5460 DV cooler FLOW ALARM !!

[tapwelder]

Yeah, you jogged my recollector. I used to operate a instrument that would go from room temp to 2000 degrees and back to room temp in seconds. The cooling unit would always look clean because the water was so hot. But hoses and like a would foul with algae because of the ideal temp/condition fo growth.

I tried bleach and glycerin, only really be never could eliminate the growth.

My cooler has the HTP coolant in it. I guess it doesn't last / fight forever.

I guess an air cooled torch would fix it.

Thanks.

[Capt B]

Yeah, you jogged my recollector. I used to operate a instrument that would go from room temp to 2000 degrees and back to room temp in seconds. The cooling unit would always look clean because the water was so hot. But hoses and like a would foul with algae because of the ideal temp/condition fo growth.

I tried bleach and glycerin, only really be never could eliminate the growth.

My cooler has the HTP coolant in it. I guess it doesn't last / fight forever.

I guess an air cooled torch would fix it.

Thanks.

I bought an algae additive from HTP last time I changed my coolant. Haven't used it long enough to know how well it works yet but so far so good.

I have a cool mate on my syncrowave that started doing that and I had to disassemble and clean everything to get rid of algae but I hadn't changed the coolant in at least 5 yrs on that one. One of those things that's easy to neglect.

[John T]

I bought an algae additive from HTP last time I changed my coolant. Haven't used it long enough to know how well it works yet but so far so good.

I have a cool mate on my syncrowave that started doing that and I had to disassemble and clean everything to get rid of algae but I hadn't changed the coolant in at least 5 yrs on that one. One of those things that's easy to neglect.

I used that HTP stuff for a couple years.... when I dumped it out It DID still look clear... no algae or gunk..

This time I just added a couple capfuls of bleach... so far so good.

I don't tig weld a whole hella lot, kinda comes in spurts or if I am working on a project...

[Oscar]

Also, the internal hoses don't last forever, especially if you don't use it often. With age they soften and lose the ability to hold the pressure . You could start with replacing those with hoses that are braided to better hold against pressure loss. I tried regular clear plastic hose, and even though it will hold the pressure, it does bulge and you actually lose pressure like that. Some transmission oil cooler hose works great for this. Can be bought in bulk at most auto parts store.

[tapwelder]

After crimping hose, no issues today. Welder/cooler on/used about 12 hrs today.

Mine is 25 foot hose with ck no. 9 torch.

[Oscar]

How is the condition of the hoses? Brown & soft?

[mechanic416]

After crimping hose, no issues today. Welder/cooler on/used about 12 hrs today.

Mine is 25 foot hose with ck no. 9 torch.

I think you mean a #20 torch, a #9 is a air cooled torch.

[12345678910]

I used that HTP stuff for a couple years.... when I dumped it out It DID still look clear... no algae or gunk..

This time I just added a couple capfuls of bleach... so far so good.

I don't tig weld a whole hella lot, kinda comes in spurts or if I am working on a project...

You added bleach to the tig cooler water ?

That's bad.
It's corrosive.

it's not instant, but any metals in contact will pinhole on you.


I'd just use the overpriced stuff they sell you. It has corrosion inhibiting agents.

If you want to do homemade solutions, an aquarium air bubble-er in the coolant and some sort of timer that runs the pump for circulation when you don't use it for long periods.

[John T]

You added bleach to the tig cooler water ?

That's bad.
It's corrosive.

it's not instant, but any metals in contact will pinhole on you.


I'd just use the overpriced stuff they sell you. It has corrosion inhibiting agents.

If you want to do homemade solutions, an aquarium air bubble-er in the coolant and some sort of timer that runs the pump for circulation when you don't use it for long periods.

I'm not sure a couple capfuls will harm anything.... But you may be right...
I got the suggestion on this site somewhere...

anyway, I got a procon pump / 220v motor I will be retrofitting into the HTP cooler over the winter ..... I will go back to the HTP algae additive at that point.

I LOVE the HTP221 welding machine.... The water cooler... not so much. especially that pump/motor combo.

[tapwelder]

How is the condition of the hoses? Brown & soft?

Machine is pristine inside . hoses clear braided plastic. It.was assembled 2017.

Probably needs cleaning or internal maintenance?

[tapwelder]

Yeah, no20. No 9 is in my tool kit, awaiting its turn.

[Oscar]

Machine is pristine inside . hoses clear braided plastic. It.was assembled 2017.

Probably needs cleaning or internal maintenance?

So you bought it brand new? What liquid/coolant have you used throughout the time you've had it?

[tapwelder]

HTP coolant.

[longman50]

I've been dealing with this same issue on and off for a while now and usually just give my torch leads a shake and the alarm would stop. It seems to have gotten worse the last few weeks so I blew out the torch with compressed air which did not help. I also checked the coolant which still looks clear and clean. I found this thread and others mentioning pinching off the blue return line and opened up my cooler this morning. I removed the flow switch completely just to see if it was clogged or slimy. When I pulled the switch off I noticed the actual switch portion with the wires had some adjustment slots in it with two small screws holding it. I re-installed it with that side facing up so I could play with it while the cooler was running. Basically I reduced the sensitive a little but not all the way and it seems to be working much better. I also decided to clamp down the blue bypass hose to reduce its flow but not shut it off completely. We'll see how this works but I'm excited not to be interrupted to much by the annoying alarm.
I have no idea if this same adjust flow switch is on all of these but my was purchased sometime in 2017.

