Hi...
I'm trying to set up a small MIG welder for some hobby work and little jobs around the house. If I find that I use it a lot, I'll upgrade to a decent one. Only it seems everything I touch becomes a problem! I finally got the regulator I had ordered from Advanced Welder Repair in Los Angeles and tried to mount it on the Argon/CO2 tank I had gotten from my cousin. Everything went together well, but it leaked around the threads, seemingly no matter how much I tightened the mounting nut. I put some Teflon tape on the threads and the leak stopped, but the tank showed almost empty.
So now I have to take the tank in for a refill, and discover it was empty and overdue for inspection. The really nice folks at Middlesex Welding Sales in North Brunswick, NJ, (yes, that is in the US) simply swapped me tanks for one that had been inspected last month, filled it up, got me my missing hose from the regulator to the welder, and I thought I was ready to go. They had told me I didn't need the Teflon tape since the nut is simply supposed to press the ball-shaped fitting to its mate in the tank valve, thereby sealing it, so I left the tape out. But no matter how tight I make the nut (I'm using a 2 foot wrench), it leaks. So I went back to the tape, which solved the problem immediately. I moved the tank, connected it to the welder, and was ready to make my very first test welds. As a last step, I open the valve to the gas. Guess what? Leaking like a sieve, but this time around where the pipe goes through the mounting nut.
It looks to me like there might be 3-4 very small burrs on the regulator to the side of the hole with the screen through which the gas flows. I didn't notice them originally; maybe they weren't there or were caused by the first or second tank. Do you think it would be safe to use a jeweler's file to remove them? I'm concerned about changing the shape so it no longer mates with the tank.
Anyone have any suggestions for a beginner as to what the [expletive deleted] is wrong? I've attached a photo of the regulator, which is supposed to be for "MIG/TIG welding" but has a pressure gauge, not a flow gauge, on the low pressure side.
Many thanks in advance,
Charlie
I'm trying to set up a small MIG welder for some hobby work and little jobs around the house. If I find that I use it a lot, I'll upgrade to a decent one. Only it seems everything I touch becomes a problem! I finally got the regulator I had ordered from Advanced Welder Repair in Los Angeles and tried to mount it on the Argon/CO2 tank I had gotten from my cousin. Everything went together well, but it leaked around the threads, seemingly no matter how much I tightened the mounting nut. I put some Teflon tape on the threads and the leak stopped, but the tank showed almost empty.
So now I have to take the tank in for a refill, and discover it was empty and overdue for inspection. The really nice folks at Middlesex Welding Sales in North Brunswick, NJ, (yes, that is in the US) simply swapped me tanks for one that had been inspected last month, filled it up, got me my missing hose from the regulator to the welder, and I thought I was ready to go. They had told me I didn't need the Teflon tape since the nut is simply supposed to press the ball-shaped fitting to its mate in the tank valve, thereby sealing it, so I left the tape out. But no matter how tight I make the nut (I'm using a 2 foot wrench), it leaks. So I went back to the tape, which solved the problem immediately. I moved the tank, connected it to the welder, and was ready to make my very first test welds. As a last step, I open the valve to the gas. Guess what? Leaking like a sieve, but this time around where the pipe goes through the mounting nut.
It looks to me like there might be 3-4 very small burrs on the regulator to the side of the hole with the screen through which the gas flows. I didn't notice them originally; maybe they weren't there or were caused by the first or second tank. Do you think it would be safe to use a jeweler's file to remove them? I'm concerned about changing the shape so it no longer mates with the tank.
Anyone have any suggestions for a beginner as to what the [expletive deleted] is wrong? I've attached a photo of the regulator, which is supposed to be for "MIG/TIG welding" but has a pressure gauge, not a flow gauge, on the low pressure side.
Many thanks in advance,
Charlie
