TIG cooler options

hi guys,

I am trying to make a decesion wether to go with Ernies suggestion of using city water to cool my new #20 series torch or to go for a specific cooler. I like to keep wasting resources to the minimum if possible, but I also understand that a city-water type rig would be simple, no electricity required, pressure is already there, quite.

i have seen some plans on ebay for sale for $6-9 which suppose gives guidance and exact part numbers to put together a home made recycling circulating type tig cooler. my only concern is how well they work , are they safe ? while it does not take a scientist to slap together a bucket a pump and a car type heatercore with some hoses, but is someone to spend $100 - 150 on such thing mine as well go for a used specific tig cooler in the range of $300 or so.

what do you guys think?

TIA

Reply to
acrobat-ants
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Craftsman makes a pump that goes fits the end of a drill. It has garden hose connections. It may get you =BD way there for a lot less than $100.

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Reply to
Clandestine

My suggestion would be either use city water (with a filter) or use a "real" cooler unit. I like the Coolmate V3 I have on my Syncrowave. Granted it is really overpriced for what it is, but unless you're really good scrounging parts building a cooler is likely to cost close to what you could find a used unit for once you figure in time and is also likely to be uglier, bulkier and potentially less reliable.

Pete C.

acrobat-ants wrote:

Reply to
Pete C.

no can't do !!!! problem 1 who will operate the drill when I am welding ,

2 this pump will not develope any pressure to push water through any passage of a torch head. not ggod for long term solution, un reliable, need to be primed to work, leak aftera few uses.

I use simular pump to do oil change on my boat engine once a year. and that is all its good for, and makes a big mess every time. it is really a horrible pump.

thanks for the idea, I am open to suggestions.

Reply to
acrobat-ants

First of all if you are using the water for cooling your TIG torch you're not really wasting it, right ? ;)

If you are concerned about wasting--why not recycle the water?

With cooler systems, a pump capable of pushing water through very high resistance is required i.e. a gear pump

Think about where the resistance comes from... The pump has to work hard becasue the passageways in a typical 200 amp water cooled torch are very small. Therefore not much water is consumed.

Catch the water in a bucket or basin and use it to water your garden or flush a toilet or whatever. While I wouldn't drink it, I wouldn't expect much contamination from going through a torch.

Use a filter on the input though.

And use a solenoid so that you are not running water when you don't need to.

Jeff Dantzler

Reply to
Jeff Dantzler

Unless you'll be welding aluminum at full capacity for hours on end you really don't need the radiator - a reservoir (drywall bucket) of 3-5 gallons will be fine.

All the commercial coolers I've seen use carbonator pumps, for example...

The cheapest pumps I've seen that deliver the required pressure are carpet cleaner pumps...

I built a cooler using a carpet cleaner pump so long ago that I think I paid $65 for the pump. It worked well for many years in a commercial shop.

Ned Simmons

Reply to
Ned Simmons

You don't need a heater core or fan. Commercial TIG coolers have heater cores because they are intended for a worst case scenario of somebody running full pen TIG welds at 500 amps on 1/2" aluminum.

For hobby and small shop work all you need is the pump and a bucket. Welding continuosly for 1 hour with 4 gallons of water in a 5 gallon bucket will barely even warm the water.

You will need a motor to run the pump and a 5 gallon bucket. A welding supply store should be able to sell you the fittings to hook up the torch.

These guys sell the pumps direct

Depco Pump Company

2145 Calumet St Clearwater FL 33765 Phone: 727.446.1656 800.446.1656 Fax: 727.446.7867

Business Hours: -Monday thru Friday 7:30 AM to 5:30 PM ---Eastern Time

Tell them you are interested in the constant pressure gear pumps used for welding water coolers.

They have an Italian brand that works very well called Fluido-tec.

Procon replacement for Bernard coolers Fluido-tec PA301X-100PSI $86.36

Oberdorfer

1000R-39 $139

These pumps require a 1/3 HP 1750 RPM motor

Download this PDF for the part numbers:

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Another source is Grainger

Product Category: Pumps & Plumbing > Pumps > Gear Pumps Description: Bronze Carbonator-Mount Rotary Gear Pump Head without Adjustable Relief Valve, 1/4 inch connectors

Your Price: $108.25 Grainger Item#: 2P381 Manufacturer: TEEL Mfg. Model#: CBN2 Catalog Page: 3270

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The pump model used by Tweco is: Procon #101C100F11B060

100 Gal per Hour @ 60 PSI
Reply to
Ernie Leimkuhler

Plus the bucket could be used as a 2nd bathroom in the shop.

