new mig - fitting gas hose - can't push it on ;)

[vjeko]

I got a new mig and a bottle of gas but I'm having problems
with fitting the hose The hose came with two
copper sleeves which need to be crimped on each side
to hold the hose.

On the mig there is an electronic valve with a protruding
straight nipple, The valve is fastened to the mig with
a thin nut. On this end, I can push the reinforced
hose on and could have a go at crimping, but
the problem is on the other end.

At the regulator, there is a nipple fitting which is barbed
on one end and is screwed onto the regulator at the other.
The barbed section has 2 protrusions and a straight part
nearest the regulator,where the copper sleeve should go -I suppose.

Try as I may, there is no way I can push the hose right
upto the straight part of the fitting - it goes barely over
the second protrusion of the barbed part - is there anything
I can do to "lubricate" the hose or heat it or something
to get it on ?

I'm tossing around the idea to throw these fittings away
and install something like on my Fronius TIG - fittings
with rubber seals which you lightly screw on - money
buys happiness sometimes

 

[mike 109444]

Vjeko As the pipe you are fitting is after the regulator and controled by a flow reg then there will not be a lot of pressure on thoses connections. So go with what fits! You could try dipping pipe in boiling water to soften but you may find you only get one go at it as the fitting will soakup the heat from the warmed pipe. Use worm clip and chuck copper crimps : )

 

[vjeko]

Thanks for the reply - newbie fright got the better of me
- gases/pressure/reactions - better to ask than to be sorry.
I pushed the hose on a little, dunked the nipple/hose
in hot water and was able to push it on

 

[vjeko]

Couple more related questions:
(a)1.jpg,3.jpg and 4.jpg are photos of the regulator,
where the hose is to be connected and the coupling.
2.jpg. is a photo of the connection on the mig.

In the next post you will see the hose/connectors
and regulator connection of my tig. The "nipples"
in the tig connector have an O-ring around them
and just need to be lightly hand tightened.

Is the mig nipple also supposed to have an o-ring
have I lost it as after tightening the connection,
there is still a slight leak ?

(b)Does it make sense to go for similar connections
as on the tig (or is the o-ring the problem) ?

(c)At the start of opening the main valve on the
cylinder, there is the sound of gas coming out and as
I open the valve further, this stops, then the gas is
heard again, increasing as I continue to open the
valve until fully open - is this normal (haven't
experienced this initial gas flow on the tig argon bottle) ?

 

[vjeko]

The photos of the tig