Welding Tips and Tricks

To anyone with experience on the Miller Coolmate 3,

I am preparing to purchase a Miller Coolmate 3 to support a cooling system for my Lincoln PT-225.
Are there any users with advise on this TIG torch cooler?

Thanks in advance for your reply,
WOB

Wob,
I just bought a used Coolmate 3 and so far it seems to do everything I asked of it. We have a couple Coolmate 1's at work and they do a fine job too. They have all the same basic components. The Coolmate 3 looks identical in pictures to the Binzel.

Weird thing is, the one I bought was used as an oil cooler and it took a bit of doing to get it flushed clean. The guy had a few of these listed on Ebay, I paid $350 shipped.

Len

Thanks Len,

I do remember seeing a picture or add for a Binzel and it, except for color, looked identical to a Miller Coolmate 3.
What torch do you connect to it?
What TIG welder is used in your water cooled system?
Is the spinning paddle wheel helpful for viewing flow? Do you have to get very close to it to view it functioning?

Regards,
Wob

Wob,
I actually have two CK torches hooked up to it with a diverter system to select between the two. One's a CK200 and the other is a CK230. I also have a Weldcraft Super Cool 18 that I hook up on occasion if I'm welding heavy Aluminum, it's bulky as hell though and I haven't used it since I got the CK230 which is a 300 amp torch but it's the same size as the 250 amp CK200.

The wheel can be seen from across the shop at home, but it's a pretty small shop. It does let me know that I have the right torch selected at a glance so I like having it.

That cooler replaced a huge old miller that I got for free and isn't mobile at all, it's in my crawl space and holds 50 gallons of coolant. It was hooked up to a manifolds that went to a number of Syncrowave 700 machines.

I have an old Miller Dialarc HF transformer, 310 Amps at max. hooked up to it. I haven't welded anything heavy enough to test how well it works at 300+ amps yet though. I've only welded for about an hour at 250 amps and it did fine at that.

Len

Len,

That's allot of great information Len, thank you for describing the torches and models, this really helps me make a decision on the entire water system. I will not be welding anywhere near 300 Amps with my current machine, but having the capability available for a future TIG welder purchase with greater current output capability frees me from having to purchase a cooler at that time, spreading the $ load over time.

The CK230 being the same size as the CK200 interests me. The CK230 torch head must be slightly larger than the CK200, is the weight of each comparable? If so I may consider skipping the purchase of the CK200 and go for the CK230. I do plan on welding 0.125" to 0.1875" of deoxidized copper in short beads of 1.0 inch, but numerous welds of this length with time gaps in-between. One of my projects requires welding 0.125" deoxidized copper in tight spaces, 6" x 4" x 1.5", but for short periods of time. I will review the CK catalog again, applying what I now know.

On past aluminum welds I had to use my Spool gun with my MM251 to weld anything greater than 0.1875". The Spool Gun bead definitely penetrated, sometimes a little to much. The speed had to be carefully controlled, typically medium to fast, difficult to do when I am the one running the gun.

Once again, thanks for the great info.
Regards,
WOB

Wob,
The 230 torch I a touch heavier in the hand because the power supply cable is heavier while the dimensions of the torch are the same. I like the fact that I can use the 2 series consumables and still get 300 amps.

Len