Welding Tips and Tricks

I accidentally left my argon valve open and lost what was left in the tank. Does anyone make an electric shutoff? Thinking maybe hooking it up to the light switch or a timer.

rahtreelimbs wrote:I accidentally left my argon valve open and lost what was left in the tank. Does anyone make an electric shutoff? Thinking maybe hooking it up to the light switch or a timer.

I wondered the same thing lately. I saw a Giant (brandname) welder in my buddies shop it had a 110v solenoid on the gas line between the tank valve and flowmeter, and a relay wired to the power switch on the welder. The welder itself plugs into 220.

Might be annoying if you move your welder around a lot since you need 2 power cables that way, a 220 and a 110. Unless you have a PowerMig that has a 110v plug built in.

After a while the pain of loss makes it easier to remember.

Poland308 wrote:After a while the pain of loss makes it easier to remember.

It motivated me to leakproof my setup

It's not hard to form a habit. Turn it on when you get there, turn it off when you're done. Some machines leak inside, some don't. I had a Miller that would lose from 2000 down to 1200 overnight and no amount of troubleshooting could find that leak. Took it apart 3 times looking. My Lincoln's have never leaked. I can turn them off and 3 days later they are still dead on. I relax my regs on OXY rigs, but not on Argon.

i hang my hood on it when the tank is open, since i always put my hood where i keep it,
if its on the tank its still open.
craig

rahtreelimbs wrote:I accidentally left my argon valve open and lost what was left in the tank. Does anyone make an electric shutoff? Thinking maybe hooking it up to the light switch or a timer.

Odds there electric shutoff . The price would more than the cost of gas.

Give few more times of leaving gas on you will turn off the gas to save money.

When had a shop the last thing was check the tanks are off.
Yes some time it was on

Dave

Sent from my SAMSUNG-SM-J320A using Tapatalk

rahtreelimbs wrote:I accidentally left my argon valve open and lost what was left in the tank. Does anyone make an electric shutoff? Thinking maybe hooking it up to the light switch or a timer.

Odds there electric shutoff . The price would more than the cost of gas.

Give few more times of leaving gas on you will turn off the gas to save money.

When had a shop the last thing was check the tanks are off.
Yes some time it was on

Dave

Sent from my SAMSUNG-SM-J320A using Tapatalk

smithdoor wrote:Odds there electric shutoff . The price would more than the cost of gas.

Give few more times of leaving gas on you will turn off the gas to save money.

When had a shop the last thing was check the tanks are off.
Yes some time it was on

Dave

Sent from my SAMSUNG-SM-J320A using Tapatalk

Definitely more than the gas is worth. $100 from McMaster will buy you a cheap one. As cool as it seems, not really worth it.

Over the years I've made it a habit to check the tank multiple times before leaving. Good habit to learn. I probably check the tank at work 5x before I actually leave.

The tanks I had from Air Liquide here in Canukistan had a simple lever for valve instead of a a knob. You could see from across the shop if the lever was open on shut. They got me really mad this spring so I ditched them for a different dealer who supplies Praxair. But they have older tanks with the twist knobs so I had to get in the habit of checking again.

I have done some "engineering" so I can get several different gases to the same welder combo. I am in the habit of hanging my hat on the main valve and my keys on the manifold. I check the valves several times a day when leaving and arriving. Somewhat a pain in the buttox but it's just me. I do have a leak inside the welder, takes about 8 hours to loose all pressure when shut down. Can't find it, must be in the panel gauge itself.

I agree
If you paying the bill you check.
Even today I check tank even I not use in weeks

Dave

Demented wrote:

smithdoor wrote:Odds there electric shutoff . The price would more than the cost of gas.

Give few more times of leaving gas on you will turn off the gas to save money.

When had a shop the last thing was check the tanks are off.
Yes some time it was on

Dave

Sent from my SAMSUNG-SM-J320A using Tapatalk

Definitely more than the gas is worth. $100 from McMaster will buy you a cheap one. As cool as it seems, not really worth it.

Over the years I've made it a habit to check the tank multiple times before leaving. Good habit to learn. I probably check the tank at work 5x before I actually leave.

Sent from my SAMSUNG-SM-J320A using Tapatalk

I agree
If you paying the bill you check.
Even today I check tank even I not use in weeks

Dave

Demented wrote:

smithdoor wrote:Odds there electric shutoff . The price would more than the cost of gas.

Give few more times of leaving gas on you will turn off the gas to save money.

When had a shop the last thing was check the tanks are off.
Yes some time it was on

Dave

Sent from my SAMSUNG-SM-J320A using Tapatalk

Definitely more than the gas is worth. $100 from McMaster will buy you a cheap one. As cool as it seems, not really worth it.

Over the years I've made it a habit to check the tank multiple times before leaving. Good habit to learn. I probably check the tank at work 5x before I actually leave.

Sent from my SAMSUNG-SM-J320A using Tapatalk