General welding questions that dont fit in TIG, MIG, Stick, or Certification etc.
skinart
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    Sat Mar 13, 2010 7:39 am

Hey guys, I have a multi process machine which has Tig and Plasma cutter, and it only has the one inlet port at the back of the machine .....

The line to the machine has a reg / water trap for the compressor line, so I was wondering if its possible to just put air compressor fittings onto the hose and run the argon through the water trap / regulator so I don't have to disconnect the line from the back of the machine all the time? Would argon flow though the water trap / reg no problem? Of coarse il just open the reg right up so it dosent regulate at all when using the tig.

This way (if it will work) I can just unplug the compressor and plug the argon feed on quickly no hassles.

Hope that made sense haha!
Maverick
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    Wed Mar 03, 2010 11:10 am

The only thing I would worry about is contaminantes from the air compressor "oil,water and debris" getting into your water trap. Is it the type air water seperator that has the media filter inside of it? Why not just put quick connects on the back of the machine,regulator and argon hose.
skinart
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    Sat Mar 13, 2010 7:39 am

Thank you for the reply ..

The reg / water trap is made for the compressed air so its designed to get crap in it .... was just wondering if it would hurt or change the argon in some way if the argon ran through the same route as the compressed air ...

I understand what your saying about the quick connects right at the back of the inlet on the machine so I can bypass the water trap with the argon, but that's just one more set of disconnects that I may be able to avoid if the argon will run through the compressed air line.

Il go get a picture so its easier to explain ...
jakeru
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    Sun Apr 25, 2010 3:30 pm

I ran my Everlast Super200P that way initially (argon routed through the dryer/filter/regulator via a quick connect fitting). It worked, but I didn't run it long enough to really test the TIG argon shielding ability through a dirty/watery filter-regulator.

In a quest to eliminate potential argon leaks and also reduce unnecessary argon purging (when switching from air to argon), I switched to the setup pictured. I did this by cutting off some of the barbed nipple on the back of the machine (removing it from the machine first) and soldering on a portion of a brass quick-connect fitting over the stub. Now I can plug the argon female quick connect directly into the male inlet quick connect to run argon.

For hooking up the air, I used a 90 degree 1/4" NPT fitting screwed to the female quick connect so the setup didn't stick too far out the back. I also added an inline dessicant dryer (it cost me somewhere between $5-$10 from HTP) to ensures water free air to my plasma cutting consumables.
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Back of my Everlast Super200P
Back of my Everlast Super200P
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