I swear, the gas tank on my machine leaks. I dont know if I'm just going crazy or if it's really leaking, but it seems to have less and less pressure every so often when I use it. I'm going to start writing down the pressure of when I stop using it, till the next time I start and see if it's leaking. It shouldn't leak right???

 

I've heard that if you open the valve completely then it shouldn't, but if it's halfway open it will. Don't know how true it is though...

For what it's worth, we leave ours all the way open at the shop and it seems to hold fine.

 

Usually the regulator will leak very slowly, if i leave my tank open i know it leaves from the regulator i got with my lincoln welder.

 

I close it all the way when it's not in use (I probably only use it once a month if that)

 

<TABLE WIDTH="90%" CELLSPACING=0 CELLPADDING=0 ALIGN=CENTER><TR><TD>Quote, originally posted by tony1 &raquo;</TD></TR><TR><TD CLASS="quote">I've heard that if you open the valve completely then it shouldn't, but if it's halfway open it will. Don't know how true it is though...
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That was an old valve design that has been taken care of. You don't have to do anything now but give them a couple turns.

I also close mine when I'm not using it. Even rubber purge hoses will permeate argon at a slow rate. If you think you have a leak, turn the valve on and spray soapy water on all the connections till you find one bubbling up.

 

does temp affect the pressure with argon gas?

 

Yes, temperature will affect the pressure.