[nativebroncofan]

My day job got these in and are using them. I have never used this type of torch in my 20+ years of welding. The "flex part is ok I suppose but the hose hookup's have got me bewildered. Anyone know any thing about these hook up's???
It's a threaded coupling that you put the water/gas hose up into and tighten down. Seems very chinsy to me and not to mention difficult to achieve.
I have only changed the water hose. Tried trimming back the fabric that's around the hose that doesn't seem to work.
Thought of tring to flare the coupling but then that could cause sealing issues as well. Maybe the way to do this is to make a short angle cut in the hose so that it has the opportunity to get up into the coupling to get sealed.
It's a shame I don't even know the brand name of these things. They are grey in color. 220 amp water cooled.
I tried doing a search on another page but the "forum" seems to be timing out.
Got any tips and tricks for this
Thanks all, nativebroncofan

[jakeru]

Sounds like you are talking about a higher end watercooled TIG torch, with the outer-braided silicone rubber hoses, and the screw on hose retainers. The gray color of the torch makes me think, it could be a Weldcraft "Crafter Series" brand torch. I think those have a gray+red color scheme. I've used one (although it actually was *not* flex head, wish it was) and it was a pretty decent torch. It was comparable to a WP-20 in size. I remember the handle had a flat surface (not round.)

To install the water and gas hoses (underneath the torch handle we are talking about, obviously...), I would unscrew the screw-on hose retainer all the way, until the hose nipple is fully exposed. I don't know about angle cutting the hose, haven't tried it. I would think you'd need to cut the hose cleanly though - no frayed braiding. Slip the hose over the nipple, fully all the way to the end of the nipple. Sharp utility knife, I would think would do it. Then I would lubricate the OD of the hose with something like a little soapy water, or even a little spit. (I would not use a petroleum-based lubricant, which might damage the rubber / silicone hose material.) While holding the hose securely, screw the threaded hose retaining sleeve back down and over the hose. The retainer needs to get "started" over the OD of the hose. Then you can keep screwing it down over the hose without pushing the hose out of the way. I would just screw it down a ways until it starts to tighten up a bit around the thicker part of the nipple, and then I would stop screwing it. It really doesn't need much torque, (you will do this with your hands not any tool.) Give a tug on the hose, to verify it's on there good (however if the hose didn't slip, it should be on there very well.)

The threaded hose retainer is a much better setup IMO than the alternate, "safety wire" method found on the lower-end watercooled torches. Cheers

[nativebroncofan]

Thanks for the reply jakeru,
The next time I have to I will try a brand new blade when cutting to eliminate the fraying of the hose fabric.
All of these type of torches that we have have been expereincing water line bursts. Geuss with this product there is something new to learn.
Thanks again.
nativebroncofan

[jakeru]

You might want to check your coolant flow rate. Most water cooled TIG torches achieve their rated amperage&duty cycle only with at least 4 quarts per minute of coolant flow. You can test this by disconnecting the coolant return line (at the cooler pump's inlet) and pumping the coolant into a measured container. Mark the container at a known level, such as 1 quart, or 1 gallon, and then time how many seconds it takes to fill it up to the marked level. Should fill 1 quart in no longer than 15 seconds, (or 1 gallon in no longer than 1 minute.)

[joseph.mowery]

Weldcraft recommends 1 to 1.4 quarts per minute at 50psi for their torches.