i am making my fist manifold, and first beads ever on a tig for that matter. i have to get my 3rd bottle on monday. i have a big ******, but it is getting recerted right now so they gave me this other bottle at no charge, just contents. its the largest thats able to be purchased from them. i am not sure of the actualt size but i think i have a pic of it.

so i have done some practice beads, and i had a bad regulator so the first bottle wasn't all normal. second went out quick. always shut-off at night. usual flow at 25cfm. i tried 20 but had problems welding the ss manifold that low. i switch reg. to a ball flowmeter and it does not leak down at all. i am about 1/2 way done on the manifold and i suspect by the time i am done i will kill this bottle as well.

lets here some thoughts please.

 

I got the same machine, and I have a 125cf bottle I think. The bottle is almost empty, I can tell you how many hours I have on the machine if you would like.

25cfh is way to high, at least from what I have been told. I usually run my cfh at about 13 cfh.

Look like the bottle in your pic is an 80cf bottle
http://cgi.ebay.com/80-CF-WELD...wItem

I use that size on my mig, but tig takes up so much more gas.

What made you think, or how did you have a bad regulator. Cause for a brief period I thought mine was bad also.

 

I usually run about 25-30cfh with the biggest gas lens I can fit in the space I have for stainless.

 

Maybe your post flow is set too long. Just a thought. I have mine set at like 5 seconds instead of the 8 or so that comes standard. It will really save you gas in the end.

 

dropped it to 3 sec a while back. stiils seems to use a lot of gas.

 

<TABLE WIDTH="90%" CELLSPACING=0 CELLPADDING=0 ALIGN=CENTER><TR><TD>Quote, originally posted by 90blackcrx &raquo;</TD></TR><TR><TD CLASS="quote">.

What made you think, or how did you have a bad regulator. Cause for a brief period I thought mine was bad also.</TD></TR></TABLE>

it dropped to 0 about an hour when bottle was turned off.

 

A "t" sized 5H tank at 2500psi will last me two mani/dp kits while purging all items. I run a Lincoln with a Weldcraft wp-150 gun w/ valve at the gun.

 

<TABLE WIDTH="90%" CELLSPACING=0 CELLPADDING=0 ALIGN=CENTER><TR><TD>Quote, originally posted by meanEG &raquo;</TD></TR><TR><TD CLASS="quote">

it dropped to 0 about an hour when bottle was turned off.</TD></TR></TABLE>

Mine drops to, but I hear its normal. Did someone tell you it was not ?

 

n o i found out later that it was normal too, i switched it with a snap-on one off my mig welder anyway. it was a ball one anyway so it was better.

 

<TABLE WIDTH="90%" CELLSPACING=0 CELLPADDING=0 ALIGN=CENTER><TR><TD>Quote, originally posted by silly sohc &raquo;</TD></TR><TR><TD CLASS="quote">A "t" sized 5H tank at 2500psi will last me two mani/dp kits while purging all items. I run a Lincoln with a Weldcraft wp-150 gun w/ valve at the gun.</TD></TR></TABLE>

do you have a pic? i dont know what all theat means/.

 

A "t" sized tank stands at 5ft high.... "k" size is the next one down @ about 4'6". At full presure the tanks sit at 2500 PSI at room tempurature. 5H refers to the tanks mixture of gas.

 

ok. thanks i turned gas down to 15 cfm. i think with this regulator i am better off.

 

bottle size(in cubit feet)/gas flow(in cubic feet/hour) = how long the bottle should last in hours I usually don't use a flow greater than 15 cfh if I'm indoors.

 

how do you convert PSI to cfm....i dont think its possible.

most gauges are rated in PSi in tank, and then your output flow is cfm

 

<TABLE WIDTH="90%" CELLSPACING=0 CELLPADDING=0 ALIGN=CENTER><TR><TD>Quote, originally posted by dfoxengr &raquo;</TD></TR><TR><TD CLASS="quote">how do you convert PSI to cfm....i dont think its possible.

most gauges are rated in PSi in tank, and then your output flow is cfm</TD></TR></TABLE>

take your outut flow, and divide it into the size of the tank. the tank sizes are measured in cubic feet, but my 80 cu ft tank isn't actually 80 cu ft in volume. its supposed to hold 80 cu ft at a certain pressure. When you get your bottle refilled you should be close to the rated size of the bottle in actual gas volume. At least thats how I picture it.

 

i used to run a 150cf bottle..which usually lasted a week with pretty consistent fab work. Now I use the 300...loves it.

 

post up some welds, im still using mig but will get a tig in the spring

 

a 2500 cylinder usually last's me about 10-13 hours welding time "5 feet tall one" arround 13-15cfm.. aluminum..

miller syncrowave SD180

 

yeah im retarded. output is in cfm, and your tank volume is cf. lol.


i forget how big my tank is. its about 3.5' tall, and 6-7 " dia. is that like 40 cf?

i dont weld too much at all, but ive had it for like 2 years. and i use a miller 135. and run 15 cfm

 

<TABLE WIDTH="90%" CELLSPACING=0 CELLPADDING=0 ALIGN=CENTER><TR><TD>Quote, originally posted by dfoxengr &raquo;</TD></TR><TR><TD CLASS="quote">yeah im retarded. output is in cfm, and your tank volume is cf. lol.
i forget how big my tank is. its about 3.5' tall, and 6-7 " dia. is that like 40 cf?
i dont weld too much at all, but ive had it for like 2 years. and i use a miller 135. and run 15 cfm</TD></TR></TABLE>

regulator output should be in cfh, cubic feet per hour. what you described sounds like my tank, which i'm pretty sure is 80 cu ft

 

lol, my 80cf has lasted about 7-8 months now, but I haven't used it that much. Does that count :-D