How Can I Tell if my Water Cooler is Functioning?

Could you do a bit of simple plumbing and add a flow indicator to the cooling line?

Something like.....
 
Could you do a bit of simple plumbing and add a flow indicator to the cooling line?

Something like.....
Great idea!
 
Have you loosened the connection at the cooler to see if it's a dribbler or has pressure? I'd check the same thing at the torch end also
 
All of our 50 or so cool mates have a ball type flow indicator . Easy to see when they are working or not . These run 24/7 cooling our extruders and are checked nightly by me on my walkthru ! :rolleyes: Sometimes the filters get clogged , other times they just need a good cleaning up with new filter material installed . We run the 4 gallon models .
 
I am rushing off to work now, but I will check both of these ideas once I get a torch.
 
Erik, I have had the same thing happen with the very same CK torch. In the end, I wasn't sure if it was clogging or exceeding duty cycle. I replaced it with the same torch and fresh coolant, and all is well. As for the cooler, you need a couple of things. First, the fan must run. Second, the pump must flow. Third, the coolant must be clean, because as I learned, the orifices in the cooling loop at the torch head are small. I have an old, simple, and tough Miller Radiator-1 that is probably 50 years old. It has a flow indicator to make life easy. I mostly do long duration, lower amperage projects, but the problem has not returned. Maybe later if I remember, I'll check to see if I still have the torch handle with the melty red tube for comparison.
 
Edit: The cheapest coolant to use is DI water, propylene glycol, and benzalkonium chloride for a preservative. You can make three gallons or better for the price of one pre-mix gallon. Lasts a long time if clean.
 
There are a number of possibilities, so I'll run through what I can think of after having gone through 40 or 50 different TIG coolers in the past couple of years.

First off, any water-cooled torch can have the lining break down and get plugged up, but it's far more common when they sit unused for long periods of time. The normal route of coolant flow is blue out to the torch, and red back to the cooler. The power wire is in the red line, so there isn't really a lot of extra room for crud buildup.

You should be able to disconnect the red line that goes from the Dinse connector to the cooler input and see what kind of return flow you're getting. If the pump is turning, the fan should be running since the motor powers both. Since your cooler doesn't have a flow indicator you might consider adding one...they aren't terribly expensive and can be retrofit from other coolers. More often than not they're the hamster wheel type.

Since you're getting a new torch the best bet is to drain and flush the cooler. I like to drain them, then fill them with tap water, drain and repeat a couple of times....get it upside down, shake it around, etc...try to loosen up anything hiding in the tank. If it's really bad I completely disassemble the cooler to remove the tank and go that route to get it clean.

Your cooler has an in-line filter that should be replaced...I think that model has it pretty close to the filler neck. What isn't obvious on the user manual or parts manual is that the pump also has a screen that needs to be cleaned or replaced. When you look at the pump it will have a large, rounded nut...the screen is behind that. Miller charges a ridiculous amount for them, but I get them on eBay or Amazon quite a bit cheaper. If you buy a couple to spread out the shipping you can get them down pretty cheap...just replace them every couple of times you replace the coolant.

Once the tank is clean, the filter and screen are replaced I like to fill the tank with tap water and hook up an old hose to the blue output connection and run the system so you're pumping clean water through the entire system...all the fittings, the pump, the radiator, until it's obviously clear water flowing. That also lets you check the output pressure/volume. With the output hose held at a bit of an upward angle the water should shoot out at least 5-6 feet...many will send it twice that.

Once everything is flushed and seems to be working I'll drain the tap water, then fill with a couple of gallons of distilled water and pump out as much of that as possible, then drain the last bit. I do that to try flushing as much of the tap water as possible. At that point I fill with actual coolant. Distilled water isn't bad for warm climates, but doesn't have anything to prevent algae and sludge from developing so it will get nasty and need to be replaced every 6-12 months depending on how much you use the welder. More use is actually better than sitting.

The coolant I've been using is much less expensive than the Miller stuff, but seems to be the same ingredients and level of protection. At $25 a gallon on Amazon I consider it cheap insurance. For warm climates a 50/50 mix of this and distilled water would be a good compromise. Change it every year or two and you aren't likely to have issues. After going through so many coolers I'm convinced lack of coolant changes, and improper coolant are the two biggest causes of problems. The worst I've seen had either straight water or automotive green coolant in them....talk about a nasty cleanup job!


These are the screens I get for the pump:


This is the Miller flow indicator from the Coolmate 3.5 and I think others. It's available from other sources for less money (like Millerserviceparts.com) but they don't have pictures like this one does.

