Leaky gas tap

[tanner0441]

Hi

A couple of years ago I needed a welder quickly and at that time funds didn't run to the welder I would have liked so I bought a cheap cheerful gasless MIG. I hated it, but it did what I wanted and didn't take long to learn. It had a TIG function but no torch so I bought a TIG  torch with a gas control on and away I went. Mild steel tidier than gasless MIG and stainless as expected and TIG brazing a dream oince I bought the correct rods.

What I wasn't impressed with was the rate it went through the Argon. So I bought a new regulator with a floating ball not just two gauges, that was when I saw the little ball never settled. The tap on the torch didn't shut the gas off. By this time I had bought the 200 A welder I wanted that also hdid MIG, TIG and MMA so I grabbed the torch off that. That leaked as well.

I've now bought a gas solenoid, torch switch a little PSU and a box to mount everything in and made an outboard gas control.  Bliss now when I let the trigger go the little ball settles until it is pressed again.


Brian

[MattM]

The small #40 'hobby tanks' are sometimes a tiny bit leaky once open, because people over tighten the main valve tap.  But your commercial grade tanks #60 and above shouldn't ever leak.  (The 40s are more for small jobs in an emergency, where maximum mobility is required, and they get beat up.)  Or were you just leaking out your trigger rig?  I never had leaks shutting any of the larger bottles off at the tap.  But the rigs are almost always leaky.  Its always good practice to shutoff main valves when not in use.  That is impressive if your trigger rig has a perfect seal.

[tanner0441]

Hi

No it was the 10ltr commercial cylinder 3000PSI.

I bought one of the hobby tanks of oxygen for an oxy map gas torch. Not one of my better ideas.

Brian.