Leather cable covers?

[Spar-X]

I need to get a leather cable cover for my tig torch but I'm having difficulty choosing one.
I found some threads here that have me leaning towards the TILLMAN 581 leather cover but the ones I found only come with snaps,not velcro like others had stated. I did see where the weldtec two piece was rated very high but at its price of $148 they can keep it, its not out of budget but I'm just not willing to pay the same price for a cover that payed for the torch.
I have also ran across a WeldCraft leather one but I'm not sure if weldcraft actually made it as its only available on that site here https://weldingsupply.securesites.ne...l?CC-23||1|756
as I can see its a snap just like the Tillman but it doesn't give its diameter, just length. I just want a comfortable cover that moves with ease and that weldcraft one looks rather tough...lol
thought I would throw this out there and see if anyone has experiences with these or could recommend a different one
THANKS

[Ron Padilla]

well i have a leather one and a nylon one if that what the material is the leather I bought off of a guy that had it forsale on CL the material one I bought at the lws. Now the leather one is nice and they are expensive without a doubt the material one was only a farction of the cost ofthe leather. So it depends on how you look at things, good, and cheap do not go together. The material one will last a long time, and I sure the leather will as well, it just depends on what you are after and what you want to spend. I am in a controlled environment where I can take care of my equipment, that might make a big difference on the equipment.

[Spar-X]

Yea, I kinda ruled out nylon covers and looking for a good quality leather one, the one I stated @ the $148 price is actually the highest price one I have came across, I just don't need that. I need one thats comfortable and practical for what it is...... good quality should still be able to be found in the $60~80 range, I hope, just looking for a little input from others. What brand leather one you have? is it comfortable and is it velcro, zipper, or snap?

[WyoRoy]

Leather on both the plasma and MIG. Nylon on the TIG. I found the leather ones...snaps...on eBay for around $30 if memory serves. Good utilitarian covers and well worth more than I payed.

[Spar-X]

I was looking at the nylon ones to begin with because you can get them with a zipper but my garage is always a disaster area and allot of times the cable will be left to fend for itself.... also I have been know to get into the heat of the moment and forget or lose track of where said cables are laying and accidentally drop something hot on or near them, I figured leather would be a wiser choice in my case

[jakeru]

My favorite TIG cable covers are the CK Worldwide black leather covers. They come in two diameters (depending on bundle thickness) and two lengths. They are velcro-attached, and quite supple, flexible, and thin. They aren't cheap though. cheers

[SuperArc]

Ask yourself this: Are your uncovered cables getting damaged? Or do you just want leather covered cables because you saw them advertised and you think you truely need them? If they're not getting damaged, it's a waste of money. Ive been stepping on mine and basically driving my SMAW cables in the dirt and its been several years of harsh abusive treatment so far hasnt destroyed or damaged the cables yet. The insulation has lasted without any problems. UV light from direct sun light hasn't even adversaly affected them yet. Again, do you really need the leather?

[shovelon]

These are the ones I started using. Made in USA and reasonably priced snap leather covers 22 feet long at $50 ea.

Read this page regarding the properties of leather. The company is owned by Jerry Uttrachi, former president of the AWS by the way. I use many of his other products also.
http://www.netwelding.com/Cable_Hose_Cover.htm

[Spar-X]

Originally Posted by SuperArc

Ask yourself this: Are your uncovered cables getting damaged? Or do you just want leather covered cables because you saw them advertised and you think you truely need them? If they're not getting damaged, it's a waste of money. Ive been stepping on mine and basically driving my SMAW cables in the dirt and its been several years of harsh abusive treatment so far hasnt destroyed or damaged the cables yet. The insulation has lasted without any problems. UV light from direct sun light hasn't even adversaly affected them yet. Again, do you really need the leather?

lol....Uhhh, yeah....... if you dont wanna take care of your tools, thats your prerogative.
Me, i wanna get good service for years to come and dont wanna be "that guy" asking myself...... was there something i could have done to prevent this premature wear on these unprotected cables?
just so there is no misunderstanding ill be using this on a water cooled tig setup not an air cooled one where cable is already insulated.
Im glad your getting good mileage out of yours with all the stepping and uv their seeing but my luck is never that way, like i had stated I've burnt holes in things with molten metals dont see why these would be any different.
I seen the black leather ones that arc-zone sells probably like the CK, reminds me of S&M Bondage leather......soft,....and supple like lol

