which one would you buy?

 

im ordering one or the other tomorrow. just any ones thoughts?

 

Boom

 

Honestly I'd skip em both for now, but if I had to choose I'd go for the gas saver with the pyrex cup.

 

why skip both? thanks for the reply!

 

I've been welding a long time and haven't had a dire need for one. I think you'd be better off spending the money on more fabrication tools that will get used more often...clamps, blades, etc. The giant lens is absolutely necessary if you are welding titanium or another very reactive metal, but for stainless manifold building a normal gas lens is all you need.

 

I have the 1.125 gas saver . I like it , nice on thinner pipe . Lets you go a little further before there is too much heat . Just gets too big on some of the header stuff in the odd spots .

Dave

 

Besides that being a lot of money for a gas lens, space would be my concern. Yes, you can stick the tungsten out further to get in there, but with a lens so big the tungsten will be out very far, and you will need the gas cranked way up, and it still may be a pain to get good gas coverage with it.

 

whats the advantage of using one of those over a normal large gas lens?

 

Always think of gases like fluids.

You can get a big garden hose that uses lots of water, (no lens) or a sprinkler that users the same but spreads it much better. If you have a wider angle sprinkler it doesn't mean it uses more water, it just spreads it better. (gas lens)

Also, it might use less gas because you don't need to stop as frequently as the gas will trail further.

Equally it might use more gas, and i've never used 1, but i've sometimes wondered if a bigger lens would be better.

 

I'm only talking about the size of the lens and trying to get into tight spaces. THEN you would have to stick out the tungsten and turn the gas up for it to reach the work-piece because the lens would be that much farther away from the weld area.

 

there are far cheaper alternatives than the two links you posted. i just got my monster lense off ebay and it works fine for a fraction of the cost!
http://cgi.ebay.ca/13pcs-TIG-WELDING...4.c0.m14.l1262

 

That is not a monster lens.

 

I look @ these as a bandaid for people who dont know how to work the pedal or keep a good torch angle.

 

yea exactly. I say why stop with a monster gas lense?? why not buy a full trailing shield, or better yet build yourself a fully inert welding chamber??? That would definitely give the best color welds.

lol

 

That would be practical if you welded a lot of titanium, lol

 

Chamber FTMFW!

 

it is compared to the #8 i was using.

 

umm.. you should do what i did... go work at a shipyard, and steel from the pipe shop....

 

Rule of thumb is the size of cup you can stick the tungsten out the same distance.. example....1 1/8 cup, tungsten can be ruffly 1 1/8 out of the cup, but the farther out you have your tungsten the worse your gas coverage will be, unless you raise your gas pressure. Just have fun with it and try different things and you will learn a lot about your machine and welding in general.

also choosing which monster nozzle to get. we have both of them and I like them both, they both have very good gas coverage, having the Pyrex cup tho is nice in cretin situations.

 

thanks for the info, is it true that the pyrex ones crack alot? im going with the monster

 

no its not true, ive have had mine for a little over a year and haven't had any problems at all. but the monster is a good choice as well.