Exothermic Torches

[natemarshall]

Does anyone have any experience in using exothermic torches. We have a large section of Interstate 70, we also have many large tour buses going to /from casinos and 1,000s of vehicles per day. If exothermic doesnt work what does.

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Shadow

[e33]

Exothermic cutting torches are not very well suited for vehicle rescue. We have an Arcair slice pack torch, they operate on industrial grade oxygen and use varying sized rods to cut. The torch is ignited using a battery to produce a spark which ignites the oxygen. The cutting rods are rolled metal and are hollow. The oxygen flows through the rod and burns at the tip, consuming the rod and creating a very hot flame. It produces a VERY large amount of sparks and fire and should be used cautiously. They have the ability to cut through almost anything, but for vehicles they are not well suited. If you are concerned with vehicles such as busses, try using air tools, sawzalls and hydraulics. The best tools will prove to be air chisels and sawzalls. The slice pack torch is better suited for industrial and agricultural applications. If you plan on using such a tool, have fire protection handy. But like i said, if your needs are transportation based, it isnt necessarily right for the task.

[CD]

I agree with e33 regarding the torch. The main reason we bought one is to cut a wide variety of metals. For busses, heavy hydraulic tools and a sawzall are the best tools that I have found. If I need to go through the structural members of a bus like posts, the cutters work best. For cutting structural members hidden in the skin of the bus, to drive a halligan pike end through the wall on either side of the member to provide a purchase point for the cutters. If you do this for every member in the area you want to remove, you then can connect the cuts with the sawzall. This is the fastest procedure for total section removal that I have found.

[Dalmation90]

Ok, maybe I'm quibbling...but, it's important for firefighters to understand:
>The torch is ignited using a battery to produce a spark which
ignites the oxygen. The cutting rods are rolled metal and are hollow

Folks, Oxygen does not burn. Period. End of discussion. Doesn't explode either.
What is burning is the metal rod in the O2 rich enviroment.
Matt

[e33]

Oops, i knew that. I'm not sure how i managed to explain it that way. Thanks for pointing that out Matt. I dont usually try to give bad information.