Welding Tips and Tricks

Hi Folks!
Having watched almost all of Jody's videos, I armed myself with my Miller Dynasty 300 DX, the requisite TIG Finger, and my #18 water cooled torch to get good at TIG welding. As practice, I've decided I'm going to set aside my MIG and use my TIG to weld up a 16' driveway gate that my wife and I designed and is comprised mostly of 1 1/2" 14 ga. square tubing welded into a cool asian pattern. My problem is that the torch is just flat uncomfortable -- it is largish and the cables are stiff. So, I set out to find a replacement torch and herein lies my dilemma ... I like the idea of the CK FlexLoc water cooled torch, but I have a ton of questions:
Are there competing solutions that are better?
I'm looking for a light and flexible torch ... the reason I'm thinking of the water cooled torch is because I've heard that water cooled torches are maybe even more nimble than the air cooled torches because of the smaller guage wire. Is this true??? Would I be better off to get the air-cooled torch?
This welder is in my shop with every other hobby known to man ... Assume that I'll never do the same thing twice (unless the "same thing" is a goober-weld). Isn't it going to be a pain to switch back and forth between 2 water cooled torches?
In order to run my welder at max output, I'll still need to switch to my old torch (300A welder capability vs 250A torch limit). Do they make quick-connect water fittings that would make this easy?
I assume that the current ratings on these torches are at 100% duty cycle -- Am I likely to burn out a 250A torch if I use it at reduced duty cycle at 300A? Will there be any leading indicator that I'm about to burn it out (like my hand starts sizzling?)
Thanks in advance for your help!
-Sean

I have welded a lot of that square tubing in aluminum. I use a WP-20 or equivalent. The welds are so short on those constructs that it really doesn't matter.

Yep. Wp-20. It's far more flexible than a 250A-capable air-cooled, and much smaller in the hand.

You won't need more than 250A for much of anything in a home shop, and the WP-20 can acually handle 300A fine if you keep a short duty-cycle. The only things I've turned a welder up to more than 250 for, is 7024 Jet-rod (1/4" stick!), and arc-gouging.

Unless a major pipeline will be passing through your garage, the -20 series is the best all-around torch.

I'm NOT knocking the flex-lok at all. You have to consider the work you'll be doing... If you're building an airplane or a stock car, those many positions will be usefull. If you're fixing mower decks and motorcycle frames, not so much.

Steve S

I am considering switching my Dynasty 200DX from air to water. The two water cooled torches I am considering are the CK Flex Loc or the Weld Craft WP225. I like the idea of having interchangeable heads on the WP225 and either of them would have superflex hoses. It would seem if you needed to get into tight places like roll bars or headers the WP225 might be a better choice.

Has anybody used both of these torches? Pros and cons for either of them?

Thanks
Jim

I have tried different torches and they all become about the same once their specific novelties wear off. As far as the flex lines, I personally can't stand them for my type of work where I am walking around things a lot. They like to snag on the table legs when going around a corner and I am constantly smashing the gas line shut when they get under foot, which leads me to believe that I am likely smashing the waterline shut as well at times.

I was never hampered by any so-called stiffness with the vinyl hoses and I rarely suspend my cables from my shoulders. The only mod I like to do to standard vinyl hoses is with the leather sleeve itself, with replacing the snaps with velcro, so that a random grape of molten aluminum doesn't get guided my Murphy, through the seam and into the lines themselves.

My solution for Jeff's problem with superflex hoses is all in the routing. I pay out just what I need plus about five feet, and use R-11s to hang the leads from my work and/or bench to keep it off the floor. After the clamp closest to my work, I leave five feet hanging past, so while in position I have plenty of lead to reach all parts of the weld. This keeps it out from underfoot, and has the advantage of reducing the weight in my hand when I'm six or eight feet off the floor, as I'm only supporting the last two and a half feet of lead.

It may not be practical for Jeff; What he builds would require a lot of re-routing, but for my work I'm often welding within one set-up of the clamps for the better part of a day, only occasionally moving the last clamp.

Steev S

It's most likely just because of the way I have to weld. I am in and around a clusterfart of pipes most of the time. The owner at my shop bought them because he thought he could substitute them for 300 amp cables because of the cloth jackets keeping them from balooning out when they get overheated. I tell him to get helium but that's never going to happen. Why, I don't know because preheating big stuff with OA isn't cheap either.

You guys are awesome! Thanks for all the advice!
-Sean
Ps ... No current plans for a major pipeline running through my shop ........ Yet!