Pump for diy tig water cooler

[Hopefuldave]

Use glycol based antifreeze, or ideally, the proper TIG coolant which is low-conductivity.
A WP18 sized torch needs next to no flow - I had an 8m wp18 on my old 250a AC/DC machine and used a weedy pond pump with a tiny pressure head - like 1.5m or so - and it never, ever, got hot.
A Wp20 sized torch needs a GOOD pump with 1.5 lpm + flow and a few bar pressure.

For info, 10m head is only 1 bar / 14 psi, my WP18 needs a lot more than that...

One of these works, but Jeez, are they noisy!

https://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/72W-RV-C...510352?hash=item5939e6b550:g:eywAAOSwfrldrXgk

Helps to mount them with the silicone rings from the "personal supplies" top shelf in the Pahnd Shop and penny washers!

May be the flow sensor on the return hose restricting, but the gauge on the flow side reads about 60 psi to get 2 (or slightly more) litres/min flow - or my torch may be scaled up from previous abuse with tapwater...

The pulsing from the diaphragm pumps (which you feel in the torch and hoses) can be taken out with a fizzy pop bottle upside down with a hose barb in the cap, leave air in it for a "spring" (tested to 150 psi on 2L bottles, the diddy 6-for-a-quid Poopsie Coola bottles in the Pahnd Shop should take more...)

Dave H. (the other one)

 

[minimutly]

Central heating pump is a slow speed centrifugal machine - it moves volume but develops no pressure - it won't get anything around the torch. Fuel pumps will seize - the pumped medium flows through the motor. Bar cooler pumps are ideal, but not cheap. An RV pump (rubber impeller) will do the duty, but how long will it last on welding coolant? They are cheap, so worth a try I think.

 

[AndersK]

Buy a Procon pump and don't worry, they have both the capacity and pressure needed to drive enough flow thru a small torch. They have all internals in stainless and brass or stainless housing so they do survive. Bought a new from one UK ebay seller ,
normannumpa , cheaper than refurbished pumps from many others.
36£ it was

 

[optima21]

for a cheap pump this is my way of doing it for occasional use.

https://www.mig-welding.co.uk/forum...-to-use-with-wp20-torch-and-diy-cooler.65542/

One of these works, but Jeez, are they noisy!

https://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/72W-RV-C...510352?hash=item5939e6b550:g:eywAAOSwfrldrXgk

yup totally agree with that but do work.

 

[Hopefuldave]

Buy a Procon pump and don't worry, they have both the capacity and pressure needed to drive enough flow thru a small torch. They have all internals in stainless and brass or stainless housing so they do survive. Bought a new from one UK ebay seller ,
normannumpa , cheaper than refurbished pumps from many others.
36£ it was

If I could find a Procon at £36 I'd be all over it - they're all £80 up on EvilBay!

Dave H. (the other one)

 

[sg66]

I've sent you a pm, I regularly scrap parts that would make a cooler, I have often thought of doing it but never got round to it.

 

[AndersK]

Guess he sold out quickly then

 

[Munkul]

For info, 10m head is only 1 bar / 14 psi, my WP18 needs a lot more than that...

Don't get me wrong... I only said what I said, for your info... I don't care what they're supposed to have, my genuine binzel wp18 (and the starparts before that) worked just fine on 1.5m bead (yes, 0.15 bar)

People keep telling me that I'm wrong when I say that it worked... I've posted this up a few times now... but of us all, I'm the one who has actually tried it on 0.15 bar, and it got a LOT of use Honestly, the flow would be barely a trickle in actual use... but it worked great.

 

[tom2207]

Don't get me wrong... I only said what I said, for your info... I don't care what they're supposed to have, my genuine binzel wp18 (and the starparts before that) worked just fine on 1.5m bead (yes, 0.15 bar)

People keep telling me that I'm wrong when I say that it worked... I've posted this up a few times now... but of us all, I'm the one who has actually tried it on 0.15 bar, and it got a LOT of use Honestly, the flow would be barely a trickle in actual use... but it worked great.

yep its hard to beat some one who has actually done it , and it worked .

 

[graffian]

I replaced my pump a few years ago.
I think this is the one I bought.
https://www.magnetventile-king.de/p...chwingkolbenpumpe-typ-bmp-120-eco-230vac.html

 

[Pigeon No9]

The flow rate is the main concern as that's the only thing that's stopping the torch melting.
You will get back pressure from the torch so just because a pump is rated at 100lpm it might deliver nothing like that once connected to a tig torch with 1mm pipes compared to a heating system with 22mm pipes.

