Thread: TRANSTIG 180 ac/dc Water or Gas cooled Tig Torch ?

HI , I have just bought a Cig Transtig ac/dc 180 amp Welder of Ebay. I intend to use it for both Tig Welding Aluminium and Stainless Steel, Steel etc. I am seeking advice on whether to fit a gas cooled Tig Torch or a water cooled Tig Torch. The duty cycle is 30% at 180 amp and 100% at 100 amp. Anyone got some advice for Me ?. Thankyou.

I doubt your transtig will have the water pump and fittings to run a water cooled handpiece, so your have no choice but to use an air cooled one, can't see an issue with this though unless you intend to weld some thick material, then GMAW or MMAW are better options.
I run a 17v handpiece for general work and a 26v when high current and long weld times are encountered like thick aluminium, the 26v is too bulky for general work!

What are you intending to weld? Some pictures would be cool!

Still seeking what Members think about fitting an Water or Cooled Tig Torch to a Cig Transtig ac/dc 180 amp Welder. What are you other Transtig owners using ?. It's My belief that this welder should be able to weld 10 -12 Aluminium. With Duty cycle of 30% at 180 amps. Member 'Stringy' has Posted a reply on what He thinks. I believe He is right about there being no Water Pump on the Transtig I've Bought. I happen to know that the Water Pump or Water Recirculator is not neccesary. I have seen EMF Pilot Arc 200 amp Welders - (Nicknamed - Pie Warmers) with Water Cooled Torches simply hooked up to a typical Water Tap the Waste Water - warm/hot simply going down the Drain. I'm sure that the Water could be saved for Washing hands or Gardens instead of waisting down a Drain. I've just thought of a Project if I went the way of a Water cooled Tig Torch. Project - Tig Cooling Water Recirculator - I believe these are expensive to Buy. Shouldn't be to hard to make one - a small 240 volt Electric Fan, Small Radiator -ie Car Heater Radiator, Small Water Pump - need something with a suitable flow and Plumbing items, Suitable Housing Box. I know that that the Pie Warmers had a Duty Cycle of 100% at 140 amps. The Transtig 180 amps Duty Cycle at 140 amps is 65%. Perhaps the Torch type comes down to Personal choice and Duty Cycle. For example I know it would be pointless to put a Water Cooled Torch on a Tig Welder of say 10% Duty Cycle at 180 amps. A Duty Cycle of 30% however I thought could go ever way - maybe I'm wrong though. I just found this about making a Tig Torch Water Recirculater and other interesting stuff.
http://personal.inet.fi/koti/kristia...tercooler.html
Hope the link works.

My old TIG used a sud pump(as used in supplying coolant to cutting tools lathes/mills etc) mounted on top of a plastic drum with a whole cut in the lid for pick up a line to the h/piece and a return line back into the drum.
The only downside was you had to turn the pump on/off manually and over a long period of time the water would get warm.

I plan to make another tig cooler at some stage using an old computer case,small motorbike radiator/heater core,/computer fan,reservior and a pump (cant recall name at this stage, made in USA,brass construction)

i hope your not thinking of welding 10-12mm ally with it, i reckon you'ld be pushing to burn 5mm with 180 amps, i know that a rough rule of thumb is 30a per mm, as for a watercooled torch your only using a baby mig id stick with aircooled and asve the hassle
sean

I agree with northerncat 5mm tops and even that will be a struggle,
Unimig have a water cooler for abut $450.00 which works very well for both tig and mig but it won't allow you weld thicker material or increase the duty cycle of your machine,
most diy water systems that use taps are going to be a pain to operate, limited mobility is just one ,
I'd just use a no. 26 air cooled torch you shouldn't have any problems

Just want to say Thankyou to all who Replied. I will go with the Air Cooled Torch. I agree with 'northerncat' too. I just found an online Weld Calculator on Miller Welding. A 1/4" appeared to be the Maxium. Seems there are a lot of Sellers on Ebay telling Porky Pies about their Inverter Tigs Weld Capacity. The Miller Welding site is quite good, it has Projects that People have made some Plans. Info on their Products etc. Have a look Fellas. The Link is http://www.millerwelds.com . The Rule of thumb of 30 amps per MM was interesting, but it's no good on a huge area of aluminium.

I regularly weld 8 and 10mm al on about 120 to 140amp's with various tig power sources. In practice there is no problem welding thicker sections and a 180a machine will be sufficient.

I find pre-heating is necessary on all but the thinnest sections. If you do not pre-heat then you will spend ages heating the material with the tig then by the end of your weld it will be too hot! Pre-heat will give consistency from start to finish.

Most of these jobs are short runs- up to 300mm.

I remember Waggot cams in Sydney had a pilot arc with a wndscreen washer pump hooked up to it. Agree on the preheating makes life a lot easier.