I too had an nasty experience with a long yellow flame coming from a DIY type blowtorch. It seems to do it if you tip the torch too far forward. It appears that it's only a problem just after you've lit it. Once the nozzle area is hot enough the liquid vapourises and the mass flow rate is reduced. I tip the torch in a clear direction to make sure it's "ok" (relatively) JohnP MODEL ENGINEERING DISCUSSION LIST. To UNSUBSCRIBE from this list, send a blank email to, modeleng-request@xxxxxxxxxxxxx with the word "unsubscribe" in the subject line.