Butane torch

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Torch for soldering, plumbing, jewelry and brazing Heavy duty micro blow torch flame forte.jpg
Torch for soldering, plumbing, jewelry and brazing
A small butane torch made for kitchen use Newport-zero-mini-butane-torch-lighter-silver.jpg
A small butane torch made for kitchen use

A butane torch is a tool which creates an intensely hot flame using a fuel mixture of LPGs typically including some percentage of butane, a flammable gas.

Contents

Consumer air butane torches are often claimed to develop flame temperatures up to approximately 1,430 °C (2,610 °F). This temperature is high enough to melt many common metals, such as aluminum and copper, and hot enough to vaporize many organic compounds as well.

Applications

Brazing, soldering, plumbing

Often used as daily task tools, butane torches work very well for home improvement and work to solve problems with plumbing, soldering and brazing. Most of the times copper, silver and other metals are used for home repairs of tubes and other house things.

Culinary

Using a torch to caramelize a creme brulee Creme Brulee Torch.jpg
Using a torch to caramelize a crème brûlée

Butane torches are frequently employed as kitchen gadgets to caramelize sugar in cooking, such as when making crème brûlée. [1] They may be marketed as kitchen torches, cooking torches, or culinary torches. Use of the butane torch in the kitchen is not limited to caramelizing sugar; it can be used to melt or brown toppings on casseroles or soups, to melt cheese, and to roast or char vegetables such as peppers. [2]

Cigars

Pocket butane torches are commonly used as lighters for cigars, capitalizing on the intensity of the flame to light quickly and evenly the large, relatively damp, burning surface of a cigar.

Bartender

Many bartenders and mixologists use butane torches in their recipes. Smoked and flaming cocktails are now a trend. [3]

Drug use

Butane torches are sometimes used in vaporizing cocaine free base (crack), black tar heroin, methamphetamine [4] or hash oil [5] for inhalation.

See also

Related Research Articles

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Propane</span> Hydrocarbon compound

Propane is a three-carbon alkane with the molecular formula C3H8. It is a gas at standard temperature and pressure, but compressible to a transportable liquid. A by-product of natural gas processing and petroleum refining, it is commonly used as a fuel in domestic and industrial applications and in low-emissions public transportation. Discovered in 1857 by the French chemist Marcellin Berthelot, it became commercially available in the US by 1911. Propane is one of a group of liquefied petroleum gases. The others include butane, propylene, butadiene, butylene, isobutylene, and mixtures thereof. Propane has lower volumetric energy density, but higher gravimetric energy density and burns more cleanly than gasoline and coal.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Candle</span> Wick embedded in solid flammable substance

A candle is an ignitable wick embedded in wax, or another flammable solid substance such as tallow, that provides light, and in some cases, a fragrance. A candle can also provide heat or a method of keeping time.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Thermite</span> Pyrotechnic composition of metal powder, which serves as fuel, and metal oxide

Thermite is a pyrotechnic composition of metal powder and metal oxide. When ignited by heat or chemical reaction, thermite undergoes an exothermic reduction-oxidation (redox) reaction. Most varieties are not explosive, but can create brief bursts of heat and high temperature in a small area. Its form of action is similar to that of other fuel-oxidizer mixtures, such as black powder.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Grilling</span> Form of cooking that involves dry heat

Grilling is a form of cooking that involves heat applied to the surface of food, commonly from above, below or from the side. Grilling usually involves a significant amount of direct, radiant heat, and tends to be used for cooking meat and vegetables quickly. Food to be grilled is cooked on a grill, using a cast iron/frying pan, or a grill pan.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Caramel</span> Confectionery product made by heating sugars

Caramel is an orange-brown confectionery product made by heating a range of sugars. It can be used as a flavoring in puddings and desserts, as a filling in bonbons, or as a topping for ice cream and custard.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Cookware and bakeware</span> Food preparation containers

Cookware and bakeware is food preparation equipment, such as cooking pots, pans, baking sheets etc. used in kitchens. Cookware is used on a stove or range cooktop, while bakeware is used in an oven. Some utensils are considered both cookware and bakeware.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Lighter</span> Handheld device used to generate a flame

A lighter is a portable device which creates a controlled flame, and can be used to ignite a variety of flammable items, such as cigarettes, butane gas, fireworks, candles or campfires. A lighter typically consists of a metal or plastic container filled with a flammable liquid, a compressed flammable gas and in rarer cases a flammable solid i.e. rope in a trench lighter, a means of ignition to produce the flame, and some provision for extinguishing the flame or merely controlling it to such a degree that the user may extinguish it with their breath. Alternatively, a lighter can be one which uses electricity to create an electric arc utilizing the created plasma as the source of ignition or a heating element can be used in a similar vein to heat the target to its ignition temperatures, as first formally utilized by Friedrich Wilhelm Schindler to light cigars and now more commonly seen incorporated into the automobile auxiliary power outlet to ignite the target material. Different lighter fuels have different characteristics which is the main influence behind the creation and purchasing of a variety of lighter types.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Caramelization</span> Process of liquifying sugar

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<span class="mw-page-title-main">Lampworking</span>

