Is this a necessity?

admin

For many years I've had an old non working refrigerator inside my workshop.  In the bottom (the area you keep apples and milk) I store volatile chemicals and paint guns.  In the top freezer section I keep a 15W bulb burning.  It maintains a pretty nice temp and the air is always warm and dry.  I keep all my rods in there, but there's no room for my 36" tig rods.    I'm thinking about a 4" diameter PVC pipe about 37" long.  Bottom cap would be cemented.  Top cap would be slipped on "snug" fit.   A small lamp socket mounted into the top cap holding a 7W night light bulb.  It would be mounted onto the side of my welder at a 45* angle pointed toward the operator.  I'm hoping to regulate the temp and humidity and inhibit condensation.   I think it would provide a nice place to keep the rods all together and help with keeping them from the elements.
Reply:Tig wire needs no special treatment..All of what I use is still in the boxes it comes in on top of a filing cabanet..I just wipe them down before dipping.....zap!I am not completely insane..Some parts are missing Professional Driver on a closed course....Do not attempt.Just because I'm a  dumbass don't mean that you can be too.So DON'T try any of this **** l do at home.
Reply:Just get some rod tubes for your filler rod. Like these http://www.weldingsuppliesfromioc.co...for-tig/Detail.Or if you have a home shop, just being them inside. Girlfriends/wifes, love to have welding supply's in the living room.  . Maybe she was being sarcastic.
Reply:same here.  but i do have 5 pvc tubes glued together to form a rack that is next to my welder that i keep my rods in. they are stepped for  easy access.one for 4043,5356,308/309 (kept in one lb tubes),nibral, and plain steel.are cut 3 inches shorter than my filler rods
Reply:I don't know about keeping volatile chemicals inside a refrigerator, but the filler rod idea sounds good to me.MM350P/Python/Q300MM175/Q300DialarcHFHTP MIG200PowCon300SMHypertherm380ThermalArc185Purox oaF350CrewCab4x4LoadNGo utilitybedBobcat250XMT304/Optima/SpoolmaticSuitcase12RC/Q300Suitcase8RC/Q400Passport/Q300Smith op
Reply:I use a 'GOLDENROD', used for gun safes.No glass to break and longer life.
Reply:we use the pvc tubes but they dont have any bulb in them. the only reason you keep your stick rods warm and dry is for the flux which tig rods dont have
Reply:Yes of course there is no flux on a tig wire.  I was thinking about the times when the humidity gets so high and condensation may occur.  I may do it but leave off the bulb.  Everything is just so dusty in my shop.
Reply:yea if you ever paint in your shop with a spray gun it really makes a dusty mess i have that problem myself it gets all over everything
Reply:Try getting another old fridge. I know it's in seperate sections but It's still not a good ldea to have live wires in the fridge with paint supplies.
Reply:Put screw on caps on the pvc tubes and then put some of those moisture absorbing packets in there.
Reply:Great idea! I ended up buying a portable rod oven with a 100 watt heater. Of course, you only need to store low hydrogen (70xx) rods in the oven. A 100 watt light bulb would probably give you enough heat to keep the temperature at the right level. If you want to keep track of the temperature, drill a hole through the side and insert a meat thermometer. Recommended temps are 250 to 300 degrees. If you have a two door refrigerator/freezer, I wouldn't worry about keeping flamable material in one compartment. Lack of oxygen would keep anything from burning.