MAPMAPP GasP Gas

Time was I could pay a little more for a more potent gas than propane or acetylene for a small torch. It burned so hot that it would puddle small bits of aluminum. It was great for shaping iron and curing exhaust paint. It was labelled MAPP, and each letter identified one of the components. Lately I started to notice that small jobs were taking longer or not completing at all. It used to be that ten seconds on a cylinder would have the sleeve drop out. Now I had to "help" the sleeve with a mallet.

Then I noticed that the bottle said MAP; not MAPP. I looked into it. Dow Corning produced MAPP gas until 2008 when they sold off some of their assets to the Linde group. Production shrunk until a single facility was producing it. It went up to about three times as much as propane. Soon it was gone. So why do they label the Bernzomatic bottles "MAP?" I can think of no more compelling reason than deception.

More to come . . .

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