Is it ok to run a water cooled torch air cooled?

Highschoolwelder · Tue Apr 01, 2014 4:04 pm

The water cooler lines on our WP20 at school went out and while we are waiting for new lines to come in I was wondering if it would damage the torch to run it air cooled.

Thanks, Joel.

MinnesotaDave · Tue Apr 01, 2014 4:12 pm

I take it the school doesn't have an air cooled torch and cable for you to use?

Fire up the oxy/acetylene torch for some similar practice.
Or grab a stinger and burn a few pounds of rods

AKweldshop · Tue Apr 01, 2014 4:14 pm

There's not a cut and dry answer.
That WC20 you have is 250amps at 100% DC.
It would ruin the cables to even try it at 100amps for any lenth of time.
The cables, body, and head rely an water to cool them.
AC17 torches have heavy cables and head designed to take the heat away.
WC torches have much lighter cables, designed to be cooled by water. Don't risk it, just to save a penny or two.
Some guys tack with the water cooler off, then turn it on to weld, but like Jody said, you forget, than boom! The torch cooks...

http://forum.weldingtipsandtricks.com/v ... f=5&t=4702

~John

Oscar · Tue Apr 01, 2014 8:03 pm

no such animal as a water-cooled torch turned air-cooled. The argon flows through a separate line in a water-cooled torch, as opposed to an air-cooled torch where the argon flows inside of the power line that has the copper wire. Two distinct things.

AKweldshop · Tue Apr 01, 2014 10:07 pm

I'd wait till you get the cables on.
It really isn't worth it to smoke a $100-$200 torch.

~John

Highschoolwelder · Wed Apr 02, 2014 12:08 pm

Yeah I realized that yesterday the water line is also the power cable. I was hoping to weld some stainless with it but I did end up firing up the oxy-acetylene and played around for a while. Since the power cable runs through the water line does that mean it has to be only distilled water in the water cooler or anything special?

AKweldshop · Wed Apr 02, 2014 12:56 pm

Highschoolwelder wrote:Y Since the power cable runs through the water line does that mean it has to be only distilled water in the water cooler or anything special?

Another one of those questions....
Don't risk burning up a minimum of $500-$1000 water cooler because you didn't want to buy the $25 "low conductivity" coolant.
Some guys run distilled water and polypropoline (or so) in there cooler....
Your not responsible for the machine, are you???

~John

Oscar · Wed Apr 02, 2014 2:22 pm

You need to ask your professor at school. I'm sure they're available to answer these questions. Each system is different. My water cooler only needs distilled water. Some require special coolant mixtures. You need to inquire about your specific cooler. We can only answer general questions to your inquiries.

Wed Apr 02, 2014 6:39 pm

Oscar wrote:You need to ask your professor at school. I'm sure they're available to answer these questions. Each system is different. My water cooler only needs distilled water. Some require special coolant mixtures. You need to inquire about your specific cooler. We can only answer general questions to your inquiries.

I can be more specific. Every water-cooled torch manufacturer I know of recommends de-ionized water (distilled or high-grade reverse-osmosis). Further, if your welder will see freezing temperatures, as in, "left in the garage in IA in January", you should use a low-conductivity anti-freeze made for welders and plasma cutters. Your local WS will have them available, in stock or on order.

If you'll only ever do lift-arc or scratch-start DC, this isn't such a big issue. HF start and HFAC can destroy a torch/lead set with hard water and/or automotive antifreeze. I ruined three expensive ones before I figured it out. Not my dime, thank goodness, but the lesson is not forgotten.

Steve S

zank · Thu Apr 03, 2014 5:50 am

We should make his thread a sticky. These questions pop up quite often.

AKweldshop · Thu Apr 03, 2014 1:43 pm

zank wrote:We should make his thread a sticky. These questions pop up quite often.

Yes,
The water cooled torch without water question, and the water coolant question.
Otto???

Highschoolwelder · Fri Apr 04, 2014 12:10 pm

Thanks everyone for all the responses. I mentioned it in the last post I did but just this year we got a new shop teacher at our high school because our previous one quit, and so the shop teacher we acquired now is an engineer. Not a welder or machinist or anything like that and is pretty much just not very bright and very easily confused. I've been through the class 3 times now and I've spent quite a bit of time learning about welding and machining strictly on my own time and did a summer internship at a reputable machine shop, so for your typical 18 year old high school senior I actually somewhat know what I'm doing. So essentially I have slowly been teaching our teacher about everything he needs to know about machining and welding so far to teach the classes in the future that are going to be clueless and bored of him having them watch youtube videos all day. But anyways I was told to get the TIG welder running and I've been playing around with it but the water lines busted and started pissing everywhere. But for a while it was just a slow leak that I just put a metal cup underneath and just poured the water back in when it was full so that's why I was wondering if it took specific coolant or mattered if it had any contaminants in it.

- Joel