Newbie question - upgrade from flowgauge to flowmeter

admin

Showing some major ignorance here....Used welder came with a Smith flowgauge, one round gauge for input tank pressure and one gauge+orfice to indicate output flow in cfh. The output gauge was occasionally sticky and jumping around during adjustment so I decided to replace it with an actual flow meter with the ball in the clear column.The old gauge would indicate the CFH the output was set to even though no gas was actually flowing. Once I struck the arc and gas came out the torch, the gauge dipped a little, then rose again when gas stopped flowing.The new flowmeter - the ball will stay at zero until gas is actually flowing, then go back to zero when it stops, not just a small dip. Is this normal? I was expecting the ball to indicate whether gas was flowing or not, like the old gauge did. Makes it a bit tricky to set flow because my tank/welder is behind me so I'd have to hit the peddle and turn around to set the rate before it goes back out.
Reply:Nope, the new is a FLOWmeter, any reads while flowing.A lot more accurate. just set it and go.Tim Beeker.
Reply:The old flowgauge must also be adjusted ONLY while gas is flowing.  Were you doing this?  Ignore its reading when gas is not flowing; it is normal for it to be slightly higher.You don't really need the accuracy of the flowmeter for most applications.  There's nothing wrong with it of course, and it really ups your cool factor.
Reply:You could just drag your peddle to the welder and tap it while adjusting the new "cool" flowmeter. As said earlier the flowmeter is more accurate and may save quite a bit of gas.Tim Beeker.
Reply:A-ha! Thanks for the answer. I was just worried I may of got a deffective flowmeter. Was scratching my head as I cranked it up to max but read nothing.
Reply:Turn it to its max and hit that peddle and you might blow that BB right through the top of the guage!I don't know if that would really happen or not, but anyway, I have one on my MIG I use with my 75/25I really like it better than the old guage that I had on there, even though I need to hit the trigger to set the thing, it does seem that its more accurate, and I seem to be using a lot less gas at what should be the same settings I used before.Ken.#1. If you don't like what I wrote, or if it offends you, then don't read it!#2. I am living life the way I see fit, if you don't like the way I'M living, tough sh**!
Reply:I swear by flow meters and use them exclusively.  I have a double flow meter on my argon cylinder (TIG and spoolgun Al MIG) and a single on my C-25 with a spare single in the drawer.  They are more flexible than flow gauges with a separate index for each gas (argon, C02 and helium) to improve accuracy.ScottMiller XMT 350 CC/CV w/gas solenoid opt.Miller S-22A wirefeederBernard 400A "Q" gunMiller Spoolmatic 30A / WC-24C-K 200A torch/gas lensWeldcraft WC-18 watercooled torchHypertherm Powermax 30Victor O/A