Argon plus Helium mixer

Dave · Thu Sep 22, 2016 12:53 am

I have 2 regulators and a bottle of argon and helium, I saw a few videos on mixing gases and the benefits and I want - need to do it. My problem is finding the correct back pressure ball valve with the correct right hand threads. my local welding supply had the valves for acetylene but wrong threads left hand. It sure would be cool if Jody had them in his store I mean the hole deal just like he shows it.
Does anyone have suggestions were I can get them?
Thanks

soutthpaw · Thu Sep 22, 2016 6:22 pm

Western makes most of the fittings. http://westernenterprises.com/

LtBadd · Thu Sep 22, 2016 6:26 pm

Hey
Not sure what the ball valve is for, is this a setup you saw in one of Jody's videos?
Here is a solution some use, get a "Y" connection to bring the argon and helium into the gas line and use the flow meter to adjust the proportion of each gas. There're available with or without valves.

You can find a distributor HERE

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entity-unknown · Thu Sep 22, 2016 6:36 pm

If you've ever ordered anything from Jody then you can reply to the order e-mail and he'll respond. He's a busy guy so it'll take a couple days but he can tell you exactly what he uses and where he got it.
His store also has a Contact link where you can post your question to him and I'm confident he'll respond then as well. He might even be willing to sell you one depending on the situation i.e. if he has extra layin around and/or if he knows a local supplier without a web connect that'd be reasonable to acquire the part for you. Still I'm confident he'll give you everything you'd need to know to acquire what you need.

Thu Sep 22, 2016 11:53 pm

I've mixed argon and helium many times, and don't use any of that fancy stuff. I have pressure-matched flowmeters on each bottle (meaning each have the same downstream set pressure, 60 PSI for example, and simply meet them with a tee before the machine. The regulators assure no back-mixing between bottles (Nothing measurable is moving from the 60 psi environment into a 2300 psi bottle), the tee makes for turbulence at the mix point so it mixes even better than a fancy wye, and it's cheap and simple.

FYI, an argon flowmeter will be WAY off for reading helium. 10 CFH of helium will "just" lift and steady the ball of an argon flowmeter. Consider this when attempting to control your mix. 10 CHF of argon and a "just floating" ball on the helium side is about 50/50 at 20 CFH.

Steve S

Oscar · Fri Sep 23, 2016 7:35 am

Otto Nobedder wrote: 10 CHF of argon and a "just floating" ball on the helium side is about 50/50 at 20 CFH.

Steve S

That's exactly why I want a mixer. I want to be able to dial things in much more precisely. I just wish the stupid things weren't over $1000, lol.

Dave · Fri Sep 23, 2016 12:21 pm

soutthpaw wrote:Western makes most of the fittings. http://westernenterprises.com/

Looks Like a good source thank you.

Dave · Fri Sep 23, 2016 12:23 pm

Otto Nobedder wrote:I've mixed argon and helium many times, and don't use any of that fancy stuff. I have pressure-matched flowmeters on each bottle (meaning each have the same downstream set pressure, 60 PSI for example, and simply meet them with a tee before the machine. The regulators assure no back-mixing between bottles (Nothing measurable is moving from the 60 psi environment into a 2300 psi bottle), the tee makes for turbulence at the mix point so it mixes even better than a fancy wye, and it's cheap and simple.

FYI, an argon flowmeter will be WAY off for reading helium. 10 CFH of helium will "just" lift and steady the ball of an argon flowmeter. Consider this when attempting to control your mix. 10 CHF of argon and a "just floating" ball on the helium side is about 50/50 at 20 CFH.

Steve S

Steve, I have to give it a try before I get nuts and spend to much.. Again
Thanks
Dave

GreinTime · Sat Sep 24, 2016 1:59 am

I like the "again" lol. We've all been there

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Rcc · Sat Sep 24, 2016 10:00 am

thinking about doing the same thing if you can post up what you finally did it would be great.
would this kit help you?
https://www.arc-zone.com/flowmeters-reg ... -inlet-kit

Sat Sep 24, 2016 1:34 pm

Rcc wrote:thinking about doing the same thing if you can post up what you finally did it would be great.
would this kit help you?
https://www.arc-zone.com/flowmeters-reg ... -inlet-kit

That kit will do everything I did, and it's "plug and play". The separate torch flowmeter is a nice touch, too. I like that the ad emphasizes that mixing ratios are only approximate with this method, and that more precise systems are available.

Steve S

marmoset · Mon Oct 03, 2016 12:12 pm

I use argon helium mix all the time and just run Y with valves, I'm sure the killer mixers are nice but, I've never had a problem with ratio. To explain I mean I never see waving colors in arc so I assume its mixing at some constant rate, and if I need more I just add or take out. And Ive emptied multiple bottles and never had gas/bottle contamination. Ive just guessed that between high bottle pressure, and a flowmeter, its all going one way at just 25 cfh range. Id imagine even when a bottle runs out its more pressure till 1 second before it dies, then your outta gas anyway!

Barry

Oilman · Tue Oct 04, 2016 10:52 am

I suspect a gas lens also helps mix the 2 gases. I have been doing this exactly as was explained. I just barely get the helium regulator ball to lift and judging from the results it seems to be a good cheap solution.

Make sure you make the main valve tight on the helium when not using it. I asked my son to shut off the tanks the other day and.......I guess I need to have the boy lift some weights. I ended up losing most of the tank over a few days of non-use. I had soaped all the connections and found only one small leak which I fixed. When I went to get the tank re-filled the weld gas supply guy said that this is a common complaint with helium tanks.

maker of things · Tue Oct 04, 2016 12:15 pm

Helium will permeate the rubber of the hoses as well, so no matter how leak proof your setup is, helium will escape unless the tank is shut off. Took a couple tanks to find that out.

humblest · Wed May 03, 2017 1:35 am

can the (helium/argon mix set up) be made with the two cylinders and mixer(Or Wye fitting) only, and /or can it be done by just getting both gases mixed in the same cylinder from LWS? and which would be a good combination of percentages to be used with a miller dynasty and which method do you think will work the best?

Poland308 · Wed May 03, 2017 6:50 am

You can do it either way. Premixed tanks have a benefit of being east to use, save space, only one tank instead of two. The mixing valve method can take a little bit to dial in but gives you flexibility to change the mix ratio. They make mixing valve stations that make getting precise mix ratios easy. But the y or tee fitting will work. Best results would be to make sure both regulators are set for the same pressure and that they both have ball type flow indicators. You can also install check valves in each line before the tee to minimize possible back pressure issues.