A gas burner is a device that uses gaseous fuels to emit a flame. The gases most commonly used by gas burners are propane, natural gas, and acetylene. A gas burner maybe used for processes such as soldering, brazing, and welding.
A typical gas burner contains two sources, one for fuel and one for oxygen. This kind of gas burner generally also has two regulators and two hoses. Finally, many gas welders also have a torch that can be applied to brazing and soldering jobs.
The regulators on a gas burner control the pressure from the fuel and oxygen tanks. Regulators on a burner are normally operated by the user of the torch, who is able to adjust the flow of oxygen and fuel into the hose. The operator can adjust the regulator to determine how much oxygen and fuel will be put through the hose.
The hoses are different colors, which are meant to designate the purpose of each hose. The colors of the hoses may vary from country to country. In some nations, an oxygen hose may be blue, whereas in other countries it may be green. An acetylene hose is often be red. Propane hoses are commonly orange. For safety, it is essential that oxygen and fuel hoses be different colors so that operators cannot confuse them.
Gas burners are essential to a variety of metalworking tasks. Soldering is the process of joining two different pieces of metal. The pieces of metal are joined by a flowing metal that has a low melting point. For this reason, it is possible to solder with a gas burner that has a flame with a lower temperature. In many cases, it is possible to solder metals with a Bunsen burner, which uses natural gas.
Brazing, on the other hand, is similar to soldering, except that the filler metal has a much higher melting temperature. For brazing jobs, it is necessary to use a gas burner that has a much hotter flame. Tools most commonly used for brazing are torch brazers and furnace brazers.
Welding with a gas burner is known as gas welding. Like soldering and brazing, welding also requires use of a filler material, though welding requires that the materials being joined are also melted. This process is most normally used for tubes and pipes. Gas welding is also utilized for repairs, though it is less commonly incorporated in manufacturing because it requires more labor power than other welding processes. For welding, a gas burner is fueled by acetylene.