Acetylene was first used in 1906 for the welding and cutting of mild steel.
What Are the Benefits of Acetylene?
When acetylene is mixed with oxygen, known commonly as oxy-acetylene, it produces a flame temperature of 3150° centigrade, which makes it the hottest of all the fuel gases and the only fuel gas that can weld steel.
When it is used for the cutting of mild steel, it gives the fastest pre-heating and piercing times of any of the other fuel gas combinations. This offers organisations large cost savings and increased productivity.
Cost savings are also enhanced as acetylene uses less oxygen in the pre-heat flame than other fuel gases such as propane and propylene, which means that companies require fewer cylinders on site. This gives savings in cylinder rental costs and means that less cylinder handling is required, resulting in lower labour costs and less production ‘downtime’.
Safety Considerations for Oxy-Acetylene Use
As with all compressed gases it is essential that operators who use acetylene are aware of the properties of the gas and the hazards and potential dangers that can result from incorrect or damaged equipment and poor working practices.
As with all flammable gases, acetylene can form an explosive atmosphere in the presence of air or oxygen.
A risk assessment must be undertaken by employers under the Dangerous Substances and Explosive Atmospheres Regulations 2002 when acetylene is or is liable to be present in the workplace and suitable controls must be put in place where an explosive atmosphere may occur in the workplace.
The Acetylene Safety Regulations 2014 also place a requirement for operators to ensure that the gas control equipment being used on acetylene equipment is designed for acetylene use.
Acetylene Training and Guidance
Our oxy-acetylene training workshop explains how flashbacks can occur when operators are using oxy-fuel gas equipment and now, in line with the regulations, instructs operators to fit flashback arrestors to acetylene systems.
Over the past few years acetylene has received some negative press. This has mainly been driven by the protocols used by the Fire and Rescue Service to deal with incidents involving acetylene cylinders, whereby cylinders were cooled for 24 hours before being moved.
After several years of extensive research in the UK and Germany, the Government’s Chief Fire and Rescue Adviser (CFRA) has published new operational guidance on dealing with acetylene cylinders involved in fires.
In the event of a fire, new best practice requires just one hour of water cooling on the cylinder with a hazard zone of up to 200m if appropriate, followed by a further hour of precautionary monitoring. This is a considerable improvement on the previous guidance, published in 2003, which required any acetylene cylinder that has been involved in a fire to be cooled for 24 hours.
It’s essential that operators and management are aware of this procedure. At Gas Safe we constantly update our acetylene safety training materials, all of our oxy-acetylene training workshops reflect this revised protocol.
Who Is Acetylene Training for?
Acetylene training is required for personnel who use the gas in any environment, e.g. welding, cutting, fabrication etc.
Our range of workshops can provide either awareness training for users of acetylene, practical training on how to correctly set-up and inspect oxy-acetylene systems or process training on how to correctly and safely cut, gouge, weld or braze with acetylene.
If you believe you have a need for oxy-acetylene training please contact us on 01270 758890 or admin@gassafeconsultants.co.uk
