Dialarc HF refurb plus DIY TIG Cooler

[CharleyL]

I just refurbed my Dialarc HF and built a TIG cooler for it. There's a description and pictures at this link.

http://weldingweb.com/showthread.php?t=34034

Charley

[bob_e95482]

Nice job. I tried making a cooler, then I got my Coolmate 4 for free.

[CharleyL]

If I had found a FREE cooler, I wouldn't have built this one either. We bought 3 welders this year, so this last one had to be a fixer upper. The bobcat and the MM252 were ready-to-go when they arrived. (used the MM252 to fab the stand for the Dialarc). I looked for a used cooler for over 3 months and didn't find one nearby, so I started reading the threads about DIY coolers and then decided that it wouldn't be that hard to do. Then I discovered that finding a carbonator pump was almost as hard as finding a used cooler. Fortunately a complete carbonator showed up on Craigslist that was only 1/2 hour away from me and I bought it. The rest of the project was easy compared to what it took to chase down the needed parts. Finding the right size and reasonably priced radiator coil took a while too. I almost settled on a new 1980's Chevy truck heater core, but it had oversize in/outlet tubing and wasn't the ideal shape. The Trans cooler was a perfect fit.

I haven't really had any significant TIG work to do since I finished the cooler. I did have a little time yesterday to play a bit, just doing some 1/8 aluminum scraps for about an hour. The coolant temperature in the tank only rose 8 degrees during that time, and seemed to be leveling off. I would have worked it more if I had the time, but so far it seems to be performing perfectly.

Charley