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I finally have everything together to start my water cooler project. I made the mistake of ordering an electric motor off of ebay that was shipped from somewhere in Alaska. It took a month to get here.:O The price was right though. Its a 230 volt 1/3 hp at 1725 rpm. The pump is a Procon pump from ebay that was new old stock. I'll post pictures tomorrow as I continue working on it.:)
Looking forward to the pictures. There are a lot of cooler projects both on this site and the internet. All a little different. I just started picking up small parts for one if I decide to build my own. Got a nice 6" 120 volt Dayton muffin fan out of a large commercial power supply last week that we were scrapping from a project. I figured that could work mounted to the cooler/radiator piece eventually.
On demand small sprayer pumps work well. They are available in 120V. You don't need but a gallon a minute or less flow.
http://www.agrisupply.com/D-Duplex-M...05/&sid=&eid=/
Mark-Great idea and link. That's a nice unit all in one!
Thanks
It's compact too. Overall fairly quite and has a switch in it for "demand" running, which turns the unit on and off based off of pressure... Also has a chemical resistance factor. They'll run hours on end if needed.
My first idea was to use a diaphram pump like that, but I was concerned about how long it would last running hours at a time. Also, It ended up being the same price to buy the pump and motor I got. I only spent about 90 dollars on the pump, motor, and the lovejoy coupler. here are some pictures.
I'm going to break down and build a tig cooler. I've been looking at pumps on amazon as well. I was going to build a tank myself for the tig time, and use a transmission cooler since they are cheap! How many gallons of fluid should your tank hold?
It all depends on what kind of cooling you have. I have a Bernard cooler that looks almost garage made. It's basically a stainless tray from food service, and one of those Procon pumps mounted to one end of a dual shaft motor, with a fan on the other end and something like a heater core for it to blow over. Nothing fancy at all. Holds a couple of gallons max. Yet I think they want quite a bit of cash for them. (This one came with a welder.)
The shop next to mine had about the simplest design I've ever seen. The guy built an aluminum tank about the same size as his argon bottle about 9" square and four or five feet tall. It fit in his cart where a second bottle could go. Then he just had a submersible fountain pump in the bottom, feeding his torch. Not even any fittings, the hose and cord came right out of the top. It held enough water so it could just dissipate the heat and no fan or cooler was needed. Hot went in the top and cool was pulled from the bottom. I saw him weld aluminum all day at 300 amps with no problem. Not the most portable design, but simple and did the job. I'd estimate he had around 15 gallons in there.
Here is one version.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=e-6YxrGU6Ok
I don't even know how much my little tank holds. maybe .5 to .75 gal. I got it for free so I can't complain. I would think that its size isn't too important though.
If you are using the reservoir itself to dissipate the heat like Rambozo's friend then size would definitely matter. With a radiator/fan setup, not so much.Quote:
Originally Posted by welderdude
If cheap is what you want, a couple of milk jugs drilled and tapped would work for that matter.Quote:
Originally Posted by welderdude
The size of the tank is farily important as it does provide additional cooling. Our 300+ amp water coolers use a 2 gallon reservoir.
Wonder what the weight was on that thing.Quote:
Originally Posted by Rambozo
I have the procon pump on my Bernard cooler. They are good pumps and the tank is stainless.
With a 330 A/BP on the cart, the extra weight of the water wasn't much of an issue. I saw one Syncrowave 300 cart where the cart itself was a huge reservoir under the welder. I can't remember the brand, but it was a big name.Quote:
Originally Posted by everlastsupport
That's a great "passive" cooler idea. Basically mass loading/cooling.
Has anyone used a discarded water cooler/drinking fountain and its refrigerated components and added a pump fit for full duty cycle? I'm an electrical contractor and I see older water coolers/drinking fountains from officse thrown out all the time.
OOOH! That just gave me a really over-the-top idea, with a bunch of added engineering and fabbing, you could make it do double duty as a refrigerated dryer for your plasma cutter. :DQuote:
Originally Posted by MoparCar
Don't forget to include a beer cooler in the design.Quote:
Originally Posted by redbeard
I think we're on to something! The all in one garage big torch, beer, refrigerated cooler and dryer! Big old multi-port manifold on that thing and a mine-fridge to the side!
Looks what you guys have done to Welderdudes cooler thread... OK, maybe 4 cup holders on it too. Heck, add a fan across it and sit around it to keep cool. Where do we place orders? Welderdude better get a cut...Quote:
Originally Posted by MoparCar
Lol....so true. Now back to original programming! I think it was the mention of beer.
