ReplyAnyway my question is, has anyone ever seen this before? And has anyone had to deal with CK customer service before? I’m wondering if it will be a couple weeks before I can get going and if I should just buy another brand torch.
WeldingWeb Apprentice
Just venting I guess, hopefully CK can get me a replacement torch.
So most of the various items I ordered arrived for getting started in TIG welding. I got an HTP Invertig 221 with a cooler and swivel head torch. Bought a 250 cubic foot argon tank (size K I think), got everything connected up and filled the coolant. Turned it on, and went to cut some practice material, as I haven’t tig welded in more than 20 years. My wife checks up on me and says hey, that thing is leaking. It was spewing coolant out the torch handle.
After some troubleshooting I find that a braze joint at one of the hose fittings is only brazed about 1/3 of the way around, and even when off I had to hang the torch way up high to keep the coolant from siphoning out. Jeff at HTP says they’ll contact CK for a replacement, which I appreciate. So now sit and wait. I tried brazing the joint myself, figure it will either get fixed or stay broke. So now it is just as broke and ugly to boot. Oh well.
WeldingWeb Apprentice
Anyway my question is, has anyone ever seen this before? And has anyone had to deal with CK customer service before? I’m wondering if it will be a couple weeks before I can get going and if I should just buy another brand torch.
Supporting Vendor
you can fix it by soldering it. It will work just fine. Been there done that. Post pics if you need hlelp.
WeldingWeb Apprentice
Too late for that, I melted the fitting.
Supporting Vendor
Replace it.
WeldingWeb Apprentice
OK, so how do I solder this without melting it again? I made a new fitting on my lathe, close enough that it should work.
WeldingWeb Apprentice
And a couple pics while I'm at it. Hopefully these uploaded correctly. Leaking at the joint between tubing and the brass fitting (line with the blue hose). Then making a new fitting for the one I destroyed
Master Welder
Have photo ?? What type of materials ??
Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk
WeldingWeb Apprentice
Looks like a stainless tube and the fittings are brass.
Supporting Vendor
Excellent work on the replacement fitting. Any basic solder that makes a water-tight seal should work. It will not be subject to a lot of stress. Just needs to be water-tight. Got something like this: https://www.homedepot.com/p/Safe-Flo...0612/100210902 ?
WeldingWeb Journeyman
I have an HTP 221 also. When I got it five years ago the torch was making the water in the cooler turn a brown color. I called CK and they sent a whole replacement even though all I wanted was to know if my torch was ok or not. Long story short, their customer service is good.
Tony
Master Welder
don't think lead solder will stick to stainless very well. You will need to silver solder it. plus silver solder is stronger. Most water pipe solder is now silver based and the lead was removed. Just watch you temperature all solders will melt before the brass.
Brass brazing is different and a lot hotter. with pipe solder use the flux that is not water based. The water based home depot flux didn't work well.
WeldingWeb Artisan
Silver bearing low temp solder and stay clean flux is what works best for that.
You can not use a oxy acetylene for this. Propane/butane is best small air acetylene doable.
Use it often.
Supporting Vendor
Exactly why I linked a lead-free silver-bearing solder. Granted it doesn't have much, probably 1-2%, but it should work just fine for this.Originally Posted by ccawgc
WeldingWeb Apprentice
OK, so I took a hard look at what you guys posted, and was also researching soldering and brazing brass to stainless. many thanks, much appreciated! And also many years back I worked at a plant that soldered stainless mesh to stainless plates for filtering toner, and they used an acid flux. So I figured the key is the acid flux to get solder or braze to stick to stainless, and the investigation I did supported that. So more looking before driving an I finally found one at Ace hardware, so went and bought it, about $30 for a small pack that includes a small coil of silver alloy braze and a tube of flux. Then tested it out on brass and stainless to make sure it would stick and not melt anything. Put away the oxy-acetyline torch and used MAPP gas for lower temperatures. And got it to stick together. So half an hour of cleaning flux out of the threads and off the fitting got the thing back together, and finally can try out the welder. I am definitely rusty, I pointed all 11 electrodes I have and stuck 3 of them in a couple minutes. Anyway, here is the second weld.
WeldingWeb Apprentice
So basically, it took 2 trips to get supplies, a torch, a lathe, a grinder, some rusty skills and a bunch of help from you guys on an internet forum to get this thing working. Anyway, thanks! By the way I pressure tested it before connecting back up, I figure the pressure test is around 200 psi with that little syringe.
Supporting Vendor
It happens. Nothing is perfect 100% of the time. The other alternative was to sit and wait.
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