Liquid tig cooler
- Thread starter sicivicdude
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Part of the original design. I am afraid of running out of coolant because of an unnoticed small coolant leak. With the top to bottom "level sensor" a VERY quick visual check will tell me how much coolant is in the can without removing the lid.
BTW, the lid is 5 gallon bucket snap lid. The turkey cooker container is the exact size for it to slide down on it PERFECTLY.
Just to illustrate, the gloves in the second picture are the ones I was using before. The heavy leather stick welding type gloves.
The other night I was working on twostroker99's newest addition welding 1/8" plate at over 100 amps and was welding in these in complete comfort:
Also, in the picture above, notice the coolant in the two return lines, the 1/2" vinyl line above the box (the bypass) and the 1/4" torch return line. Both are full of coolant to the top indicating that it's pumping effectively.
I'm actually not entirely sure the drawing is to scale but you definitely nearly got the yellow color right.
Just a real quick update for the setup tonight....
Has anyone else had to tig weld with two people? One person to hold the torch and another person to run the pedal?! Let me say one thing "yeehaw". Because of the angle I was working at while welding twostroker99's rear shock mount cross tube in, I couldn't operate the foot pedal so he ran the pedal while I operated the torch, while he's an accomplished welder/fabber and did a great job at it, I decided that's for the birds and that I was going to hookup the contactor micro switch (the one in the first picture of the torch down near the denim jacket). It's designed to turn the contactor on to whatever the adjustment knob is adjusted to. Iif the knob is right on the money, it'll weld just as well like that as it will with the pedal but it'll allow me to control the contactor from the torch head while I'm working on out of position places and foot pedal isn't feasible.
I also pulled the stinking argon solenoid BACK out and worked on it. I finally decided that the damn thing was simply missing a spring (hasn't had one since I got the welder) which was caused the plunger to not seat properly every time. Sometimes the gas would cut off, sometimes it wouldn't. It was starting to bother me paying $53 for a bottle of gas and sitting there bleeding it out simply because the solenoid wasn't working right. I disassembled a ball point pen, cut the spring down about half length and put it back together. Back to 100%, when the machine turns off post flow gas, the flow actually stops now LOL!
Has anyone else had to tig weld with two people? One person to hold the torch and another person to run the pedal?! Let me say one thing "yeehaw". Because of the angle I was working at while welding twostroker99's rear shock mount cross tube in, I couldn't operate the foot pedal so he ran the pedal while I operated the torch, while he's an accomplished welder/fabber and did a great job at it, I decided that's for the birds and that I was going to hookup the contactor micro switch (the one in the first picture of the torch down near the denim jacket). It's designed to turn the contactor on to whatever the adjustment knob is adjusted to. Iif the knob is right on the money, it'll weld just as well like that as it will with the pedal but it'll allow me to control the contactor from the torch head while I'm working on out of position places and foot pedal isn't feasible.
I also pulled the stinking argon solenoid BACK out and worked on it. I finally decided that the damn thing was simply missing a spring (hasn't had one since I got the welder) which was caused the plunger to not seat properly every time. Sometimes the gas would cut off, sometimes it wouldn't. It was starting to bother me paying $53 for a bottle of gas and sitting there bleeding it out simply because the solenoid wasn't working right. I disassembled a ball point pen, cut the spring down about half length and put it back together. Back to 100%, when the machine turns off post flow gas, the flow actually stops now LOL!
Have you thought about some sort of a temp guage in your coolant tank to monitor temps? I'm not saying its needed or gonna change how it runs or how you use it but I know I am the type of person that wants to know things. Kinda the reason I added a custom dash and some guages to 1 of my motorcycles, I hate idiot lights and like to know when a problem is coming. BikePics - 1993 Suzuki VX 800
I just can't bring myself to pay nearly $700 for a liquid cooler for a machine I paid $500 for 8-| It's just not very "sicivicdude" like.....
I got done doing an oil pan for an "LSX" swap which involved maxxing out my machine (166 amps on A/C high) and run about a 10" long bead, turn up a piece of angle, and then run a 10" bead back across to seal off the oil galley. It was about 50 deg F outside yesterday so it was kinda cool but "the vat" never even got warm to the touch. There is afterall about 4 gallons of coolant and the bypass flow around the pump is spraying out into the vat and against the rear most wall of the aluminum. It may not be REALLY efficient at passing out the heat but there's enough heatsink there to absorb as much as I can throw at it....
So far no worries about heat soaking!
