Anyone have recommendations for a water cooled tig torch + hoses & wires? I will hook up an aquarium pump to it and a bucket of water. Or maybe I'll sort myself out properly with a custom build. But I'm looking for a torch that won't break the bank. I remember there was one recommended on alloy Avenue before the site died that was around $50 which seemed quite promising.
Alloy avenue isn't completely dead, the search functions still work and threads are viewable in text format, so if you remember enough about that thread in AA to do an effective search, you can recover info there.
Go with a CK torch, nothing else! A cheap heater core from rockauto, small pump and a fan and you're in business! Go here, I think it will point you at a 20. https://usaweld.com/pages/tig-welding-torches Oh, you'll need a tank too.
Easiest to make your tank out of sheet copper. Get a 12× 24 sheet, cut 6 inches off of one end. Cut that piece into two pieces 6 inch square. (End pieces) Anneal them dead soft, then make your spinning form out of, say, *rock maple.* form and trim two cones. Take the 12 by 18 piece and roll a 12 inch long cylinder. I'd silver-solder it. Put the fittings on top, side, and bottom. You have your coolant tank. About 5-6 quarts. It's copper, so put a muffin fan beneath it, and you have your radiator, too...
That site says my syncrowave 250 needs: 20 Series (250A) Water-Cooled Torch with 7/8"-14 Water Return/Current Supply Fitting, 5/8"-18 RH Gas Fitting, & a 5/8"-18 LH Water Supply Line Fitting Does this mean the water out to the gun hose has a 7/8" fitting and the return hose 5/8"? I could do that with the copper, but copper sheet is very expensive from what I've seen. I may just make a tank from a steel pipe or sheet steel. I also bought a small radiator from the scrap yard i was planning to use for cooling. Just need to find a decent torch/hoses and then settle on a pump to use and I'll get started.
Yeah... Copper sheet is STUPID MONEY these days. You'd do better to CAST yourself a bronze tank. lmao. Hell, use a 5gallon plastic fuel jug and a 20buck heater core.
Yeah, stick a fan on it. This old tony has his HTP water cooler opened up. Be sure to admire the lack of chinese parts inside it. You can cobble a cooler up in an afternoon. TANK with a pump feeds the torch, the return goes through a heater core with a fan stuck on it and back into the tank. Rinse and repeat. Hell, I saw a tig cooler once with a garden hose connected to a sink in a garage. Cool water in, hot water down the friggen drain.
Only trouble with using steel/stainless/aluminum is electrolysis devouring the material. Copper or brass doesn't do this, as the rest of the fluid circuit is similar. (Nor does plastic, which is why plastic used by commercial firms, e.g. HTP, Esab, Lincoln, Miller, etc.) Based on what I recall of sheet copper in the .025-.032 range, 2 square feet might cost about 50-70$ shipped - which, while not cheap, is still not that bad. (About two to three times the price of aluminum.) I've made sheet copper vessels in this size range before.
Only trouble with using steel/stainless/aluminum is electrolysis devouring the material. Copper or brass doesn't do this, as the rest of the fluid circuit is similar. (Nor does plastic, which is why plastic used by commercial firms, e.g. HTP, Esab, Lincoln, Miller, etc.) Based on what I recall of sheet copper in the .025-.032 range, 2 square feet might cost about 50-70$ shipped - which, while not cheap, is still not that bad. (About two to three times the price of aluminum.) I've made sheet copper vessels in this size range before. I hope to go water-cooled myself in the future, as 100+ amps on a #17 torch gets uncomfortable in quite a hurry.
You don't run straight water Zap. Distilled and antifreeze or buy the real deal. Further reading >>>> https://www.arc-zone.com/pdf/WaterCooler10Tips.pdf
