[KA67_72]

I melted a hole in the water/power line of my water cooled torch. Tape has slowed but not stopped the leak. Does anyone know the correct materials to use to patch it?

Thanks,
Kevin

[powerrodsmike]

I did that last year. Made it real fun to weld with my torch dribbling all over my lap.

I tried tape, then i tried tape and putting shrink tubing over the tape and shrinking it tight. It was never fully sealed. I had thought about trying to find just the plastic tube from mcmaster carr or another industrial supply house, but got lazy and just bought a new torch.
Later, mikey

[Henry Highrise]

You got lazy????? Not the Soul of Gilroy.....Ohhhhhhhhhhh I can't believe it. Ha Ha Ha, Lmao......Seriously you did the right thing by getting a new torch...some things are just not meant to be fixed and I think thats one of them.

[powerrodsmike]

I did save it though..along with the one I pulled out of the dumpster at the machine shop...someday I'll get motervated and make 1 good one out of the 2 trash ones.

That torch will have soul

Mikey

[price]

Just try turning off the water. I weld all day at 125 amps plus and my torches don,t get hot. Ask any Boilermaker and he,ll tell you water cooled is built in complexity .
thanks, Clint

[powerrodsmike]

I tried that myself when the patches weren't working.

When I did that with my weldcraft WP20 it was very unhappy. The lead actually melted through the outer casing. I have a WP 18 that would probably have withstood being run waterless @ 125, but my smaller one would not.

I use the smaller torch for every day work. I wonder what KA67_72 has for a torch.

BTW, a friend of mine is a boiler certified welder. He bought a little tig for use at home that came with an air cooled torch. He hated it.
He couldn't wait to get a smaller, water cooled torch.
I myself have used the air cooled ones for several hours at a time and found that the handle gets very uncomfortable.

"Built in complexity" is not really what comes to mind when I think of water cooled.

Later, mikey

[garyroushkolb]

The only way to do it right is buy a new power cable and also buy a spare for the shelf. There is several places on the net that sells welding supplies and you can find the cheapest source. I'm not kidding about buying a spare cable.
The last time I put a hole in a hose I made a repair so I could finish a job with water bed glue and vinyl hose that covered the hole about 6 inches both ways and still seeped. I have several power cables with holes in them that maybe I can put new hose on but since the price on the net is much more reasonable it's now not worth the effort. I have a cover on my hose that is supposed to protect them from damage but the best thing is just be careful.
While on the subject does anyone have a source for inexpensive water pumps for cooling units, mine broke a gear and I need to replace the water pump.
It's really surprising how much pressure that it takes to push water through a tig torch and lines. You can see the line flex when you turn on the pump.

[KA67_72]

I have a 350 amp Weldcraft. I was hoping someone would know how to repair it. It's just a small pinhole. If I knew what the hose was made of, I could figure out what solvent to use to repair it. I'm too cheap to spend a $75-$100 on a new hose.

Thanks,
Kevin

[powerrodsmike]

In the quest for knowledge I called my welding supply house owner who in turn called weldcraft.

The hose is vinyl

They called it "traditional vinyl"



later, mikey

[garyroushkolb]

try this link http://store.weldingdepot.com/cgi/we...t/WP18-25.html the entire torch is $81, I'm sure the cable won't cost that much. Been there, tried that and failed every time. I have seen power cables repaired by replacing the whole hose and reattaching the cable parts but never patched a hole successfully.