Welding Tips and Tricks

This is about adding a air filter and booster fan to an electronic welder. Having worked in machine controls for the better part of 40 years I know that electronics likes to be kept clean,
You can not just add a filter over the welders air intake as this would reduce the air flow and reduce the welders duty cycle.
I used a sheet of clear plastic as an air flow indicator. The top edge was duct taped above the air outlet slots and duct tape was added to the bottom edge of the "flapper" to get it to rise 20 - 30 degrees. Then a measurement was taken to the bottom edge of the flapper to the welder face,
The fan I added is 6" in diameter and rated at 200 CFM. The first filter I tried was too restrictive and the flapper did not get back to the "stock" lift distance. K&N saved my a$$ for only $50! I found it difficult to find an air filter by size and again K&N provided the numbers. The largest filter I could fit was the K&N E-3480. It measures 7.5" OD x 6.38" ID and is 5.5" tall.
This filter provided about 1/4" more flapper lift than without a filter.

Probably the reason the factories don't do this is a clogged filter would cause the welder to overheat, It is very important to keep the filter clean. K&N claims 50,000 miles on a car but they don't talk about the flow decrease at that point.

Pictures:

Welcome to the forum.

I like that idea - been meaning to do something like it myself as my welders sit around where there is a lot of grinding & polishing airborne muck but never got around to it - the better brands dip they're circuit boards in some sorta goo to protect them from metallic dust issues but the cheap brands don't & can suffer because of it - especially in damp conditions - I think just adding more air flow would be a good thing even without the filtration as many people can only afford entry level 200amp Tig's & are running them hard when welding aluminum - only thing I would do different & that's only because of the space issue is to use a flat panel filter to keep a good area while not sticking out too far - obviously more work making an enclosure where the round sort you have is less work & easy to change - I suspect you will inspire some similar modifications from other members - I also like the air flow " meter " - simple solution - well done.

Top idea concept.

Protects equipment, and provides a more 'scientific' way of measuring functional performance, rather that 'a wet finger in the air' method

And welcome to the forum too!

I like it - very nice execution as well.

Any chance you could measure the pressure difference with a manometer and use that to decide when the filter is getting dirty?

I would think that his calibrated sheet of plastic is a simplified manometer, but I can't think of any reason that a traditional manometer (whether a tube with water in it, or a mechanical one) wouldn't work the same way.

Not at all welding related, but...
Years ago I used one to poke around a turbocharged car's intake system looking for places to improve the plumbing. Last year built a 4-tube manometer to balance a four cylinder motorcycle engine throttle bodies. Amazingly useful tools, manometers.

That's what I was thinking too - I figured mounted right in the filter end cap.

A four tube for the motorcycle sounds like a slick setup

Don't know if this specific unit is sensitive enough for the task, but there should be different sensitivities and ranges available.

http://www.autozone.com/intake-system/a ... 03180_0_0/

LDB

Thanks for all the interest and flow measurement ideas. I like the filter minders; didn't know they were available. Ebay had an International / Navstar unit for $13 so I have one coming. K&N laces there products with gold according to their prices. I also found a $40 electronic differential pressure gauge.

International/Navstar unit: http://www.ebay.com/itm/111434503042?_t ... EBIDX%3AIT
What is the picture size limits?