How do I use a Flowgauge?

[jweaver]

Just got my new welder.. And decided to upgraded EVERYTHING as well as shift from CO2 to Argon/CO2.

I now have a new regulator and have added a Flowmeter which I didn't have on my CO2 setup..

How exactly do you use it?

You can obviously control the flow out of the regulator into the Flowmeter.. But there is also a tap on the Flowmeter which will control the flow.

Which tap should you use to set the flow? Is it best to put lots of gas into the Flowmeter and then use the tap to restrict the flow.. Or is it best to try and get it right out of the regulator and then 'fine tune' it with the Flowmeter tap?

Or am I worrying about nothing, and you just use both until you get the right flow?

Also, for 95/5 Argon/CO2, do I want 10 Litres Per Minute?

Jon

 

[gordon stephenson]

I open the flow meter tap a couple of turns and then set my flow using the regulator,
For indoor welding I find 8 lpm just fine.

 

[chevy2]

Dont have one on the mig but on the tig i do the opposite by having the regulator set higher and then fine tune the flow with the flowmeter knob on the side.

 

[backpurge]

I would fully open the flowmeter then set the flow rate using the PA screw on the regulator. You can then fine tune your flow using the control on the flowmeter, as you will know when you are using a single stage regulator your outlet flow from the cylinder increases slighly as the cylinder contents reduces

 

[Paul.]

To add to what has been said, setting up the gas is explained here http://www.mig-welding.co.uk/wiki/Setting_up_the_gas
worth a read through for anyone new to gas cylinders.

 

[lchris21]

always been slightly confused with flow rates etc.... 1st stage reg on the bottle indicates contents, the second stage regulates the discharge of gas from the cylinder, yeah? Pressure out??
we all work in l/min etc but the regulator just controls pressure???
so what pressure should you be looking to set, as is my understanding pressure and flow are different things??

for example you could have your flow meter set at 10L/min with 20bar outlet pressure on the reg. what effect would 10L/min and an outlet pressure of say 10 bar give??

I always use my pea-shooter at the gas shroud and have a slight hiss audible, not very scientific I know.....

 

[shenion]

You have a conflicting setup.

If the regulator has a "flow gauge", it is just a pressure gauge. The output fitting will be plugged with a small orifice, usually something like 0.029".

The flowmeter has an adjustable orifice vi a needle valve.

My flowmeter says to use 50 PSI. Most are 25-80PSI. With the restrictor, the pressure will vary going to the flowmeter.

On my setup, I removed the output fitting and installed a straight one without the restriction. Then the flowmeter will always have a constant pressure. I swapped the flow gauge with a pressure gauge.

With the several regulators I had 10LPM on the gauge was about 25PSI.

You're technically screwed using either to set the flow with the restrictor in place. However, the ball type flow meters are fairly accurate over a large pressure range.

 

[jweaver]

My FlowMeter got lost in the post.. So at the weekend I had a new welder, new gas, new regulator, new wire... But no FlowMeter.

So to get an idea of my flow, I used a plastic bag.. Filled it with water and it was about 1/2L.. So I then filled it with gas and measured the time.. And got adjusted until it was filling in 3 seconds.

It will be interesting to see tonight how close I actually got using this method... My welds were pretty good, so I wasn't far off.

Jon

 

[backpurge]

Wouldn't get overly hung up about the flow rate, so long as you can just hear it flowing you should be OK especially if you are just welding in the flat position, remember the gas is getting on for 1 1/2 times heavier than air so it tends to fall out of the end of the torch and over the weldpool