Which burns hotter, MAPP Gas or Propane? Searching the internet will probably lead to MAPP being hotter, but you also may be left scratching your head. We were! So, to put all this bed, we set out to try this out for ourselves. It was a perfect opportunity since Home Depot had just sent us the Bernzomatic TS8000 torch kit with a bottle of MAP-Pro fuel. MAP-Pro…what’s that?! We’ll get there.
Another Way to Solder: Bernzomatic TS8000
MAPP Gas or Propane – Which Do You Want?
First off, MAPP gas has been discontinued for a few years now. MAPP is the acronym derived from methylacetylene-propadiene propane. Production of this came to halt in 2008, so it’s not going to be easy to find a bottle of this. Apparently, that MAPP gas burned hotter than propane, so larger solder/brazing jobs were a great fit. Now, we have MAP-Pro that’s conveniently packaged in the yellow cylinders. MAP-Pro is simply propylene. What does all this mean? Who knows, we’re just giving you some back story. Onto the show.
TS8000 Swirl Tip
Our contenders for the MAPP Gas or Propane challenge are a 14 oz cylinder of Propane with Bernzomatic “D” tip and a 14 oz cylinder of MAP-Pro with the newer Bernzomatic TS8000 torch tip. The challenge is simple: heat 2″ x 1/4″ plate for 30 seconds, quench to base temp, then 60 seconds. We started with the base temperature at 85-88F.
First up was the Propane with the old broad torch tip. On a 30 second run, it heated the 1/4″ plate to just 150F. A 30-second run of the MAP-Pro yielded 250F. Whoa, that’s quite a gap. Next, we ran them for 60-seconds (1 minute). Propane 250F; MAP-Pro 402F. Wow, that gap keeps growing. Well, that sums it up, MAP-Pro is hotter, right?! Not so fast. We switch the Berzomatic TS8000 Torch tip to the Propane cylinder and the same 60-second run yields 418F. We’d call this a tie. The torch tip and the way it brings in more air/oxygen makes the difference.
Home Depot sells the Bernzomatic TS8000 torch kit for $42. MAP-Pro gas will set you back $12, and the Propane is only $4.
Leave a Reply