses with hose clamps. That should work, but is not 100% as secure as a factory-made connection. But this is my basic idea to solve problems like that.

An other idea is to find a metal workshop that is able to make a fitting connector on the lathe. The third idea is to weld or braze a local connector(for the gas cylinders) back-to-back to the Australian metric connector.

I would not mess around with that "plumbers tape" to seal leaking connections as long I don't know the way it hass to be sealed. It does a great job in conical NPT joints and it helps to lubricate other joints. But I won't use it to seal nonfitting joints.

What about the local brazing torches to use with a hose and a gas cylinder? Most tiorches with an orifice like that (:O front view should work similar as a Hot-Head. I prefer the Rothenberger 22mm round orifice compared to the Hot-Head. That torch is burning stable with a smaller flame on propane and it has an acceptable flame with butane.

I hope this helps you to get a working torch in Ethiopia.

Dietmar


PS: If you are interested in making a small wax torch ask me how to make it from scrap material. It's pretty "African" how to make it and use it.

[dzinn]

Dietmar,

Thanks! We'll investigate & think about your suggestions. But we hope others have input, too.

Deborah in Ethiopia

[TerryWilliams]

Hi Deborah,

I don't have a fix-it solution for you, but if no one else does and Dietmar's doesn't work for you, let us know again. I might have a hot head I can send you IF the postage isn't too outrageous..... :-)

[Dale_M]

I have to disagree with Dietmar..... Using a piece of pipe and hose clamps is a recipe for disaster..... Unless you can find barbed fittings and have hoses secured by hydraulic applied band clamps you are possibly courting a disaster... The comment about 2-4 atmospheres is way under pressure required for Hot head ... IF gas is propane at about 70°f.( 21.1°C.) the pressure in tank/hose will be about 123 psi or 8.3 bar....THis is pressure hot head needs to function properly.

I know resources may be limited but struggling through the roadblocks to get a proper set of connections will be rewarding in the end without the worry of "what if"...

2. The HOLE (that releases the gas) in the hothead is off-center, but the matching pin in the Ethiopian-available gas tank is in the middle/center. Therefore, no gas is released. (And we still haven't completed the test to see if the gas will work with the HotHead, but we think it will.)

This bothers me because the pin (with hole) in base of hothead should be centered in base and should fit "connector" without issue, by your description the problem is with Hot Head, not hose or fuel canister....

A picture of connector you are trying to adapt to and also "problem base" of hot head would help.. I know for fact in race car and plumbing world, there metric/inch conversion fittings that will probably work... You may have to look in odd places like a mechanics garage or "outside" glass domain for these fittings...

Dale

[dzinn]

Hello all,

Thank you!

Photos show offcenter hole -- in Ethiopia, gas bottles are used for cooking stoves -- usually with screw on or 'quick release' fitting. We think they use metric sizes. My Australian friend who brought 3 HotHeads (so we don't need more -- many thanks) didn't bring her hose as it was leaking and she hoped that we would be able to directly screw in the HotHead to the gas bottle & use it (with or without the metric adaptor).

BTW, today our students are working with recycled glass beadmaking. Last year we had Cedi from Ghana here -- and we are still working through the challenges of that process. If we are able to get the electric kiln working for that, we may also try the furnace wound approach used by Kitengela Glass in Kenya.

Ethiopians are famous for metal beadmaking & we are hoping to be able to use HotHead for glassbeads. (There is one group from Colorado who have been working in a village, but I think they also use Minor Burner. We are in the capital -- Addis Ababa.)

Maybe we need to email/talk with the USA companies that sell the HotHeads.... need to look that up!

Have tried to upload 3 photos -- hope they come thru.

Many thanks,
Deborah in Ethiopia

[Dale_M]

Think you need to find local "connect anything" expert....

Do you have any hose available to you now? If so what does it fit?

And I don't think offset hole in HH adapter is a problem....


Dale

[dzinn]

Hello Dale & all,

Thanks!

As far as we know, 'connect anything' experts are few & far between here in Ethiopia.... Margaret, the HotHead user in Australia went to the 'bottle shop' (not that kind of bottle shop -- but the ones with gas) and examined all the gas bottles, connections, etc.

However, we have learned that there are at least two types of bottles -- 1. has a quick release mechanism -- in this case there is no 'knob' that turns the flow of gas on & off at the bottle. The quick release mechanism has the knob on it.

2. We did see another bottle that had an off/on knob on the bottle, but the threaded connection comes out the side of the bottle & not the top.

In Australia we have used the hothead directly on the gas bottle with no problem & that is what we hoped to do here. In this case the threaded connection is at the top & therefore, the torch is in a position that can be used when sitting down....

So.... Margaret looked at many different bottles.... If the threaded connection was at the top of the bottle, then the hothead connection (either with or without the adaptor) was incompatible.....

Guess we look at another gas bottle shop to see what we can find...

Or..... if we have to find a hose, then we have to find one that fits into one of the 3 different size connectors that we have on the HotHead! (and onto the bottle)

In some ways in one of the poorest countries in the world, people do learn how to 'make do' -- we just need to find that person.

On the other hand, it is very difficult to find many of the supplies that we take for granted!

So.... the quest continues!

Your help has given us good food for thought & we will carry on!

We will try to find someone in our network who is 'handy', speaks good English so we can explain. We do have a lot of car repair & body shops in my neighborhood -- so if we can the handy person in our network, then he can talk with the mechanics -- who don't speak any English.

And hopefully we will make beautiful beads!!!

Many thanks,
Deborah & Margaret in Addis Ababa Ethiopia

[Kuehlmorgen_D]

Originally Posted by Dale_M

I have to disagree with Dietmar..... Using a piece of pipe and hose clamps is a recipe for disaster..... Unless you can find barbed fittings and have hoses secured by hydraulic applied band clamps you are possibly courting a disaster... The comment about 2-4 atmospheres is way under pressure required for Hot head ... IF gas is propane at about 70°f.( 21.1°C.) the pressure in tank/hose will be about 123 psi or 8.3 bar....THis is pressure hot head needs to function properly.

Hi Dale

You are right about the piece of pipe and the barbed fittings. That was the idea of my description but I didn't find the right words in that time.

But I know from ecperiance the minnimum pressure a Hot-Head needs to burn stable with an acceptable big flame. This torch head is used on many bases in Germany as so called "single fuel torches". More than 4 atmospheres is absolute not neccessary to "overblow" the Hot-Head and make a turquoise flame with yellow tail (dragon-breath). The orifice needs the minnimum of about 2 atmospheres to make a stable flame. Less pressure will not work because the gas-air-mix is not "rich" enough to burn stable. More pressure is no problem for the needle valve. It is fine enough to deal with more pressure.


Dietmar

[dzinn]

Success in Addis Ababa!

Thank you! We were able to find a 'connection wizard' & we are now in business with our HotHead. Involved, welding, tubing, etc etc. And was organised by one of our nine trainees -- even better!

But we think we have the issue resolved.

Many thanks to all who offered help. Now on to beadmaking!

Kind regards,
Deborah