Lampworking is a type of glasswork in which a torch or lamp is used to melt the glass. Once in a molten state, the glass is formed by blowing and shaping with tools and hand movements. It is also known as flameworking or torchworking, as the modern practice no longer uses oil-fueled lamps. Although lack of a precise definition for lampworking makes it difficult to determine when this technique was first developed, the earliest verifiable lampworked glass is probably a collection of beads thought to date to the fifth century BCE. Lampworking became widely practiced in Murano, Italy in the 14th century. As early as the 17th century, itinerant glassworkers demonstrated lampworking to the public. In the mid-19th century lampwork technique was extended to the production of paperweights, primarily in France, where it became a popular art form, still collected today. Lampworking differs from glassblowing in that glassblowing uses a furnace as the primary heat source, although torches are also used.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Oxyhydrogen</span> Explosive mixture of hydrogen and oxygen gases

Oxyhydrogen is a mixture of hydrogen (H2) and oxygen (O2) gases. This gaseous mixture is used for torches to process refractory materials and was the first gaseous mixture used for welding. Theoretically, a ratio of 2:1 hydrogen:oxygen is enough to achieve maximum efficiency; in practice a ratio 4:1 or 5:1 is needed to avoid an oxidizing flame.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Outline of food preparation</span> Overview of and topical guide to food preparation

The following outline is provided as an overview of and topical guide to food preparation:

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Propane torch</span> Tool for generating heat and flame by burning propane

A propane torch is a tool normally used for the application of flame or heat which uses propane, a hydrocarbon gas, for its fuel and ambient air as its combustion medium. Propane is one of a group of by-products of the natural gas and petroleum industries known as liquefied petroleum gas (LPG). Propane and other fuel torches are most commonly used in the manufacturing, construction and metal-working industries.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Oxy-fuel welding and cutting</span> Metalworking technique using a fuel and oxygen

Oxy-fuel welding and oxy-fuel cutting are processes that use fuel gases and oxygen to weld or cut metals. French engineers Edmond Fouché and Charles Picard became the first to develop oxygen-acetylene welding in 1903. Pure oxygen, instead of air, is used to increase the flame temperature to allow localised melting of the workpiece material in a room environment. A common propane/air flame burns at about 2,250 K, a propane/oxygen flame burns at about 2,526 K, an oxyhydrogen flame burns at 3,073 K and an acetylene/oxygen flame burns at about 3,773 K.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Hash oil</span> Oleoresin obtained by the extraction of cannabis or hashish

Hash oil or cannabis oil is an oleoresin obtained by the extraction of cannabis or hashish. It is a cannabis concentrate containing many of its resins and terpenes – in particular, tetrahydrocannabinol (THC), cannabidiol (CBD), and other cannabinoids. Hash oil is usually consumed by smoking, vaporizing or eating. Preparations of hash oil may be solid or colloidal depending on both production method and temperature and are usually identified by their appearance or characteristics. Color most commonly ranges from transparent golden or light brown, to tan or black. There are various extraction methods, most involving a solvent, such as butane or ethanol.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Soldering</span> Process of joining metal pieces with heated filler metal

Soldering is a process of joining two metal surfaces together using a filler metal called solder. The soldering process involves heating the surfaces to be joined and melting the solder, which is then allowed to cool and solidify, creating a strong and durable joint.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Butane</span> Organic compound

Butane or n-butane is an alkane with the formula C4H10. Butane is a highly flammable, colorless, easily liquefied gas that quickly vaporizes at room temperature and pressure. The name butane comes from the root but- (from butyric acid, named after the Greek word for butter) and the suffix -ane. It was discovered in crude petroleum in 1864 by Edmund Ronalds, who was the first to describe its properties, and commercialized by Walter O. Snelling in early 1910s.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Blowtorch</span> Fuel-burning tool for applying flame and heat for various applications

A blowtorch, also referred to as a blowlamp, is an ambient air fuel-burning gas lamp used for applying flame and heat to various applications, usually metalworking.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Crème brûlée</span> Custard dessert with hard caramel top

Crème brûlée or crème brulée, also known as burnt cream or Trinity cream, and virtually identical to the original crema catalana, is a dessert consisting of a rich custard base topped with a layer of hardened caramelized sugar. It is normally served slightly chilled; the heat from the caramelizing process tends to warm the top of the custard, while leaving the center cool. The custard base is traditionally flavored with vanilla in French cuisine, but can have other flavorings. It is sometimes garnished with fruit.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Candy making</span>

Candy making or candymaking is the preparation and cookery of candies and sugar confections. Candy making includes the preparation of many various candies, such as hard candies, jelly beans, gumdrops, taffy, liquorice, cotton candy, chocolates and chocolate truffles, dragées, fudge, caramel candy, and toffee.

References

  1. Lauterbach, Barbara (2005). The Splendid Spoonful: From Custard to Crème Brûleé . San Francisco: Chronicle Books. p.  50. ISBN   0811845028.
  2. Blowtorches. CooksInfo.com. Published 02/22/2007. Updated 12/02/2007. Web. Retrieved 11/25/2012 from http://www.cooksinfo.com/blowtorches
  3. "10 Last Minute Gift Ideas For The Mixologist in All of Us". DrinkWire. Retrieved 2018-01-15.
  4. Lee, Gregory D. (2005). Global Drug Enforcement: Practical Investigative Techniques. Taylor & Francis. p. 40. ISBN   978-0-20348-898-0.
  5. Breathes, William (June 10, 2013). "Crazy High Times: The Rise of Hash Oil". Rolling Stone. Retrieved 2013-09-23.