[Spar-X]

Shovelon, I came across that site in my travels, the only problem is it only comes in a 4" version, my cables together only measure 2.5" around.....wouldnt that be a little too big? I know the standart 3" cable covers state that they are for the 9/20.
are you using them on a tig torch or mig setup?
maybe 4" is openedand laying flat? so if its snapped together it would be ~2"?
sorry, im a little lost on these sizings

[SuperArc]

Originally Posted by Spar-X

lol....Uhhh, yeah....... if you dont wanna take care of your tools, thats your prerogative.
Me, i wanna get good service for years to come and dont wanna be "that guy" asking myself...... was there something i could have done to prevent this premature wear on these unprotected cables?
just so there is no misunderstanding ill be using this on a water cooled tig setup not an air cooled one where cable is already insulated.
Im glad your getting good mileage out of yours...

I do take care of my tools. I just use them and use them hard. When they break, I repair or buy new.

I'm not familiar with your Tig set up as described, but I would think that stick or mig welding outdoors puts more wear/tear on cable set-ups being dragged over concrete, asphalt or dirt lots. Pro welders have been doing it that way for years and their cables last a long time. Its not like the cables are made from wet spaghetti.

I don't know, but doesn't a Tig set-up produce the least amount of weld spatter, if any? There's no slag either, right? Are you burning holes through your cables while Tig welding? If that's the case, leather won't save your cables. Even though I don't use them, I would understand using them for mig, fcaw or smaw processes due to heavy molton metal and spatter flying everywhere.

Just askn??

[Doug247]

At one shop we i worked at we used old fire hose split in half to protect our cables on our push-pull guns and tig torches. we fastened it on with black friction/ electrical tape. cheap and effective.

[SuperArc]

Originally Posted by Doug247

At one shop we i worked at we used old fire hose split in half to protect our cables on our push-pull guns and tig torches. we fastened it on with black friction/ electrical tape. cheap and effective.

That's a good idea. Does anyone think that the real thick electrical tape not too tightly wrapped around would be any good? Probably a while lot cheaper too. I really don't know.

[rlitman]

Originally Posted by SuperArc

I'm not familiar with your Tig set up as described, but I would think that stick or mig welding outdoors puts more wear/tear on cable set-ups being dragged over concrete, asphalt or dirt lots.

I'm not sure if dragging a cable in mud is worse than dragging it across a concrete shop floor.

TIG cables are expensive, and are very sensitive to damage. Tiny cuts can lead to the HF escaping, and ruin your welding experience.

The last time I had to replace my TIG cable was because of this. I was getting almost no HF energy to start the arc, until I noticed the arcing all around the cable insulation. When I looked over the cable, it looked like it had hundreds of bee stings, where the HF had burnt through the insulation around a scratch. You could wrap it in electrical tape, and the HF would just jump through that. New cable solved everything. Since then, I've been more careful with it.

I use a zip on nylon cover, but it's just 12' long. The other 12' of cable are inside a 3/4" piece of blue ENT "smurf tube". That stuff is strong enough that I can step on it and it won't pinch the cable inside, and it really drags nicely on the floor. It's just way to rigid to use within 6' of the torch.

[shovelon]

Originally Posted by Spar-X

Shovelon, I came across that site in my travels, the only problem is it only comes in a 4" version, my cables together only measure 2.5" around.....wouldnt that be a little too big? I know the standart 3" cable covers state that they are for the 9/20.
are you using them on a tig torch or mig setup?
maybe 4" is openedand laying flat? so if its snapped together it would be ~2"?
sorry, im a little lost on these sizings

The 4" lays flat then wraps around. It leaves a bit of room inside to flex when needed. I use them because on occasion when I spatter in the vicinity I don't need to damage the braided hoses. It tidies up the hoses without having to tape them every few inches. The final diameter is a little over an inch, which is perfect for me.

