Old Troy-bilt

[Cliff]

Been trying to get an old Troy-bilt horse model tiller going before spring. I got my little propane torch to heat the hook on a spring I was working on. It caught fire in my hand. After I got it put out I took a pair of pliers and tore it apart and trashed it.
Next I got out my map gas torch . The second time I fired it up it caught fire in my hand. The map gas was a lot harder to put out than the propane. No damage except dead grass and the hair on my arm . Since I had already practiced I knew where to throw the second torch. The little tiller has a later model 8 horse power Kohler electric start engine. Might get to gro a few tomatoes this year.
Cliff

[Junk Yard Dog]

I toss any propane torch heads into the brass scrap, the seals are always shriveled up or gone on these and they leak gas. This is one tool that I just buy new every few years.

[Cliff]

I'm going online and buy a new one. I'd like to find another Tubor Torch.
Cliff

[SA1911a1]

There is probably nothing wrong with the torches except that the orifice has been plugged. Down here we have insects that will fill any size hole building their nests. I don't know what it is that nest in torch heads, but they do a great job of plugging them. The orifice hole may or may not be fixable in place, but most of them will unscrew with either a flat screwdriver or a hex key. Sometimes the holes are so tiny it is hard to find something to get in there and clean them out. Being an old gas mechanic, I have a full set of orifice bits made for the purpose.

Good luck, and I hope that the hair on the back of your hand grow back in quickly!

[mogunner]

I have two propane torch heads that are at least 7 yeas old and work fine, I clean them out every time I change the bottle.

[Junk Yard Dog]

With ours it's mostly the seals between bottle and head that start leaking, or the valve itself. When I need a torch I have the big one we cut steel with, but that isn't convenient to drag around the place for things like deicing padlocks. I cut steel for 40 years so unplugging torch tips is something I know a lot about