bubble type regulator for argon

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http://www.welding-direct.com/gasflowchecker.html here is a web page for a flow checker which I think would work, but they have a $50 minimum. does anyone know where to get one of these, where there isn't a minimum>? thanks. I already have the standard 2 gage regulator.
Reply:We could do a group purchase on them and have the main buyer distribute them when they arrive...but then that probably negates the savings.John -  fabricator extraordinaire, car nut!-  bleeding Miller blue! http://www.weldfabzone.com
Reply:This is what I'm talking about for a flow meter:  http://198.170.235.20/catalog/web_st....html&cart_id=I see different versions on Ebay all the time.  If you have a regulator, you can simply add the flowmeter portion.
Reply:Originally Posted by pulserThis is what I'm talking about for a flow meter:  http://198.170.235.20/catalog/web_st....html&cart_id=I see different versions on Ebay all the time.  If you have a regulator, you can simply add the flowmeter portion.
Reply:Check with your local welding supplier, we sell two different models. The first one is from Esab, it's p/n 19043 at about $23.50. The second is from Binzel, and is p/n 191.0013 it's priced at $20.83. If you can't find one PM me and I'll gladly ship you one for the above price plus a few bucks ups. I use these all the time, i've yet to find a flowmeter at the cylinder that read the same as what the gun checker says. I had a call last week where a guy was complaining about a porosity issue on a push pull aluminum set up, his flowmeter was reading 35 cfh, but we were only getting 8 at the gun, I set his flowmeter at 50, and was getting 25 at the nozzle, porosity problem disappeared.
Reply:Will these mount up to a Miller regulator?  Dang, I might get one (once again Ive sinned).ThermalArc 185MillerMatic 180 w/ AutosetVictor Cutskill Oxy/AcetyleneThermal Dynamics Cutmaster 38and spite!
Reply:Originally Posted by pulserThis is what I'm talking about for a flow meter:  http://198.170.235.20/catalog/web_st....html&cart_id=I see different versions on Ebay all the time.  If you have a regulator, you can simply add the flowmeter portion.
Reply:Originally Posted by ss42768  I had a call last week where a guy was complaining about a porosity issue on a push pull aluminum set up, his flowmeter was reading 35 cfh, but we were only getting 8 at the gun, I set his flowmeter at 50, and was getting 25 at the nozzle, porosity problem disappeared.
Reply:Hmm, but if it is cubic feet per hour, isn't that volume not pressure, so if you had a 1/2" line a 10 cfh and then restricted it to 1/4" line, wouldn't the volume go down unless you increased the pressure?? So any restriction would cut down on the volume at the gun. I might be missing something here though.
Reply:oops,I see where I missed, where you said it cut back at the regulator. I had it backwards, the volume would be the same although the pressure could be constant. So it would have to be the gage that was inaccurate, I wonder if it is accurate at different pressures? Maybe thats the difference between a $60 one and a $120 one??
Reply:Quote: If you start with a high flow rate and end up with less at the nozzle some of the flow is leaking out in between. Pulser and others: My point is how do I/we know that the flowmeter is correct? I assure you there were/are no leaks between the flowmeter and the nozzle, where would one assume would be the best place to measure cfh? Right at the nozzle! One point I failed to mention is that this was a flowmeter mounted on a wall 10' from the wire feeder, being fed from a bulk argon line, we then had a 30' push/pull gun to feed through as well, granted the logical solution would be to replace the flowmeter, I could give a hoot less what the flowmeter says, I want to verify what the cfh is coming out the torch. To answer Clay Walters question, yes the wire was in the gun, you can either flip the drive roll carrier forward, or unscrew the trigger control wire to prevent the wire from feeding out while you verify flow at the torch, in this case the feeder I was working on (Miller XR-Edge) has a purge button to flow gas without feedeing wire.
Reply:I don't really trust my regulator, I went to the store without knowing what I really needed and that is what he sold me, for tig and argon. If I had to do it all over again I would certainly have gotten the other type with the cfh bubble on the rig, for about the same price I paid for this one. So I think that my best bet would be the checker which I will get. thanks for all the help on this one.
Reply:Originally Posted by ss42768 I had a call last week where a guy was complaining about a porosity issue on a push pull aluminum set up, his flowmeter was reading 35 cfh, but we were only getting 8 at the gun, I set his flowmeter at 50, and was getting 25 at the nozzle, porosity problem disappeared.
Reply:Pulser, 1. I suspect this flowmeter was faulty, as we had to have it set at 50 cfh just to get 25 at the nozzle. 2. Yes, it is a flowchecker that is designed to slip over the end of the nozzle, that measures the flow right at the nozzle. In 16 years of doing this I've come across very few weld stations that have the same cfh flow at the nozzle as the flow meter at the feeder, 9 times out of 10 the nozzle cfh is lover than what the ball reads on the flowmeter. 3. NO LEAKS! 4. Again I think the flowmeter at the feeder is/was faulty, that combined with the fact that this set-up is being fed off of a 50 psi bulk system, (you are correct, most are set up for 30 psi) What leads me to believe that the flowmeter was faulty, was the fact that the 3 weld stations closest to this one were all set at 35 on the flowmeter, and were getting 25-27 at the torch. 5. Reading wrong scale on flowmeter? Nope, all of these flowmeters are just that flowmeters only, no regulator, they are a Smith flowmeter, that is built specifically for bulk argon and argon/co2 mixes.