Blowtorch

A blowtorch makes a hot flame.

People use it for many jobs. It can melt ice on paths. It can even burn weeds.

Some torches use gas. These are easy to use. Other torches use liquid fuel.

You might use a pump to start them.

People use the heat to fix metal. It can make things soft. It can melt tar for roads.

Some people use them to cook. They make sugar hard on a treat.

It is a very handy tool.

A blowtorch is a tool that makes a hot flame.

People use it for many jobs. They use it to work with metal. It can soften paint or melt tar for roads. Some people even use it to cook. A small butane torch can make sugar hard on a treat.

There are different kinds of torches. Some use gas, like propane or butane. These torches are easy to use. They often have a small tank. This tank also acts as the handle. Other torches use liquid fuel.

These may use kerosene or diesel. Early liquid torches used a hand pump. This pump adds pressure to the fuel.

Old torches were very different. They were once called blown lamps. People used a tube to blow air into a lamp. In 1882, Carl Richard Nyberg made a new way to use liquid fuel. This was a vaporizing technique. This means the liquid turns into gas to burn. Today, most people use gas torches. But some places still use liquid fuel torches. This is because gas can be hard to find there.

A blowtorch is a handy tool used to make a hot flame.

It is very useful for many different jobs. People often use it for metalworking tasks. It can also help with cooking in a kitchen. For example, a butane torch melts sugar for crème brûlée.

This makes a hard, tasty layer on top. It is a tool that provides heat when you need it.

There are two main ways these tools work. Some torches use gas like propane or butane. These gas torches are often self-pressurized. This happens as the fuel turns into a gas.

Other torches use liquid fuel like kerosene or diesel. Older liquid torches need a hand pump to add pressure. They use a coiled tube to turn the liquid into gas. This process is called vaporizing. The heat from the flame helps this happen.

These tools have a very long history. Long ago, goldsmiths used a simple blown lamp. This was just a lamp with a tube to blow air into it.

In 1797, August von Marquardt invented a blowtorch in Eberswalde. Later, Carl Richard Nyberg made a new vaporizing method in Sweden. He did this in 1882. His design was very popular and many others copied it. Even in 1856, a patent for a blowpipe was filed in the US.

Different parts of the world used different fuels. The US version used gasoline for its fuel. European versions used kerosene because it was safer and cheaper.

After the Korean War in the 1950s, propane became easier to find. This changed the whole industry. By the 1970s, most old liquid fuel torches had disappeared. However, some people still make brass torches in India, China, and North Korea. They do this where propane is hard to get.

Torches help us do many everyday things. They can melt snow and ice on driveways in winter.

Road crews use them to heat asphalt for repairs. They can even be used to control weeds by burning them. A large version is called a flame gun. It has a built-in tank and is used for big jobs. It is different from a flamethrower, even if people get them confused.

A blowtorch, sometimes called a blowlamp, is a tool used to apply a flame and heat to specific tasks.

It is most commonly used in metalworking, but it has many other uses. For example, chefs use small butane torches to melt sugar into a hard layer for crème brûlée.

While people often use the term "blowtorch" for any tool that makes a flame for metal, the name technically refers to a specific type of tool. Properly speaking, a blowtorch is a pressurized liquid fuel torch. These tools are vital because they provide a wide, high-temperature flame. This heat is strong, but it is usually not hot enough to cause combustion or welding.

There are two primary ways these tools function based on their fuel. Modern gas torches use fuels like butane or propane.

These tools are often self-pressurized. This means the fuel creates its own pressure as it evaporates into a gas. In many gas torches, the fuel tank is small and also acts as the handle. Users often refuel them by replacing the entire tank with a new one. Some larger gas torches are connected to a hose that leads to a larger liquefied petroleum gas (LPG) cylinder or even a mains gas supply.

Older, traditional blowtorches work differently by using liquid fuels. These include kerosene, diesel, or biodiesel.

To get the fuel to burn, it must undergo a process called vaporizing. This means the liquid must turn into a gas before it reaches the flame. In these tools, a coiled tube passes through the flame to heat the liquid. This heat turns the liquid fuel into gas. To start these torches, a user often needs to pre-heat them using methylated spirit. Early versions of these liquid torches required a piston hand pump to create the necessary pressure.

Liquid-fueled torches can be small, single handheld units. They use a natural draught of air to provide oxygen for the flame. In these models, a hand plunger pump provides the initial pressure. Once the torch is operating, regenerative heating helps maintain the pressure. However, larger liquid torches may be more complex. They might have a heavy fuel reservoir that sits on the ground. This reservoir is then connected to the torch by a hose. This setup is seen in large kerosene torches, such as the Wells light.

The history of these tools goes back to ancient times. Goldsmiths and silversmiths used very early versions. These started as a "blown lamp," which was a wick oil lamp with a tube for blowing air. In 1797, an inventor named August von Marquardt created a blowtorch in Eberswalde, Germany. Later, a patent for a blowpipe was filed in the United States on May 13, 1856. A major breakthrough occurred in 1882 when Carl Richard Nyberg developed a new vaporizing technique in Sweden. His design was so successful that production began in 1883, and many other companies copied or licensed his work.

Fuel choices often depended on where the tool was being used. In the United States, blowtorches were developed with a flared base and used gasoline. In Europe, manufacturers preferred kerosene because it was cheaper and safer.

This changed after the Korean War in the 1950s. During this time, propane became much more available worldwide. By the 1970s, most companies that made the old gasoline or kerosene torches had disappeared. Today, brass blowtorches are still produced in India, China, and North Korea. These markets still use them because propane gas can be difficult or expensive to find there.

Blowtorches are used for many practical jobs in the world. In construction and maintenance, they are used for soldering and brazing. They can also soften paint so it can be removed or melt roof tar.

In cold climates, people use them to melt snow and ice from driveways and pavements. Road crews in the US and Canada use them to heat asphalt or bitumen to repair cracks. They are even used for weed control through controlled burning. A large version of this tool is called a flame gun. It has a built-in fuel tank and is used for big tasks. While some people confuse flame guns with flamethrowers, they are different tools used for different purposes.