I've an old Ideal Arc TIG welder. The water pump for the torch gave up the ghost. I can see the one on there was something the guy before me just had around.
What kind of cooling water pump should a TIG torch have? Looks like very low flow, and not a lot of water pressure either.
You need 50 psi water pressure to get the water through the head.
You can buy just the pump and build your own water cooler with a 5 gallon water bucket. Fancy Radiators and fans are not necessary unless you are doing welding in the 400 amp range.
You need 50 psi water pressure to get the water through the head.
You can buy just the pump and build your own water cooler with a 5 gallon water bucket. A fancy radiator and fan is not needed unless you are welding in the
I just checked the literature on my Weldcraft water cooled torch and it suggests that if city water is used, that it should be pressure reduced to
50 PSI maximum. I've always used tap water and run it to waste. As little as they use, it's a cheap way to deal with cooling. You might give that a thought. When I built my new shop, I even included a special 1" drain pipe at the welder to discharge the water, which ends up in our roof drain system, then to a catch basin. No mess, and completely out of sight. I use a tiny Watts pressure reducer to prevent over pressure.
I own enough equipment so that I can allways have something broken I tell people farming would only be a part time job if it weren't for breakdowns.
Now, if you REALLY want to increase repair work, get a 20 year old to use all your stuff hard. I didn't mind when the TIG broke but he got a lecture before using my 10EE all day Saturday.
Thanks, Ernie L and others for the tip. I'll order one tommorrow.
Mine is also plumbed into ciy water .I have a 1/4 plastic hose to drain it outside .I never hooked up a pressure regulator to it I this is the first time I herd of doing that .My warer pressure is 70lb.The water only runs while your welding and a few seconds after you stop ,same as the gas. City water $1.08 per
In my case I knew I'd have to use a regulator. Our water pressure was rocking off 150 lbs when I installed the machine. I finally had to regulate not only the welder, but the entire house. The pressure was so close to tripping the pressure relief valve on the water heater that it occasionally would leak.
If you're not having any problems with your setup, it's likely fine. I think by reducing the pressure you might use slightly less water, but considering the amount it takes, and the infrequency that we use our machines on a hobby basis, it could take the rest of your life to pay for the pressure reducer. If it ain't broke, don't fix it!
I tried a few different pumps on mine before I found something that worked and was cheap.
I'm now using a peristaltic pump that does the needed quart per minute and can deliver the pressure. I picked it up for $3 at a scrap sale. I've also had good luck with a nutating pump before the seal failed on it. I was running a carbonator pump but it was putting out too much pressure and when the vibration from it blew out the regulator I was using I gave up on it.
The magic numbers seem to be 1 quart per minute of flow at 50ish PSI.
I imagine one of the belows type or piston pumps would do it too.
The carbonator pumps used on the Bernard coolers have a built in relief valve.
Grainger used to sell an small inexpensive (~$50) carpet cleaner pump that worked well in one cooler I built. I only see larger more expensive units in the current catalog.
I also used a diaphragm pump removed from the fresh water system of a large sailboat in a cooler. The 12V motor was replaced with a small gearmotor. That one ran for years with no trouble.
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