 
There are a number of possibilities, so I'll run through what I can think of after having gone through 40 or 50 different TIG coolers in the past couple of years.

First off, any water-cooled torch can have the lining break down and get plugged up, but it's far more common when they sit unused for long periods of time. The normal route of coolant flow is blue out to the torch, and red back to the cooler. The power wire is in the red line, so there isn't really a lot of extra room for crud buildup.

You should be able to disconnect the red line that goes from the Dinse connector to the cooler input and see what kind of return flow you're getting. If the pump is turning, the fan should be running since the motor powers both. Since your cooler doesn't have a flow indicator you might consider adding one...they aren't terribly expensive and can be retrofit from other coolers. More often than not they're the hamster wheel type.

Since you're getting a new torch the best bet is to drain and flush the cooler. I like to drain them, then fill them with tap water, drain and repeat a couple of times....get it upside down, shake it around, etc...try to loosen up anything hiding in the tank. If it's really bad I completely disassemble the cooler to remove the tank and go that route to get it clean.

Your cooler has an in-line filter that should be replaced...I think that model has it pretty close to the filler neck. What isn't obvious on the user manual or parts manual is that the pump also has a screen that needs to be cleaned or replaced. When you look at the pump it will have a large, rounded nut...the screen is behind that. Miller charges a ridiculous amount for them, but I get them on eBay or Amazon quite a bit cheaper. If you buy a couple to spread out the shipping you can get them down pretty cheap...just replace them every couple of times you replace the coolant.

Once the tank is clean, the filter and screen are replaced I like to fill the tank with tap water and hook up an old hose to the blue output connection and run the system so you're pumping clean water through the entire system...all the fittings, the pump, the radiator, until it's obviously clear water flowing. That also lets you check the output pressure/volume. With the output hose held at a bit of an upward angle the water should shoot out at least 5-6 feet...many will send it twice that.

Once everything is flushed and seems to be working I'll drain the tap water, then fill with a couple of gallons of distilled water and pump out as much of that as possible, then drain the last bit. I do that to try flushing as much of the tap water as possible. At that point I fill with actual coolant. Distilled water isn't bad for warm climates, but doesn't have anything to prevent algae and sludge from developing so it will get nasty and need to be replaced every 6-12 months depending on how much you use the welder. More use is actually better than sitting.

The coolant I've been using is much less expensive than the Miller stuff, but seems to be the same ingredients and level of protection. At $25 a gallon on Amazon I consider it cheap insurance. For warm climates a 50/50 mix of this and distilled water would be a good compromise. Change it every year or two and you aren't likely to have issues. After going through so many coolers I'm convinced lack of coolant changes, and improper coolant are the two biggest causes of problems. The worst I've seen had either straight water or automotive green coolant in them....talk about a nasty cleanup job!


These are the screens I get for the pump:


This is the Miller flow indicator from the Coolmate 3.5 and I think others. It's available from other sources for less money (like Millerserviceparts.com) but they don't have pictures like this one does.

That is *super* helpful.

What climate do you live in? Do you dilute that coolant in the link?

You went through such a high number of water coolers. That would be crazy expensive.

I will need to get some *time* to flush out the coolant, replace the screen(s), & install a flow wheel. I work so many hours; I barely have time to get on the machine & TIG weld (funny, though, I can always find time to stick weld on it).
 
That is *super* helpful.

What climate do you live in? Do you dilute that coolant in the link?

You went through such a high number of water coolers. That would be crazy expensive.

I will need to get some *time* to flush out the coolant, replace the screen(s), & install a flow wheel. I work so many hours; I barely have time to get on the machine & TIG weld (funny, though, I can always find time to stick weld on it).
I'm in Michigan, but my shop is heated and cooled so I don't worry too much about the coolant. I use a 50/50 mix just in case the power is out for an extended period of time....should be good to about -15*F with that mix if my memory is correct.

I should have been more specific about "going through coolers". I meant servicing them, not that they broke. For a while I was buying and selling welders as a hobby. Shops would close down and I'd buy the welders, tear them apart, clean them carefully, fix anything that wasn't right, service the coolers, and then put them all back together, test the heck out of them and then sell them.

I started doing that because I wanted to upgrade to a machine with a cooler...got a good deal on one, then found one slightly newer, got that one, sold the first one and kept doing the same thing. The good thing was I wound up with a couple of incredibly nice machines that are worth way more than I have in them. Then the pandemic hit and people started fighting over used welders so the prices got to where it isn't worth the effort.
 
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