HTS 2000 Aluminum Brazing

[Blakenstein]

Here is a repair I did with the HTS. It is blood sweat and tears to get it to stick, but that is because it was taking forever to heat the crank case up hot enough. I almost turned the whole motor into one big glob before that small area was hot enough.....and I was using oxy - map flame. AAAARRRHH !!! I get mad when I use that little toy, because it has no regulators and the flame keeps fluctuating from carburizing to oxidizing.
I found out that the HTS is very strong and it works, if you can get it to stick . If you ever want to play with these rods, you should get at least 50 of them because they get used up very fast, and also, use aluminum flux with them. I had no flux but I made my own solution with fine sand and some calcium magnesium vitamin pills.
I really had to glob a lot on there, and do a lot of grinding so the flywheel fan blades would clear the mess. As bad a job that I did, the magneto bracket is holding very well.

 

[Seabass]

Nice job grinding up you meds!!! Way to be a mad scientist,. I didn't think you could braze aluminum because of it heat transfering properties. I have a spool gun at work that I would have used. You've done the impossible in my mind!!!

 

[Blakenstein]

Thanks for your imput !! yes , i wish that i had auminum mig . it has been a long time for me to reply to your statement cause, i have to pay for my outlook exprese on my new computer, so i just use my old hp, with windows xp , and change over the monitor ,lol ...i ordered big time goodies from Staton yesterday, so i had to check my e-mail today on this other com. and i saw your reply come up. while i was shopping , i found custom hubs threaded on both sides , for left hand free wheels, and they have single speed / left hand free wheels , sprockets thread rigth into the hub !!!! now i want a china girl . ooooh yea !!!

 

[MEASURE TWICE]

What torch did you use for the work? I have a torch but it is not the swirl type an I hear it does not get hot enough using propane or mapp.

 

[a_dam]

I have a little BernzOmatic 2-tank torch kit with oxygen and mapp. I've only used it a few times for brazing steel. Worked good. That oxygen is so expensive, I heat the work up mostly with a propane torch. Try to have everything clamped so the propane flame is focused on the work hands-free. Then when it is hot, I fire up the oxy-mapp flame and get the piece to the final bright-red brazing temp and flow in the rod. Propane is cheap, and if you don't preheat with it, you'll be lucky to get one brazing project out of a $8 tank of oxygen (mapp ain't cheap either, but lasts longer than the O2).

I've been wanting to try those alum brazing rods. The ox/mapp is "supposed" to get hot enough to cut steel, so I would think it gets plenty hot enough to turn aluminum into liquid. Having trouble finding a definite price on the HTS 2000 rods.

 

[MEASURE TWICE]

I got one rod to test out from a shop first before I bought a bunch. My propane never could melt it.

I also have a torch of Propane with O2 but only pencil tip and it I found out too late that it is for maybe small jewelry. And of course the 02 goes like in an instant empty.

I now use it for only the 02 and the valve with the flame tip removed. Then a hose connects to where the flame tip would be. Now I have a controlled output of pure oxygen I run through a filter and then into a diffusion stone to oxygenate the primary fermentation of a batch of beer after I add the yeast. Yeast start out multiplying really quickly with pure oxygen and rather than risk using the the oxygen in the air with some foul yeast, it makes sure it is not contaminated.

I thought from what some ads and threads I've read that the more expensive swirl type torch that just use propane and air can get hotter than the regular propane torches. I don't want to again buy something that is not sufficient and then have no use for it.

Anyway the Beer is good. I have also for another first in brewing used the inert gas from my MIG welder tank of Argon/CO2 to put a heavier than air blanket of gas, on top of the later fermentation when it slows an goes anaerobic.

A_dam, was just checking is the BernzOmatic torch you have the one that their is no hose, you have to hold both tanks and the torch? That is the one I have and is just a bit awkward like that. The best thing about it is that there is a gauge to tell how much O2 is left. From reading on how much a O2 tank could be used for in starting up 5 gallon batches of beer, they say about 20. If I use it frugally I'm set til 2026.