LOL! I can dig the beer cooler idea, but thats what my mini fridge is for.:P I hope to finish what I started pretty soon.
I have been busy with other project that don't include welding and trying to get a full time job.
The lack of cash is causing issues.:mad:
this is on my to do list.. as I just want to experience what its like to weld with a water cooled torch tig. that and its a neat little projectt.
A home made water cooler... I can honestly say I hadn't thought of doing that... Now that I think about it though, I don't know why it never crossed my mind. Just never put a lot of thought into a water cooler since I don't do a lot of high amperage/ long duty cycle work, I guess.
Good project idea!
This might be a silly question but has anybody considered using something other than water to cool a torch? Maybe like Glycol or alcohol based coolants? Would that have any affect on the torches? It's a really interesting idea, DIY cooler. When I get my tig up and running I might venture there too.
Are these the same pumps that are used in RVs?
Quote:
Originally Posted by performance
RV pumps are 12 volt, but yes those are the same basic diaphragm pumps, and you can get them in different voltages.Quote:
Originally Posted by Odyknuck
Yea I was aware they RV units were 12vdc. I just happen to have a new one in a box that I bought for a spare for my Motor home and Toy hauler. Would need a 12VDC power supply for it. Just looking around the shop for things that could be used to build a cooler. So I have the RV pump, A 6" diameter 230 VAC muffin fan and a 12 x 12 Aluminum transmission cooler. A lot of mis match parts lol!!!!
Sounds like just add a 230VAC to 12VDC power supply, a tank, and you're all set.Quote:
Originally Posted by Odyknuck
Has anyone used a motor like this? It is 120 volt and made for pumping water and such....farm pump. 1/2 hp 500gph for $39 bucks? Attachment 9212 Found on ebay http://www.ebay.com/itm/370558591841...84.m1423.l2648
Way over the top for a TIG cooler. Even the large Procon style ones are 100gph or less.Quote:
Originally Posted by Johnson
You can get the procon pumps for $80 or so new from even Grainger. Also, ebay has them, soda vendors use them and I have seen used ones on there.
The well and irrigation pumps are overkill, waste of power too. That price looks good though.
Hi. I posed the same question because my shop sometimes loses heat, and I wanted to use dexcool or something similar, I was told it has to do with electrical conductivity, and how it will cause an electrolytic process that will eat away at the cooler and other parts. This made more sense when I installed a new heater core in a car and the tag directed me to check for voltage in the antifreeze (one probe on batt negative, one directly in the coolant.) It said that if there was voltage present, fix it, or the new heater core would quickly fail, Hope this helps. Best to use distilled, deionized, water, or special welder cooler antifreeze.Quote:
Originally Posted by Tanh
My first welder Came with a Bernard watercooler that the pump failed on. The LWS replaced it with a procon carbonation pump. Worked EXCELLENT! I'll be building my next cooler, time permitting, and using the same type pumpQuote:
Originally Posted by everlastsupport
I still have a Bernard. Only repair was the pump, plastic impeller wore out. I do not use it a lot, but they are built solid. Big SS tank, big radiator, big fan.Quote:
Originally Posted by hooda
Do you have the "flat style" or the "tower"? I had the tower. It was about 3 feet tall by 1 foot square. Tank on bottom, cooler mounted Kitty-corner across the middle, then the motor mounted vertically. The motor had long shafts out each end, so the bottom shaft ran the pump, and the top ran the fan. I have seen the same cooler labelled under other brands, such as the old l-tec, but mine was labelled as Bernard in multiple places. I'd bet it was 30-35 years old. I REALLY like my Everlast cooler, but when I build my own, it will be closer to the bernard design, space permitting. One thing I've seen on another brand that I want is a flow indicator. Or a pressure gauge, something for the peace of mind to KNOW that it's working.Quote:
Originally Posted by everlastsupport
It is the flat style. Built tough for sure, new pump figure another 30 years (I will not last that long). I have hit an ankle on it a few times and it hurts, I have it on the floor, bad idea for me.Quote:
Originally Posted by hooda
Had offers on it, would sell it for space and use water hose, like I normally do. But it is a nice cooler for sure.
What's an average cost to build your own?
When I bought my 250ex I bought the Everlast cooler as well and I think I spent around $300 on it. It has worked perfectly and I didn't have to go through the trial and error and guessing game.