Now what I don't understand is where they find those 23" long cows.

[SundownIII]

I just love it when a dumbazz who DOESN'T EVEN HAVE A TIG WELDER, tries to tell another poster how he doesn't need to protect his torch leads.

Pretty obvious he never replaced an expensive power/water return hose because he drug it across a hot spot on his welding table or over a just welded bead.

And I got to add that the "electrical tape cover" was a brilliant suggestion (NOT).

Why don't people just STFU when they know nothing about a subject?

[fortyonethirty]

I've had both nylon and leather covers. I prefer the nylon. The nylon is more flexible and have lasted longer. The advantage of the leather cover is it's more heat resistant. But I figure, if you've got hot metal hitting the ground while tig welding, you're doing it wrong.

[LarryO]

The leather covers are really good for plasma torch leads.

Mine are Velcro attach and have been using it for a couple of years with no prob.

[LarryO]

Originally Posted by SuperArc

I do take care of my tools. I just use them and use them hard. When they break, I repair or buy new.

I'm not familiar with your Tig set up as described, but I would think that stick or mig welding outdoors puts more wear/tear on cable set-ups being dragged over concrete, asphalt or dirt lots. Pro welders have been doing it that way for years and their cables last a long time. Its not like the cables are made from wet spaghetti.

I don't know, but doesn't a Tig set-up produce the least amount of weld spatter, if any? There's no slag either, right? Are you burning holes through your cables while Tig welding? If that's the case, leather won't save your cables. Even though I don't use them, I would understand using them for mig, fcaw or smaw processes due to heavy molton metal and spatter flying everywhere.

Just askn??

[SuperArc]

Originally Posted by SundownIII

Why don't people just STFU when they know nothing about a subject?

You are so predictable. I love pizzing you off Downer.

[shovelon]

Originally Posted by Spar-X

Shovelon, I came across that site in my travels, the only problem is it only comes in a 4" version, my cables together only measure 2.5" around.....wouldnt that be a little too big? I know the standart 3" cable covers state that they are for the 9/20.
are you using them on a tig torch or mig setup?
maybe 4" is openedand laying flat? so if its snapped together it would be ~2"?
sorry, im a little lost on these sizings

I am using them on my water cooled tig torches. The 4 inch does the job well. I use leather now because I am sick and tired of melting the plastic ones. Not one leather one has failed yet.

As far as spatter, We do more than tig, we mig and plasmacut. And yes sometimes tig welding produces blowout from zinc coatings and air pressure buildup in chambers.

[Spar-X]

Originally Posted by shovelon

We do more than tig, we mig and plasmacut. And yes sometimes tig welding produces blowout from zinc coatings and air pressure buildup in chambers.

Same here, I also do plasma and a mig, I just look at it as cheap insurance, the 25'R tig torch setup is in the $140 range, the water line and gas line wouldn't take much to punch through there lining but my mane concern was the water return line that also houses the power cable, those two split and you got trouble, something im willing to spend extra to prevent.
Oh and LarryO...... Damn..... thats some thick look'n cowhide on those cables, hate to put something that thick on my tig, would make it hard to get comfortable with...lol

[LarryO]

Your right, i wouldn't like it on my tig, but has saved the plasma lead a few times.

Haven't really seen thin leather ones on this side of the pond.

[SundownIII]

Spar-X,

Didn't recommend it because you already said the WeldTec two piece cover was more than you wanted to spend, but, I use that cover setup on my Sync and think it's the best out there. For the most part you have a heavy leather cover that lays of the floor and a lighter leather (lambskin I think) cover where you need the increased flexibility (at the torch).

WeldTec also makes a velcro sealed cover made out of the lighter leather the whole length. It's not as heavy duty as the two piece setup, but still provides protection for your hoses. This is what I use on the Dynasty 200.

[Kelvin]

Originally Posted by SundownIII

the "electrical tape cover" was a brilliant suggestion (NOT).

Why don't people just STFU when they know nothing about a subject?

Um, because they just like to hear themselves quack?