Thermal Arc 185 + water coold torch

I leave my water coolers run until Im done with the project.

Gunner

"Pax Americana is a philosophy. Hardly an empire. Making sure other people play nice and dont kill each other (and us) off in job lots is hardly empire building, particularly when you give them self determination under "play nice" rules.

Think of it as having your older brother knock the shit out of you for torturing the cat." Gunner

thanks for the input Gunner, good for you :) what I like to know is how should I make mine to work with the gas solonoid ? I don't see much reason to run a motor /water pump if nothing needs to be cooled , as I said sometimes I walk away to cut pieces of metal, grind get called away by the wife :) :) I may for get to return .......... :)

you know what I mean???

If you want to connect it electrically, you'll need to make an electrical connection between the wire that triggers the gas solenoid and ground. I know nothing whatever about your machine, but if you can get that wire out, you can hook it to the coil of a relay and use the relay to switch power to your cooler.

GWE

I'm wondering why you decided to use a water cooled torch with your TA. On mine the torch does get warm after a while, but I'm wondering if you had other reasons.

Peter

you want to turn the pump on at the same time as the gas ?

you should be able to use the solenoid activation wire to switch a relay that energizes the motor contactor

if the gas solenoid was dc I would be scared to do this as the added current draw might damage the welder , but if the gas solenoid is 110/120volt you should be able to trigger a small relay to operate your pump

If you don't want to open up your machine to get to the gas solenoid wiring, you could probably use a pressure switch between the machine and the torch to read gas-on and turn on your cooler. A relay between the switch and the cooler might be a good idea depending on the current rating of the switch and cooler. I have never put a gauge between the machine and the torch, but I expect that there would be at least 10 psi of back pressure from the torch.

You might also be able to mount a second microswitch in your foot pedal that would turn the cooler on about the same time the arc switches on. This would be kind of a pain for the extra wiring, but is probably the simplest to implement. This approach would really like a relay so your new microswitch and wiring only has low voltage on it.

Last idea is that maybe there is an arc-on signal out of the machine for something like this. Maybe the current control pedal connector? Maybe a utility connector? A service manual or maybe the owners manual would mention this.

Good Luck, Bob

Thanks everyone for the ideas, the machine is under warranty for 3 years, getting into the wiring may not be advisable , specially on an inverter TIG. I have no idea what voltage the gas solonoid gets. a micro switch/ realy at the foot pedal may sound like an easy solution.

why water cool the torch on a TA 185 ? I use it mostly on Stainless, once I start working on it I normally continue thru out the day with it. I have a 17 series Air cooled torch but it is too big .

Now I use a 20 series water cooled torch, it is much smaller and than any air cooled that could handle 120 amp with some on time. it is a must. lots of corners and T joints.

How about a simple switch wired to the water pump that is activated when the torch is hung on a hook. The weight of the torch would turn off the water flow. You could even wire in a simple time so it flows for a little while before shutting off.

I actually have an antique TIG torch hanger that does this with a valve. It also shuts off teh gas flow at the same time. The valves are marked Water and Helium, which tells you how old it is.

Id NOT hook it to the gas solenoid..IE a water valve in parallel with the gas solenoid..though thats the easiest way. Frankly..if you are going to go to this much trouble..find a 110vt source inside the machine and hook it up there. As long as the machine is running, the water pump runs. Short stroking the water pump is likely to put a big strain on the pump, the plumbing and the hoses.

Do you turn the machine off when you leave?

"Pax Americana is a philosophy. Hardly an empire. Making sure other people play nice and dont kill each other (and us) off in job lots is hardly empire building, particularly when you give them self determination under "play nice" rules.

Think of it as having your older brother knock the shit out of you for torturing the cat." Gunner

Ooooo good idea!!

Gunner

"Pax Americana is a philosophy. Hardly an empire. Making sure other people play nice and dont kill each other (and us) off in job lots is hardly empire building, particularly when you give them self determination under "play nice" rules.

Think of it as having your older brother knock the shit out of you for torturing the cat." Gunner

that is a good idea !

thaks

You could use a marine top-up switch designed to turn on a water pump when the level of a salt water tank gets too low.

Peter