Tested my home built cooler last night.
My goals were:
1. Fit in bottom of welder cart
2. Inexpensive, but reliable
3. Quick to build
4. Easy to remove from cart and switch between air and multiple liquid cooled torches.
I used a carbonator pump and tank and basically just re-plumbed it so the carbonator tank functions as a reservoir and added a filter and bypass valve with pressure gauge. I used carpet cleaning quick disconnects that I found on Ebay. I started to add a filler cap to the tank but just used the pump to fill the res with 2 gal of coolant. Since it only has one very small opening to atmosphere I don't expect to lose volume very quickly. I don't usually weld for long periods so I decided to try it without a heat exchanger and see it there is enough thermal mass in 2 gal of coolant to get the job done for me. After about 30 min of welding aluminum at 150amps last night the coolant tank rose about 4 degF. I think it will probably work unless I end up doing a large aluminum project on a hot summer day.
Last edited by Cruisinga; 11-21-2016 at 11:15 AM.
Code 4
That looks like total aircraft quality workmanship, job well done!