Should I get a Solidox torch?

May 4, 2016 2:39 PM

There's one for sale on Craigslist for $20. Anyone used one? Know where I can get the Potassium chlorate "solid oxygen" pellets?

I would use it primarily for bicycle frames - fillet brazing thin-wall steel tubing. I've used Oxy-MAPP torches in the past and found them underpowered for the job, but with a full-size Oxy-Acetlyne rig I rarely use more than a #1 tip.

I can't find much info online, and they apparently haven't been made since the 80s. I would love testimonials/reviews from anybody who's tried one.

posted by sibilatorix to Sports, Hobbies, & Recreation (4 answers total)

It looks like the only way to get the pellets would be to find some thirty year old NOS ones in a can on the dusty shelf of a hardware store.
posted by fixedgear at 3:57 PM on May 4, 2016

Best answer: It's been a very long time since I used one (and they weren't common here anyway), but I don't recall they were better than a modern oxy/MAPP torch anyway (and, at least in theory, oxy/MAPP should be better than oxy/propane).
posted by Pinback at 4:07 PM on May 4, 2016

Best answer: I bought one from Sears.

It was less than worthless.

You light the pellets on fire and they burn rapidly and produce oxygen and an indescribable, nose-searing stink.

If you are thinking of starting a museum of things that never should have been manufactured or sold, it might be worth $20 or more; otherwise, no.
posted by jamjam at 5:04 PM on May 4, 2016 [3 favorites]

Best answer: If you don't have one already, just bite the bullet and buy a oxy-acetylene setup. You'll have more flexibility for other tasks in the future and you won't have to worry about finding pellets that are probably going to be increasingly unobtanium.
posted by Dr. Twist at 12:24 PM on May 5, 2016