Simple Tig Cooler

[Richard.]

@Richard.
Found out my issue with the tank the last day, when I was doing some welding earlier I discovered the cleaning was set way low, not sure why but must have inadvertently done it at some point. So when I discovered that I decided to cut a couple of bits of the exact same material the tank was made with.
First test I never cleaned at all, straight off the plasma.
View attachment 97330
Some contamination but certainly less than on the tank.

Next I wire brushed like I did with the tank and result was pretty good, well excepting the crap tacks in both tests

View attachment 97331

Probably never would have bothered even wondering the last day until you scolded me Just thought it was the nature of the beast with corroded Alu that you would get some contamination.

BTW Dazza, sorry for hijacking your post a wee bit.

That bottom pic hood looks very nice.
Personally I'd always clean up a plaz cut edge as the dross can cause issues but that doesn't take away the fact your Alu tig welding on those outside corners looks very neat.
Hell knowing what you can do with it I'd suggest you throw that tank away and do it like that.

 

[Hood]

I may well make another tank, may even splash out on some new Alu
Going to wait until I get settled on a pump as I don't want to have to be altering things at a later stage.
I will see what the Chinese pump looks like and if it is half decent I may just buy a few as spares as £11 each is sweety money. Might even be able to hook up a small 240v ac motor rather than the 12v dc that they have, just to wait and see.

 

[dazza]

I may well make another tank, may even splash out on some new Alu
Going to wait until I get settled on a pump as I don't want to have to be altering things at a later stage.
I will see what the Chinese pump looks like and if it is half decent I may just buy a few as spares as £11 each is sweety money. Might even be able to hook up a small 240v ac motor rather than the 12v dc that they have, just to wait and see.

The flow with the 12v ebay special seems ok this is an 8 meter torch.

http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/200939597202?_trksid=p2057872.m2749.l2649&ssPageName=STRK:MEBIDX:IT

I can rig it back up and measure how many litres it puts through if you want.

 

[Hood]

Thanks for the offer but looks plenty coming out of that compared to what I was getting so no need to put yourself out.

 

[Hood]

@dazza
if you get a chance could you possibly measure the length width and height of that Chinese pump?
I had hoped mine would be here by now but post this time of year is bad

 

[dazza]

@dazza
if you get a chance could you possibly measure the length width and height of that Chinese pump?
I had hoped mine would be here by now but post this time of year is bad

100mm wide
166mm long
62mm high.

 

[Hood]

Excellent, thanks for that, should fit into the space I have at the moment.
If I do make a new one then it will not have to be any bigger, fingers crossed it works as well for me as it has for you and the other guy I saw with one

 

[Richard.]

Excellent, thanks for that, should fit into the space I have at the moment.
If I do make a new one then it will not have to be any bigger, fingers crossed it works as well for me as it has for you and the other guy I saw with one

Pump will work fine
Plenty of pressure and flow out of that for what you need.
The reliability is where it will be tested. Afik @optima21 has been using this pump for a while now and it's still ticking over so for a meer £10 I don't think it's a bad way to go. I look forward to seeing your results @Hood
What are your plans with water heat exchanging??

 

[Hood]

Yes, longevity is my concern but if it looks like it will last a while buying a few spares wouldn't be a problem at £11 each.
I have an alphacool 120mm copper radiator with a 120mm fan, the tank itself is just shy of 12L so I am hoping the volume combined with the rad/fan will be enough, should be as I do not weld all day.
My only real concern is the radiator, they are tested to 1.5bar if I recall, hoping that the increase in pipe dia as it comes out of the torch will be enough to drop the pressure to acceptable levels. From what I can gather you can adjust the pressure of the pump so will just have to see what pressure I get when it is up and running.

 

[Richard.]

12L

I wouldn't bother with a rad or fan with that type of volume.
It's only a 200 amp unit and 12 Lt of water isn't gonna get warm.
The biggest tank I've ever used is 3.5ltr.

