Water cooler failure??? bad day....

[G-ManBart]

I finally remembered to take pictures of the degraded torch lines I mentioned. This torch was marked Radnor, so no way of knowing who made it for Airgas, but it seemed pretty nice. The hoses looked perfect, all the fittings were bright and shiny, and even the outer cover was nice. I flushed the cooler and tank, then filled it with clean water and hooked the blue torch line to the cooler out fitting and left the red line disconnected so I could flush the torch and lines....got almost nothing flowing out. I shut it down, disconnected the torch, connected a 6' line to the output and it was sending water at least 15 feet, so I knew the cooler was fine. I tried blowing compressed air through the torch and very little came through, so I ran my hands along the length of the hoses looking for a blockage, but found the soft spots and noted the rubber cracked around the fittings with the blue line being the worst. I pulled the blue line off at the torch and the degraded rubber was really bad. The soft spots along the lines must have been breaking down the same way. I can only assume this junk plugged up the torch, but I haven't gotten around to cutting it apart to see inside.

I was pretty shocked that lines looking so nice and new could be disintegrating like these are. I've found the exact same thing with several other torches in the past, and all have been used with automotive anti-freeze. I'm not sure if that's a coincidence or not, but it's enough to make me wonder. Probably not a bad idea to just run your hands along the torch lines once a year to feel for soft spots as that might be a good indicator of problems.

[John T]

WoW
That’s really something.

Looks like some thin wall/internal hose

My CK lines Are much thicker than that

[G-ManBart]

WoW
That’s really something.

Looks like some thin wall/internal hose

My CK lines Are much thicker than that

They didn't start out that thin, it's just that's how badly they crumbled and fell apart. Other areas of the same lines have a wall thickness is several times thicker and look similar to the CK hose pictures you posted. If you look down into the hose a bit you can see where it gets thicker...sort of a ridge/ledge. I'll try to remember to cut a section a few inches away where the wall thickness is normal.

It's really crazy...run your fingers along the hose and everything is normal, then you hit a spot where the rubber has disintegrated and the rubber collapses with almost no finger pressure. Near the fittings seems to be the worst, but there are areas randomly along the length of hose where you'll find soft spots. I almost wonder if the soft spots were hanging at the bottom of the loop when coiled up on the machine, or something similar, and the chemicals eating the rubber sunk to the low spot.

[Oscar]

I finally remembered to take pictures of the degraded torch lines I mentioned. This torch was marked Radnor, so no way of knowing who made it for Airgas

Who made the hoses?

[Oscar]

Oh wonderful! And I JUST received my arctic chill. How dumb does that make me? Should I give it back?

Let's see if Jeff calls me this week.

IMO, you don't have much to worry about. My original cooler from 2013 still works just fine, and my 2nd "demo unit" that I use for my stick welder also works fine.

[G-ManBart]

Who made the hoses?

I'm not sure, but I still have the whole setup. Do you think there would be markings somewhere? Maybe if I peel back the outer covering?

[William McCormick]

I get the idea that the coolant is to keep the torch cool but I don't understand why the cooler failure is damaging the cable. Is the hose intended to keep the cable cool too? It seems that the cable is too small for the length used and the current it is carrying?

I think that a failed cooler will make the torch too hot to hold, not burn up the cable? Can someone explain?

A March 809 pump is an excellent pump but its 12 volts. I have one on my hydronic heater on the boat and it pumps hot water all day.

The wire gauge in the water-cooled power cable is much smaller than the power cable in an air cooled torch, without water the power cable can glow in the water cooled torch.

Sincerely,

William McCormick

[John T]

I wonder if that wasn't the cause of your failure. Was the shear pin corroded at all?

I was thinking about this today and
First of all, we are using the wrong terminology
It’s actually not a shear pin it’s a key
That fits into the slot (keyway) on the motor shaft which in turn drives the pump.

That connection is also isolated by seals so the coolant/water never touches the pin or the shaft.

[John T]

Mine also came that way on my Invertig 400. The kit itself from CK doesn't include the Dinse connector nor the short hose, so it's kinda pieced together by vendors. .

Well one of the vendors he must have eaten his Wheaties the morning they put mine together.

I got the cooler up and running and everything is fine again…

But occasionally I see one single drip on the floor

Couldn’t figure out where
Finally today I found out it’s coming from the dinse connector

I take it apart
And the center brass piece is f@ckin cracked!

HTP America is sending a replacement.

Luckily I kept the old one also.

Stupid sh*t

[John T]

Another thing I noticed is,
They are now using oetiker clamps instead of the screw on compression type.

They work great but not user-friendly for the every day Joe.

[tapwelder]

I was thinking about this today and
First of all, we are using the wrong terminology
It’s actually not a shear pin it’s a key
That fits into the slot (keyway) on the motor shaft which in turn drives the pump.

That connection is also isolated by seals so the coolant/water never touches the pin or the shaft.

Had my pump apart yesterday. The key holding the brass impeller inside the pump swims in coolant? My impeller had some interesting "wear" marks. Not sure if tge were wear marks, however. There is no mating wear marks anywhere in the pump. Is there a key from inside the motor?

Mine worked for about a year when i clamped the blue hose inside the reservoir, then the alarm started again.

Otherwise, all looks pristine inside.

[tapwelder]

Fixed. Flow switch not calibrated correctly.

[John T]

Flow switch not calibrated correctly.

What exactly does that mean?

how did you calibrate it?

[tapwelder]

What exactly does that mean?

how did you calibrate it?

The flow controller thingy has a spring/magnet inside. The flow controller switch(plastic pad with wires and 2 screws) sit atop the controller thingy. The switch is activated by the magnet. The switch can sense on or off depending on its position. Loosen the tiny screws, then slide the switch. Test: if extreme on way or the other the alarm will not come on (pinching hoses to restrict) or will stay on. Somewhere in the middle is right and there is some ability to make it more or less sensitive.

[tapwelder]

I am just guessing. The little blue tube that remains in the coolant keep the pump primed. Without it the pump could empty or create a vacuum due to barometric pressure. ??? Mine sits unused for long periods.

I would not suggest clamping it. That may be the cause of my impellor discoloration/wear.

[lugweld]

Where were your pump and motor made?

[John T]

Where were your pump and motor made?

I think Italy but I will take a look when I get home

Threw away the pump
I only have the motor and fan left.

That’s a nice little motor.

I have it wired to 110 V and use the fan in the summertime.

That little fan moves a lot of air.

Which reminds me I need to build a shroud for it one of these days.

[tapwelder]

Motor, italy. Pump?

[John T]

Not sure about the pump.

Oscar would probably know

[John T]

Motor is Italy.

As you can see there was some pitting on the shaft where it goes into the water pump.

That water pump is junk but that’s just my opinion.

[John T]

My 5 gallon pail set up with procon pump has been working flawlessly since I put it together.

[Sberry]

Am i the only one would stick weld this? Haha

[John T]

Am i the only one would stick weld this? Haha

Stick weld what?

[Oscar]

Not sure about the pump.

Oscar would probably know

I've opened my coolers, but never looked that far into it though.

[tapwelder]

No marking on pump, at least visible without removal. My motor says italy. My mot is blue in color. Internal pump shaft looked pristine.

I just finally seriously looked at it on wednesday. The cooler is so simple, not really much to go wrong if motor/pump does not fail due to poor quality or misuse? I don't think the quality is poor on mine.

That flow controller is ABS and won't corrode. Though it has a grill inside that may clog with debris. It also constrict flow enough to be deceptive if you are looking at the return line in the tank- compared to what the pump outputs without restriction.

Not sure of the mfg date. Mine case looks different than johnT unit.