Either use a pump that is known to be good enough or test any other kind of pump you like. Or just try it and see what happens.

I would expect a central heating pump to be ok with antifreeze, and the type hugh has linked to above.
You also have plenty of choices of antifreeze or corrosion inhibitors you can use so you could choose one to suit the pump and torch.

Fuel pumps I an nkt so sure about. I have ones that have failed due to minor amounts of water build up or contaminated fuel. Petrol/diesel is nothing like water so I'm not sure how the pumps will be at coping with it and any additives in it?

12v makes sense, a pc power supply is cheap enough. You could probably build the whole thing inside a pc case if you wanted and fill it with as many led lights as possible. More useful would be the temperature display and fan speed controllers you get that fit straight into a drive bay which could easily be used to provide fan-on-demand.

You could wire up the leds so they come on blue but change to red and sound an alarm if the flow stops or the water gets too hot.

Thanks for the advice, have not thought that far ahead, that the torch internals could severely restrict the flow rate for pump. About the central heating pump, minimutly also supports this by saying that they do not have the high pressure in design, which might make them unsuitable.

 

[Pigeon No9]

Buy a Procon pump and don't worry, they have both the capacity and pressure needed to drive enough flow thru a small torch. They have all internals in stainless and brass or stainless housing so they do survive. Bought a new from one UK ebay seller ,
normannumpa , cheaper than refurbished pumps from many others.
36£ it was

This brand comes up a lot when talking about diy coolers but I have not seen a cheep one yet. There is one for 37+25 pounds on ebay but then I would have to seek out for a motor and that would get expensive in the end. I understand that this would be the right way to do it but this whole cooler just isn't my main money pit at the moment.

 

[Pigeon No9]

I plan to monitor the temperatures when I put together whatever I manage to build - anyone has any info on what is the max temp torch can handle before melting? I'm wondering if I will be able to feel that in my hand? Obviously plastic melts at higher temp than I can withstand in my hand, but maybe the temperature exceeds the limits faster than it can reach the outside of the torch and through the gloves.

 

[Pigeon No9]

for a cheap pump this is my way of doing it for occasional use.

https://www.mig-welding.co.uk/forum...-to-use-with-wp20-torch-and-diy-cooler.65542/

Does it pulse? From all the pumps I've considered, the diaphragm ones got me worried, as I found a video which showed this sort of pump working with a noticeable pulsing, transferring that motion all the way to the torch.

 

[minimutly]

I plan to monitor the temperatures when I put together whatever I manage to build - anyone has any info on what is the max temp torch can handle before melting? I'm wondering if I will be able to feel that in my hand? Obviously plastic melts at higher temp than I can withstand in my hand, but maybe the temperature exceeds the limits faster than it can reach the outside of the torch and through the gloves.

A non cooled, or gas cooled torch quickly gets too hot to use @200A. If it doesn't, then your pump is working - isn't it?

 

[Hopefuldave]

Does it pulse? From all the pumps I've considered, the diaphragm ones got me worried, as I found a video which showed this sort of pump working with a noticeable pulsing, transferring that motion all the way to the torch.

If it pulses, put an "accumulator" between pump and torch - doesn't need to be anything fancy, I used a small fizzy drink bottle upside down with a hose barb (in the screwcap) teed into the flow side hose, start off with some coolant in it (so it doesn't end up pushing air into the hose when the pump stops) and the trapped air acts as a "spring" absorbing the pulsations - I've tested the 2 litre cola bottles to 120 psi*.... If you mark the coolant level at zero pressure it works as a pressure gauge too

I have an stl file for 3D printing the clamp to locate it in the cooler if anyone wants one - fits the tiny Poopsi Coola bottles in packs form the Pahnd Shop!

Dave H. (the other one)

* Purely in the interests of bottle rocketry

 

[hotponyshoes]

Another way to get rid of pulsing is to feed the output of the pump into a length of hose, make a coil out of the hose then make the coil into a figure of 8 with rubber bands or bungee cord.

Not tried it on a cooler but works fine on beer pumps at 40psi or so

 

[hotponyshoes]

If you have a constant supply of compressed air in the workshop the beer pumps are pretty cheap, very reliable and chemical proof...

 

[optima21]

Does it pulse? From all the pumps I've considered, the diaphragm ones got me worried, as I found a video which showed this sort of pump working with a noticeable pulsing, transferring that motion all the way to the torch.

yeah there is a pulsing there, but any pump will cause pulsing to some extent, its not noticeable when holding the torch though