 

[Hood]

Ok, have the rad anyway, spare from computer, but will try without and see how it goes, will likely still keep the fan there just to blow over the motor as I would imagine it will last longer if it is cooler. I have vent holes either side so that there will be airflow right across the motor.

 

[Richard.]

Ok, have the rad anyway, spare from computer, but will try without and see how it goes, will likely still keep the fan there just to blow over the motor as I would imagine it will last longer if it is cooler. I have vent holes either side so that there will be airflow right across the motor.

Yeah it's not gonna hurt having them in there but if you wanted simplicity with 3 gallons of coolant I can't imagine that's gonna suffer from any temp issues at all.
The little cooler on my magicwave that's having operation issues at the mo only holds less than 2L, has a small exchanger and 1 fan and that's rated for a 220 amp machine.
I always say though if size and weight are not an issue then the more water capacity the better.

 

[Hood]

This is fairly small, 300 x 300 x 350 but suppose it is quite heavy when water is in it but not that bad, probably about 15Kg so 10Kg lighter than the XTT202

 

[Richard.]

This is fairly small, 300 x 300 x 350 but suppose it is quite heavy when water is in it but not that bad, probably about 15Kg so 10Kg lighter than the XTT202

It's a small foot print but very high.
Yes that's a weighty cooler lol.
Weighty welder too.

 

[Hood]

Sorry size had a typo 300 high x 300 depth but 250 width.
I just need to work out the best handle to put on, was originally going to machine one out of some 20mm Alu but don't seem to have any left so will have to hunt for something else.
Mk2 might be smaller or differently shaped, will see how this one performs.

 

[Richard.]

Sounds good. That is quite compact considering the tank volume.

 

[dazza]

New pump and other bits arrived today.

Ordered a procon pump and received a FLUID-O-TECH.

Seems to work ok i had to back the pressure adjustent right down. Now getting 2.4lpm through the torch and about the same through the torch and small computer rad .

I have the dinse connector now is it safe to weld with a bucket of water cooler tank??

 

[Richard.]

New pump and other bits arrived today.

Ordered a procon pump and received a FLUID-O-TECH.

Seems to work ok i had to back the pressure adjustent right down. Now getting 2.4lpm through the torch and about the same through the torch and small computer rad .

I have the dinse connector now is it safe to weld with a bucket of water cooler tank??

Flow through that rad looks really spot on mate.
Ha don't stress about the pump name. Fluid o tech pumps are just as good as the procons.
Careful with that pressure adjuster. Set it, lock it and leave it. You can sh#g your pump very quick with that if wound out to the point it stops flow.
Yes you can weld mate. No need to even use the rad with a bucket like that. Just be sure all your fittings are water tight and give it a crack. Like I say I wouldn't be surprised if that torch solves your striking issues. It might not but it is a common thing to leak HF through a torch.

 

[dazza]

Flow through that rad looks really spot on mate.
Ha don't stress about the pump name. Fluid o tech pumps are just as good as the procons.
Careful with that pressure adjuster. Set it, lock it and leave it. You can sh#g your pump very quick with that if wound out to the point it stops flow.
Yes you can weld mate. No need to even use the rad with a bucket like that. Just be sure all your fittings are water tight and give it a crack. Like I say I wouldn't be surprised if that torch solves your striking issues. It might not but it is a common thing to leak HF through a torch.

Thanks Richard i was worried about winding it out any more so i stopped when i got to 2.4lpm.
Not forgot about the pumps for you, think the postage will be about €22 unless you want to wait until April and my old man can take them and post from the UK.

 

[Richard.]

Thanks Richard i was worried about winding it out any more so i stopped when i got to 2.4lpm.
Not forgot about the pumps for you, think the postage will be about €22 unless you want to wait until April and my old man can take them and post from the UK.

What do you want for them total inc postage in GBP.
Any how less chat more welding.