Pro Con Pump question

[LIGoomba]

I just finished up my home made tig cooler.I can't get a pressure reading off the gauge.I have the IN/OUT lines connected in series just to run the test.I tried turning the adjustment screw in a bit but the gauge did not budge at all.I see the fluid going through the lines,(I bought the clear reinforced lines). The gauge is plumbed on the correct side of the pump not the return.If I pump air into the gauge it works.I went on a Pro Con Website but could not get any answers. Any suggestions?.

[Ron Padilla]

a question for you, where did you get the pump and what are you driving it with? I did the same building mine in house and it works ok, I never did put a gauge on it. I purchased mine from a company that had a familiarty with the requirments for a tig cooler pump. So the extra info might help getting some answers.

[AMC724]

It sounds like you have no "restriction" to create pressure, on a tig torch there is a small orriface that the water passes through creating restriction in turn creating pressure, try putting a valve in line and slowly closing it.

Don't close it all the way, Procon pumps are not designed to run without flow.

[zipzit]

Originally Posted by LIGoomba

I just finished up my home made tig cooler.I can't get a pressure reading off the gauge.I have the IN/OUT lines connected in series just to run the test.I tried turning the adjustment screw in a bit but the gauge did not budge at all.I see the fluid going through the lines,(I bought the clear reinforced lines). The gauge is plumbed on the correct side of the pump not the return.If I pump air into the gauge it works.I went on a Pro Con Website but could not get any answers. Any suggestions?.

Er.. the pressure gauge reads pressure. If you are pumping from a reservoir, thru a short hose which dumps into the reservoir, there probably isn't any pressure. Zip, zero, nada. If you want to read pressure, add a restriction downstream from the pressure gauge. Common restrictions are: 1) A water cooled tig torch 2) a heat exchanger.

If you just want to test your pump, you could add a faucet valve, then start to shut it (probably best to NOT close it all the way...)

Not positive about factory TIG coolers, but I know automotive cooling systems VERY well. (think heater core, or radiator...) Best to stay below 13 psi max for a copper or aluminum heat exchanger. They will start to exhibit problems above 25 psi or so. Also, you mentioned clear reinforced lines. If they are made from vinyl, they are okay for luke warm coolant, but absolutely won't work for really hot liquid, say 185F or so. Don't ask me how I know, okay? (And yes, hot engine coolant does clean up well, its just really sticky...)

[LIGoomba]

OK I get it !!!! I will be back in garage in am and report back.Thank you !!

[CharleyL]

After you put the valve in the line to create a restriction you will be able to close this valve gradually and see the gauge reading go up. When it stops going up you will have reached the pressure setting of the built-in pressure relief valve in the pump. The screw adjustment on the side of the pump adjusts this relief valve setting. It's an upper pressure limit safety device. For a TIG cooler you don't want the pressure to ever go higher than 50 psi, so adjust this screw until the gauge reading drops to 50 psi with your flow restriction valve fully closed. If your your Procon pump was part of a carbonator in it's previous life this pressure relief is likely set at 120 psi and you should reduce it to 50 psi Don't run the pump very long with no flow, as the pump will gradually heat up and destroy itself. A couple of minutes with no flow will not cause damage. If the pump will develop 50 psi or more while doing this it should make a good TIG cooler pump.

You can see my DIY cooler here http://weldingweb.com/showthread.php?t=34034

Charley

[LIGoomba]

Thanks everyone,It works!! I ended up spending about an hour yesterday acutally hooking it up to the welder.I was able to restrict the hose on the cooler to give me a ball park setting.I then hooked everything up and turned the cooler on.It was set a bit high but adjusted it to just below 50 psi.I let it run for about 20 minutes just to check for leaks. I wanted to weld but as per my wife I had spent too much time in the man cave for the day !! LOL !! That WP-20 torch seems alot more smaller and comfortable than the WP-17 torch.Its going to have to wait till next weekend.