Thermal Lance/ "Burning Bar"
Yogi Shan
I remember reading when I was younger about
thermal lances, aka "burning bars". The device,
consisting of a long metal tube, filled with some
sort of flammable substance and fed with pure
oxygen gas, was ignited at one end with an
oxy-acetylene torch.
The thermal lance would burn at an extremely high
temperature, and was self-consuming. It was
allegedly used to burn holes in metal, concrete (?),
etc. Pretty much anything.
The old (70s/80s) movie "Thief" starring James Caan
shows the safecracker protagonist using one for
criminal purposes.
Does anyone have any information on this interesting
device? Any published information sources or other
references? Anyone seen one in use. What are they
used for legitimately?
The only thing I can guess is that the tube is Mg
or an Mg/Al alloy, with either Mg or thermite as
the filler. However, thermite produces a temp.
of 3000 C., which I wouldn't think would affect
concrete.
Post or e-mail & I'll summarize.
[Follow-ups to rec.pyrotechnics, just because I
can't figure out where else this thread belongs.]
Yogi
*****************************************************
"Good? Bad? I'm the guy with the gun"
- Ash
"Army of Darkness"
*****************************************************
Wolf Tagger
>Does anyone have any information on this interesting
>device? Any published information sources or other
>references? Anyone seen one in use. What are they
>used for legitimately?
I saw one being used at a steel mill several years ago. It was being used to
puncture the ceramic lining of an arc furnace. As far as I remember, it was
simply a straight steel tube through which pure oxygen was passed.
I don't recall seeing anything inside it, but maybe different lances have
different constructions.
Anyway, according to the operator (who incidentally used a simple propane
torch to ignite it), it can burn through conrete, ceramics, metals, and just
about anything else.
--------------- rgty...@chemistry.watstar.uwaterloo.ca ---------------------
_____ ______ Raphael T.
| : \ | \
| : `\______|______\________ Some men "live to fly, fly to
\'_____ \_____\_____ fight, fight to win". Others
\____/-)_,---------,______________>-- prefer to simply send a SAM
\ / up their tailpipe.
| /
|____/__
henry batchelor
Ok what you are talking about is a type of BROCO rode
is a tube with a number of metal rodes varying depending on how make it
and one or two magnesite rodes inside a metal tube with center hollow
for the O2 to by forced through and normaly coated with plastic.
thay are used to cut just about anything underwater by commercial divers.
the rig is a welding stinger with a head that lets you force O2 through the
broco rode and the electric arc is used only to start. when burning the rode
will not go out underwater unless you stop the O2.
the temp. is 10000 F at the tip of the rode and the gas produced by the
reaction, well its Explosive trust my I know.In use it tends to have a lot
of small blast as the gas hits the hot metal.The small blast are won't
do anything but give you a Headache but if the gas get traped in a pochet
Wo it will do some major damage.
The last time I went to a trade show thay had a small portible unit for
emergence personel for cuting on the serface but it only had a short
burn time.
If you need or want more info BROCO, INC.
2824 N. Locust Ave.
Rialto CA 92377
1-800-845-7259
Sory about the spelling but I can't spell.
P.S. the reason there called BROCO rods is that the BROCO company was the
first to make them.
At DAES broco cuting is refered to as mass destruction under water
thay cut anything but not to neatly.Thay make plasma cuting look neat.
JOKU...@news.delphi.com
>In article <3i32ma$p...@bcarh8ab.bnr.ca> ys...@bnr.ca (Yogi Shan) writes:
>>Does anyone have any information on this interesting
>>device? Any published information sources or other
>>references? Anyone seen one in use. What are they
>>used for legitimately?
>I saw one being used at a steel mill several years ago. It was being used to
>puncture the ceramic lining of an arc furnace. As far as I remember, it was
>simply a straight steel tube through which pure oxygen was passed.
>I don't recall seeing anything inside it, but maybe different lances have
>different constructions.
>Anyway, according to the operator (who incidentally used a simple propane
>torch to ignite it), it can burn through conrete, ceramics, metals, and just
>about anything else.
The one I saw in use at a salvage yard a few years back was
nothing more than a black iron pipe filled with mild steel rods. I don't
know about concrete or ceramics, but it did a fine job of carving large
castings into more managable chunks.
Patton M Turner
>I remember reading when I was younger about
>thermal lances, aka "burning bars". The device,
>consisting of a long metal tube, filled with some
>sort of flammable substance and fed with pure
>oxygen gas, was ignited at one end with an
>oxy-acetylene torch.
The flammable substance is usually a metal such as aluminum. The larger
tubes are often steel pipe which also burns (such as with a cutting torch)
with the rods inside. An arc welder can also be added to pump in even
more heat when cutting metals.
>Does anyone have any information on this interesting
>device? Any published information sources or other
>references? Anyone seen one in use. What are they
>used for legitimately?
You can buy a small one from airco called the Slice torch. It's used for
heavy equipiment work (such as cutting the pins out of a bushing in a
backhoe to change the bucket), rescue work, maintainance, in foundrys for
degating castings, etc. The real large ones are also used in foundries
for working on furnaces because they will cut through the refactory,
slag, metal, etc.
The rods can be lit by striking an arc (from a welder or battery) or
using a torch.
The bare bones Slice torch can be had for a few hundred, you supply 02, a
regulator, and a arc welder or 12 volt battery to light the torch. For
500 you get a small O2 cylinder, backpack, 12V battery etc. The large
torches are even cheaper because all they are are two brass castings that
clamp the exothermic rod and feed oxygen into it. We lighted ours by
sticking into a furnace of iron, but foundry people are a little crazy
anyway :-). As I recall the large rods are somewhat expensive. The Slice
rods aren't too bad, but I haven't used one long enough to get an idea of
rod life. Cutting off some frozen bolts and pins paid for the torch
within 10 uses anyway.
Oh, I found some info... Back in 88 the Slice torch was $165 and rods
$40/100. Rods are 1/4 or 3/8" dia and up to 36" long.
Arcair 614 653 5618 (Lancaster, Ohio)
Send me a FAX number and I can send a picture.
Pat