Tig welding torch question????

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Is it me or does the radnor watercooled tig torches suck?I blow those thing out.I just put about 2 hours on one and blew 2 holes in it.My old miller torch and speedways were great till one of my knot head employees burnt holes in them..Which other ones have you used that are good??J
Reply:sounds like you need to move up to a higher amped  torchwhat amp range are you welding at or you may have a restirction in the system. what cooler are you using ?idealarc 250/250 ac-dc tigidealarc 250/250 ac-dc tig #2 used for sticklincoln sp100hh125dual arbor grinder polisher30 yrs of hand tools52 pitch blocks 6p-26prake gauge -pitch gaugeG&D prop repair 918-207-6938Hulbert,okla 74441
Reply:Coolmate 4IS THERE ANY WAY TO FIX THESE.???THE COOLANT IS PISSING OUT OF THE HOSE CLOSE TO WHERE IT GOES INTO THE BLOCK..Last edited by BONEY; 06-12-2011 at 02:43 PM.
Reply:you should be able to replace the hoses.you got a leather cover on it?and the cooler turned on?G
Reply:Yeah, it sounds like something else is going on.  I have had hose issues on tig torches before, but never have damaged the torch body itself.  Better check the flow rate on the coolant.Miller Syncrowave 350Millermatic 252/ 30A spoolgunMiller Bobcat 225g w/ 3545 spoolgunLincoln PowerArc4000Lincoln 175 Mig  Lincoln 135 Mig Everlast 250EX TigCentury ac/dc 230 amp stickVictor O/AHypertherm 1000 plasma
Reply:I had some big-time watercooled TIG issues last week.  I was getting a Miller 330 A/BP TIG setup up and running for a shop to do one of their thick aluminum jobs...Issue number one: weak-*** water cooler wasn't flowing enough.  This was some kind of "pond pump" or maybe an aquarium pump (I'm guessing) submerged into a bucket of water.  (See first attached pic, below.)  This ended up being simply an accident waiting to happen when it comes to pushing things for high-amp operation. ( The result of the first hose overheating event are in second and third attached pics, below.)After the failure, I I measured this "bucket cooler" was only putting out shy of 1 quart per minute, while the specs for a "proper" TIG cooler, called for 4+ quarts per minute.  (You can measure the flow by dumping the return hose into a bucket of water and timing how long it takes to fill.)  Issue number two: after hooking watercooling up to city water pressure, some dumbass in the shop decides to turn off the water while I am welding.  The result of this second overheating event is the completely melt-down of a brand new CK superflex power/water hose (see fourth attached pic below for the carnage.)I first noticed an odd smell, I was going to ask someone in the shop about if it was normal.  And I also noticed I had to keep turning up the argon flow to maintain good shielding.  Then I had a sudden loss of argon and I found a steam/geyser coming out of the hoses.  They were inside a wet, steaming leather sleeve.On tuesday, I'll go for round three.  Hopefully no more TIG torch leads will be required again!  This is all on a CK Worldwide 350 amp TIG torch, which seems to be working well.  Pushed by a power thirsty Miller 330 A/BP TIG machine.  CK Worldwide TIG torches are good, by the way.  Through all this, the CK Torch head itself was completely unfazed.To say that I appreciate the simplicity of my aircooled torch setup that I have back at my shop would be an understatement. Attached Images