Bernz O Matic Torch

Tge orifice (s) are very small. Take another picture focussed on the end of the head zoomed to the maximum.

There should be one or a ring of tiny holes....which get fouled.

You may actually be blowing through, just the flow, even normally is would be quite limited for the pressure you van develope blowing that you might not notice.

Might try soaking the tip in acetone. It is a pretty fine hole to attempt to ream....so maybe just pressurized air in the reverse direction of gas flow in operation would help.

There should be an orifice at the center, probably just closed up....I have a file set someplace for cleaning orifices out, very tiny....but you might have to drill it out....

..."a standard propane orifice which has a #54 drill hole or .055". "...

Yeah, strange no parts diagram available.

I sort of remember there being a bronze screen of some sort, and I had to drill after it becoming clogged/corroded. That really messed it up, new torch body was the remedy.

Charge up the compressor, blow through it - might help. Sort of doubt it.

Don't know if this helps... it's old though. Orifice bodies were replaceable at one time, maybe not any more.

Thanks guys, and thanks artsmith for the drawing.

I think I've taken it down as far as I can and the orifice seems to be integral. No surprise.

That hole looks more like .005" than .055.

I've reassembled it and will fiddle with it more tomorrow.

This may be a sure sign of old timers disease. I get easily distracted.

Walmart $22.03

I hope this image isin't too small, if it is, kindly remit your address and I will send you a magnifying glass.

"An affliction in individuals over age 60 that causes them to be unable to stop telling stories about "the good old days" possibly a hereditary condition"

I'm not done living the good old days.

I have a new torch.

I was wondering if you were fiddling with a relic to avoid shelling our $15-20 or just to fiddle and get some insight. Thanks for clearing that up

I expect you might an find and exact replacement at a flea market/boot sale for a fiver.

Don't bother.

what's that?

Why would I bother looking for another old torch? I don't do flea markets.

it has sentimental value?

you carry a torch for your old flame?

Do you go to estate sales ?

Here are some things I found for a fiver :

a. Star strobe beacon b. 1860 Japanese block print c. Ferrari service manual oem 1964 330 gtc . You never know what you might find.

Fiddling with old stuff to see if it can be made useful isn't old timer's "disease" IMO, it's old timer's ethic. Any of us who came of age before the throwaway economy have the same feeling about the broken or less functional items in our workshop. The ingrained value of not wasting any resource resists the notion that a broken tool is just garbage to be thrown away. The converts and youngsters growing up with "throw and buy a new one" had no problem with it. And now we're into a third wave of material ethic, where the things that no longer work are not 'throwaway' but can be recycled (or at least increasingly they can). Folks who were deep into the 'throwaway' ethic still have trouble getting used to that, but for the previous generation it's a huge relief, that excess material can be packed off to another purpose. Tinkering with old stuff to see if it can be used is still, IMO, a very honorable occupation for an old timer.

Thanks. I agree that we have become a throw-away society. The main reason I am this way is that I was raised on a farm, with no money, so if something broke, we might not have money to replace it , buy replacement parts, or even pay a person to make it right again. I learned a lot of basic, common sense things that most city dwellers never knew.

Yes, maybe I'm just cheap, as JE Chicago suggested, and did this to avoid shelling out 15/20 bucks for a new one. ($16.97 + tax)

I was also cleaning up after finishing a welding project and sometimes the smallest diversion can help put off doing the dirty work.

I'll pluck a tiny wire from a wire brush today and fiddle with it some more. Then, succeed or fail, I'll pitch it back on the shelf where it has been for the last 20 years.

My dad was a farmer's son too, and both parents grew up in the outports before confederation, so everything manmade was absolutely scarce and valuable. The thrift may have come from poverty but it didn't stop them from utterly scorning every other attitude for the rest of their days.

As for small diversions that help to put off the cleanup or last step of (every) project, we have a name for that: "ADHD" .

To clarify.. I was wondering if you were being cheap or thrifty. (the difference is huge!) No need to toss an old part/tool just because you have a new one. The old tool may be usable as a backup or spare parts should you happen upon a second broken tool.

Years ago one of my bernz-o-matics had a slug of molten solder drip down into the body when sweating a 1" supply in a tight space.

The flame was never the same after that. Since it had an electronic ignition I was dismayed by the loss of the tool until I realized I'd never have to buy one of those crappy long red lighters for the grill / fire-pit etc.

3 days rarely pass where I don't use the old relic. (relative)

I may be a city dweller, but I'm know as a farmer by many, and a woodland creature by others. IKEA is a four letter word for a reason after all.

Without trying I salvage hundreds if not thousands of dollars worth of lumber, steel, hardware, tools, chemicals and more from neighboring alleys each year.

Everything from working apple computers to weapons of warfare are tossed like.. well ..yesterdays garbage.

A set of torch cleaning tips may be the answer:

https://www.zoro.com/zoro-select-spiral-tip-cleaner-set-21-piece-25-in-l-2cyx5/i/G2795353/feature-product?gclid=Cj0KCQiAwp_UBRD7ARIsAMie3XaTxgDhiBIsvYoK6RzZj6aDktcy6PGF9vLhYdGCGq33g0c20sma9rkaAjKGEALw_wcB

Well, it's back on the shelf. The smallest drill I have is .062" and that hole is in the valve, I think, but that may be the orifice too, don't know and don't care at this point.

I know my limitations and I have traversed into the level of incompetence, beyond which I see no reason to venture.

Cheap, thrifty, no mater. I've learned that I can't fix it and it will be on the shelf if I ever need to scavenge parts.

In the mean time I got my work space cleaned up and am ready to install the new band saw sometime this week.

Thanks to all.

Your post brought back memories of my father crawling under the house with his Bernz-o-Matic to thaw the plumbing pipes. We lived in east TN, thus a crawl space, no basement. Luckily for my father frozen pipes weren't common.

Brrrrrrr.

I don't recall our farm house in Ark. having a problem with frozen pipes. I do remember leaving the water on and running very slowly on many cold nights.