Reply to
Clandestine

welll...... first the sears model drill pump and now the bucet secondary use not sure if you are trying to be funny, trying to help or you are serious, either way .... yuo scare me .... :-/

Reply to
acrobat-ants

Coolers are not hard to build. If you buy all new parts, they probably will cost about half or two thirds of the reputed $300 for a used one off ebay.

A small gear pump and motor can be had from Central Surplus for about $100. An airconditioning evaporator will be $20 or so from JC Whitney or equivalent. A 1 gallon plastic gas can, a computer fan and some miscelaneous fittings will complete the setup for another $20 or so. If you get too big a pump, you will need to get a presure regulator or overpressure bypass valve which can add $50. A small pressure gauge between the pump and the torch inlet is a nice way to know everything is working as it should.

It is probably correct about not really needing the radiator and fan unless you are really pounding the current. Welding all day pushing over

200 amps raises the water temperature in the tank to luke warm for a while. I expect a plastic 5 gallon jerry can with the pump mounted to the handle and the torch return water dumping back into the can would work very nicely.

The setup I have described has run for me as a hobby weldor for 15 years. The original carbonator pump I had leaked badly around the packing and made enough noise to wake the dead. I lucked into a really quiet little magnetically driven gear pump for a welding job for a friend.

I tried using one of the diaphram pumps that were in the surplus shops a few years ago and it made sufficient flow and pressure, but the torch throbbed in my hand while the pump was running. It was really annoying. Some kind of air over water shock absorber might have fixed it but I didn't try.

As for safety, I have no water leakage to worry about and the frame of the cooler is tied to the earth ground wire on the power plug. It's as good as a commercial setup.

Good Luck Bob

Reply to
MetalHead

If you have a welder with a water solenoid valve, try using the city water first. It is pretty easy to try. And catch the water in a five gallon bucket so you can dump it where it will water a plant. I think you will be surprised at how little water you use this way.

Meanwhile keep your eyes open for a suitable pump for building one. It does not take much flow, but does take fairly high pressure.

Dan

Reply to
dcaster

thanks everyone for the good advice, I learned a great deal about tig coolers.

Reply to
acrobat-ants

Here's my $0.02... Go to a junkyard, and get an airconditioner condensor. (last one I got cost me $9 and it's 2' by 3.5') Go to wally-world and buy the cheapest box-fan you can find, $8.88 last time I looked. Go to Home Despot and grab a smallish pond pump (think koi pond) for about $30... Nylon Zip-tie the condensor to the fan, plumb it up with flexible tubing and compression fittings, fill it up, (bleeder valve inline helps) and away you go... Fan may not be necessary, if you're not running hi amp stuff. This should be doable for right around $50 or $60...

acrobat-ants wrote:

Reply to
Josh Sponenberg

A pond pump will not make the pressure you need. The pump is the hardest part of the whole problem.

Bob

Reply to
MetalHead

Reply to
Glenn

I am not sure about them. I see a 12 Volt "Spot Sprayer Pump" in a catalog that shows 1/2 gallon / minute at 50 PSI which sounds pretty adequate. Unfortunately, it's a diaphram pump so you get pulsation in the output pressure which you can feel in the torch. A gear pump is the best choice.

That's probably the best choice for sometime use. Be sure to check the water pressure, the torches I have seen are only rated up to 60 psi. City water can be higher in some places.

Good Luck, Bob

Reply to
MetalHead

Reply to
Glenn

The Lincoln Magnum tig coolers use Shur-flo rv pumps running off a transformer and a bridge rectifier inside the motor case.

They seem to put out a good pressure. The first one I got had a blown motor, the second had a blown radiator. A bit of presto swapo and I now have a good Lincoln Magnum cooler that matches the Tig 250/250

Gunner

It's better to be a red person in a blue state than a blue person in a red state. As a red person, if your blue neighbors turn into a mob at least you have a gun to protect yourself. As a blue person, your only hope is to appease the red mob with herbal tea and marinated tofu.

(Phil Garding)

Reply to
Gunner

The Lincoln Magnum chiller I have throbs..not much, but you can feel it gently..kinda reminds me of a cat purring.

Gunner

It's better to be a red person in a blue state than a blue person in a red state. As a red person, if your blue neighbors turn into a mob at least you have a gun to protect yourself. As a blue person, your only hope is to appease the red mob with herbal tea and marinated tofu.

(Phil Garding)

Reply to
Gunner

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