Welding Tips and Tricks

If you have two TIG machines and one Argon bottle and both machines will never be used at the same time is there a way to hook both machines up to one argon bottle eliminating the need for switching regulators???

Yes, but if there is only one regulator you will still have to change the hose over. The alternative would be to put a y valve on the bottle and have two regulators. Im pretty sure then you could run two machines at the same time.

Perhaps you can put a Y valve after the regulator then run either welding machine alone by only opening one side. Im not sure?

A lot of TIG welders keep a Y valve on hand for back purging.

Capozzoli is right with y-valve after the regulator. Just buy a y-valve with the same end as your gas hose, screw it into where the hose goes on the regulator and you have two outputs from one regulator. You can only run one side at a time, although I have used one side to back purge

Hi there,

You can certainly do this. We do it at work with two separate machines being used at the same time, with a Y piece directly after the reg. No probs at all. Also we run the same set up on a few migs with argon/co2 mix.

Mick

The pressure would be the same on each side of the Y. It would work just like a T joint in a water line. No problem. Run one hose to each machine and your away to the races. There is no need to but you could put a small shut off on each side. Personally I think it would be a waste of time. Both machines would get the same pressure at the same time. No big deal.

With single flowmeter wouldn't the flow be divided by 2?

Since he said the two machines are never used at the same time, no.

Steve

Why would it drop the pressure? No it wouldn't. The regulator doesn't care about how long or how many hoses are on it. It puts out the same level or pressure through out the whole system.

Hi there,

I reckon thats about right Greg, but then again sometimes funny things happen.

Mick

Thanks Mike good to have my know how confirmed by another genius.

Greg From K/W wrote:Thanks Mike good to have my know how confirmed by another genius.

Wow, we have a real live genius in our midst fellas.
I wonder if he has designed a plan for and fabricated a support to help those that suffer from "the big head syndrome".

LOL NO I use Helium keeps it floating.

Now that is genius!!!

Hi everybody,

Just to set the record straight, I am not a genius, I will never claim to be. I just really really love welding. Further more, what I don't know about welding could fill a vast number of very big things.

I hope I don't come across as having big head. If I did I wouldn't be able to get the shield on.

Mick

StephanusThie wrote:With single flowmeter wouldn't the flow be divided by 2?

Indeed. However, most people use more gas than they need, so no effect. If there is a problem, just turn the flow rate up to compensate.

A flowmeter is two devices in one. There is a regulator to bring bottle pressure down to a manageable (usually fixed) level. Mine is set at 60 psi. Then, the flowmeter restricts the total flow, usually through a needle valve. The flow available is a function of regulator pressure versus downstream restrictions.

An alternative setup, which I use when welding outside and may require a large flow to counteract wind, is an oxygen regulator, with no flowmeter attached. I control the flow with the torch-mounted valve. With this setup, you can run three or four torches (or more on a windless day) from a single regulator.

With a two-piece flowmeter (the glass-and-ball type), you can put several of the flowmeter parts on a manifold fed by a single O2 regulator and operate many machines and/or purges at once. Think about how much oxygen comes through a torch regulator to feed a #2 cutting tip.

To answer the original post again, if you're not using both machines at once, no worries. A Wye or Tee fitting will do the job just fine, and none of this applies to your case. If you ever do need to run both at once, just be aware that if you have any trouble, the solution is to turn up the flow about 50% to double.

Steve

Again I have to say. Having a wye or t joint after the flometer will not make the pressure drop in either line guys. Think of it this way.

You have a compressor and want to hook up 2 air nailers to it. So you put a splitter on the regulator. You don't turn the pressure up double right? The regulator keeps the pressure at the same level as if you had one hose on it. Its the same with the flomaster. It keeps the pressure the same no matter how many hoses you have hooked up or how many machines you are using at once.

I am sorry if I sound ticked off or disrespectful. This is just simple math and physics guys. The pressure in the bottle will just drop faster. That's it

Greg,

Of course, the pressure won't drop in any measurable way... Because the pressure AFTER the flowmeter is very near ambient pressure anyway, unless your torch is seriously clogged with something. You're the only one talking about pressure. The issue is FLOW. The flow is determined by the smallest restriction in the path, which is in the flowmeter. Your compressor argument applies to compressors because nobody puts a tiny orifice in their compressor line to restrict flow to a small maximum rate.

Oh, and air nailers have "local capacity", an on-board cylinder. That big thing above the business end. They only rely on flow in terms of how soon you can nail again. You can run an air nailer on a 12 volt emergency compressor, because it has the pressure. You can't fire a nail very often, because it doesn't have the FLOW.

You cannot magically suck twice as much gas through that little opening by putting two or ten hoses on it.

(Pissy comment removed, now that I'm not tired and "in my cups". I apologize.)

Steve