Merry Christmas!

[tapwelder]

Thanks Longman. I have had no issues since clamping off my blue tube. I have about 40 hours straight tig welding since then. Initially mine progressed as yours. Alarm would stop if I straighten hose, then it had to be level...no incline, then shake the machine. Then alarm on all the time.

[txrpls]

Because none of the welds were in pulse mode.

[ronsii]

502 - Just in case post

[Robb M.]

test post

[Oscar]

thread is visible now, thanks guys

[ccawgc]

Please be careful with bleach. I have had to retube a cooler that all the hoses melted
because the owner added bleach and left it in. Bleach can be used for a clean and flush. But you need to flush the cooler several times to remove it all.

[jagboy69]

I'm sitting on the waiting list to get one of these coolers for my 221, but I'm not really liking what I'm seeing here. Those of you that have this cooler, would you buy it again? Let's face it, it is pretty expensive compared to other coolers on the market. Thanks for your advice!

[John T]

Those of you that have this cooler, would you buy it again?
!

Nope.

[Oscar]

I just spent last week replacing all my hoses since I kinda half-azzed it last time with non-optimum hoses, so I ordered clear pvc with braid from Amazon for $13 for 10ft. The high pressure kind that is good up to 200 or 250 psi, somewhere around there. I also played around with the coolant routing and carefully investigated the flow-rates from each and every single part. I used my 50ft hoses to more clearly make my observations, since they make more of a restriction to the overall system.

What I found as the true bottle neck in the whole system was inside the dinse connector. The nipple portion that is pushed into the dinse body by the 7/8-14 nut is the main culprit. Something about the way that fitting crimps the copper cable inside and then with the hose over it presents the largest restriction in the whole system. Unfortunately it is unavoidable. The only cooler that beeps on me is the one with the 50ft hoses, naturally so because of the restriction of 100ft of superflex hose and that fitting at the dinse connector. My other cooler that I bought in 2013 with my Invertig 221 still works great and no issues at all and it has 25ft superflex hoses. Would buy again.

Now a word about the pressure bypass hose. I recommend not pinching it closed in an attempt to bring up the system pressure. Yes it will go up, but what I noticed is that after a while of running the motor and pump get pretty warm. Warm enough to distinctly tell it's temperature from ambient. I don't have an IR thermometer, but I'd guess around 20-25°F hotter than ambient. I feel this is because the overall restriction is large enough that it simply won't move all that coolant where it really needs to and it simply "spins it up" and creates heat from the pumping action without actually going anywhere. If you pinch it closed, what [warm] coolant does get to be pumped out goes right into the blue "cool water out" fitting. And guess what. It gets to the same toasty temperature on it's way to the torch head that it is supposed to cool!

So even though I left the bypass hose in place, I ended up using a completely different coolant routing system. I have the pump send coolant to the finned radiator FIRST, to remove all the heat from the motor/pumping action and truly send ambient temperature coolant to the torch head. The bypass still dumps warm coolant into the reservoir, so instead of the reservoir being a "cool" portion of the system that was cooled by the finned radiator, it is now a "warm" body in the system. So the pump now pulls warm coolant instead of "cooled" coolant, but all is not lost because the finned radiator and fan combo can still completely remove all that heat before it goes to the torch head. Probably doesn't make too much of a difference in the grand scheme of things, but I'm gonna run it this way from now on.

[John T]

Nope.

To expand on that,
I don’t like the pump itself/the motor seems to be fine but I don’t like the fact that it’s incorporated into the pump and also there is no adjustments on the pump.
I don’t like that bypass bull crap
I don’t like the alarm
I don’t like how loud it is
Ummm,
I think that’s about it.

As far as the welding machine itself, I love it and I think it’s great.

But addressing your question/if I knew then what I know now....
I would have bought the HTP 221 and then bought one of those cheap azz Ebay or Amazon coolers.

One of these days I am going to rip that motor and pump out of there and replace it with a pro con pump/motor

I already have the 220v motor and pump I just have to put it all together one of these days.

I did the same thing years ago with a Miller 1 cooler with the ungodly loud ogledorff o’ douch pump
And it worked out great.
But that one was a 110 V motor.

I know Oscar loves HTP
But he also loves tinkering on stuff.

I really don’t.
I want to buy a cooler that freaking works and I don’t have to mess with or do endless experiments to figure out why it’s doing what it’s not supposed to be doing.

And at the end of the day come up with no solution.

MOVE !

[Louie1961]

I get what John is saying about not wanting to tinker, but the price and profit margins on these coolers always astounds me. You could build one for under $150 easy. Procon motor and pump on eBay for ~$100, a $15 computer radiator, and a couple of bucks for a poly tank, tubing, and clamps. The prices they are getting are crazy, especially if it isn't 100% perfect. There is not much inside of one of these things.