I got done doing an oil pan for an "LSX" swap which involved maxxing out my machine (166 amps on A/C high) and run about a 10" long bead said:
Dayum, now you're talking REAL funky complicated. I've found when I make things TOO complicated they like to break down on me. The only real moving part on this is the coolant pump so a visual check that I have flow is good enough for me. If I ever get the coolant hot enough that I NEED to know about it, I'm hoping I'll just see the steam rising out of the tank... but again I don't think there's a worry. about 30 minutes of welding pretty much straight through with the welder maxed out and I didn't have any heating issues. The tank was still cool to the touch
Quick update, I need to re-figure my microswitch. The pedal is setup to go to "minimum" amperage as soon as the pedal is depressed and then "ramp up" to the amperage setting on the front panel. The way I have the microswitch wired in right now, it only goes to the minimum amperage and no higher.... what I want is for it to go the amperage setting on the front panel of the machine and stay there. Still have to figure out how to make that happen. Perhaps a dummy plug with the correct resistance for "full blast" to be installed when I plan on using the microswitch. Don't know what I'm going to whip up just yet...
Also, related to the cooler, I'm going to install a filter in the bypass line. There is some crud inside the drum which after some strong de-greaser and a brillo pad STILL didn't come off I assumed would never come off. Apparently, ethylene glycol is like a magic detergent which will remove even the most burnt on turkey pieces.... Anyway, the pump is processing this crap around and around but I don't feel like tearing up my pump over the long run so I'm going to head it off with a filter now.
Also, related to the cooler, I'm going to install a filter in the bypass line. There is some crud inside the drum which after some strong de-greaser and a brillo pad STILL didn't come off I assumed would never come off. Apparently, ethylene glycol is like a magic detergent which will remove even the most burnt on turkey pieces.... Anyway, the pump is processing this crap around and around but I don't feel like tearing up my pump over the long run so I'm going to head it off with a filter now.
Well, I got a filter.... Slickerthanyou sent me one of the whizzbang 10" long micro filters they use for medical machinery he had left over from a change out. Only problem is, it's SO big I don't have anywhere to put it! LOL!
I'm going to have to weld a mount onto the outside of the tank and replumb everything in order to use it I think. It's a 5 micron filter as well so it'll take the green out of the antifreeze (joke and figure of speech but 5 micron is REALLY tiny!). More picture updates to come eventually!
I'm going to have to weld a mount onto the outside of the tank and replumb everything in order to use it I think. It's a 5 micron filter as well so it'll take the green out of the antifreeze (joke and figure of speech but 5 micron is REALLY tiny!). More picture updates to come eventually!
Well that's been a WHILE ago and that tig cooler (and tig machine) work GREAT.
Since then, I bought a new tig welder (smaller, more compact, and more powerful!) and sold the econotig.
I've decided to swap over the tig torch over to the new machine, however the turkey cooker pot isn't going to fit on the new cart. It's going to take me some time to get everything squared away on the new welding cart but I'm starting with a different strategy.... I'm going to actively cool the assembly this time. Before, with 4 gallons of coolant and a strong positive flow, I was able to get away without any active cooling. This time I'm going to be using a smaller pump and coolant reservoir.
I got the first part of that assembly last night:
Aluminum Black Heat Exchanger Radiator CPU CO2 Laser water cool system | eBay
It's a PC liquid cooler radiator. It has 3/8" in and out tube barbs and a 4.5"x4.5" case fan bolting pattern. It should cool 1 quart a minute's flow quite nicely. I'm also planning a small "sump" style pump. I'm looking at A/C condensate pumps at the moment.
Since then, I bought a new tig welder (smaller, more compact, and more powerful!) and sold the econotig.
I've decided to swap over the tig torch over to the new machine, however the turkey cooker pot isn't going to fit on the new cart. It's going to take me some time to get everything squared away on the new welding cart but I'm starting with a different strategy.... I'm going to actively cool the assembly this time. Before, with 4 gallons of coolant and a strong positive flow, I was able to get away without any active cooling. This time I'm going to be using a smaller pump and coolant reservoir.
I got the first part of that assembly last night:
Aluminum Black Heat Exchanger Radiator CPU CO2 Laser water cool system | eBay
It's a PC liquid cooler radiator. It has 3/8" in and out tube barbs and a 4.5"x4.5" case fan bolting pattern. It should cool 1 quart a minute's flow quite nicely. I'm also planning a small "sump" style pump. I'm looking at A/C condensate pumps at the moment.
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