What adapter do I need?

[skotl]

I have a SIP 150 Topmig that came with a basic reg with no gauges so I bought this.

Unfortunately, the output did not match the gas hose so I then bought this, believing that my hose was 4mm. It isn't...

In the first photo you can see the new reg, with the adapter hose / connector that I bought;

In the second photo, you can see the end of the same adapter far left.
Then you can see the existing hose plug in the middle, and the existing hose on the far right.
You'll see that the existing plug seems to be 4mm but it's obviously way smaller than the plug on the new adapter.

Any thoughts on next steps?

Can I get yet another adapter to go from the new adapter to old?
Or should I ebay the adapter I just bought and just buy an alternative?

What would you call the plug type in the middle of the second photo?

Hope that all makes sense!
Thanks
Scott

 

[octo0072000]

one in the middle is a male hose tail/barb that will just push into a pipe
the black pipe adapter is meant to connect to a 4mm nylon pipe it's a push in type
have you a picture of the pipe from the welder

 

[skotl]

Thanks Octo

The pipe on the right is the external pipe that came with the wilder. That brass connector has a much thinner white cable behind it - is it that white cable you were asking about?

 

[voipio]

The connector on the left of the picture is a push fitting to take a 4mm o.d. air hose. An ebay search for "4mm push fit" will give a list of the types of connectors and hoses. A short length of 4mm hose could be used to go into this connector and then pushed into the braided hose on right of picture, but it's not the ideal way because the outside of the 4mm tube is smooth and looks from the photo as if it might be a bit of a loose fit into the braided hose so quite likely to pop out. A better solution might be to get one of these double barbed hose connectors: http://*******/13LA4Gk and to cut off the push fit connector and join the two hoses with the brass barbed connector. An alternative would be to get one of these: http://*******/15x7ifN to fit onto the regulator, and find a similar type of connector to fit onto the welder then use some 4mm hose from regulator to welder. If the welder has a barbed hose connector then one of these braided hoses with 4mm push on fitting: http://*******/14rEpox might do the trick. I use one of these on my welder, cut down to about 100mm, with some 1.6mm TIG welding rod up the inside so it can be bent to shape to point upwards.

As usual, there's more than one way to skin the proverbial.

Aaagh. Sorry about the links are being mangled - replacing the asterisks with "bit" and "ly" with a dot between the bit and the ly should do the trick.

 

[voipio]

The "much thinner white cable" behind the middle connector is probably 4mm nylon air hose.

 

[octo0072000]

Thanks Octo

The pipe on the right is the external pipe that came with the wilder. That brass connector has a much thinner white cable behind it - is it that white cable you were asking about?

the hard small 4mm white cable is what you push into the black cable you have bought by the sound of it
if you cut the white pipe off that should push into the black one with the silver ends

 

[skotl]

the hard small 4mm white cable is what you push into the black cable you have bought by the sound of it
if you cut the white pipe off that should push into the black one with the silver ends

Aha! that might be it! I was looking to fit the flexi cable /over my new adapter - never thought that something might fit inside it!

Cool will cut the white cable tomorrow and see whether it pushes into the new pipe.

Cheers!

 

[skotl]

That's it sorted

Just snipped the white nylon cable and put it into that adaptor pipe and all good! Thanks for the advice, folks

One final question, that adapter hose is leaking at the regulator - I'm a little worried about over-tightening it and I recall reading that PTFE tape on gas connections was a no-no?

 

[voipio]

Re the gas leak, it looks like the hose has a fitting designed to mate with the coned outlet on the regulator which is where the seal is formed, so PTFE tape should not be required. All the nut does is hold the two together. The hose connector should not move once the nut has been tightened. Looking at the first picture in the original posting, the hose doesn't appear to quite sit in line with the nut, so it's worth loosening off and retightening the nut with the hose held in line. If it still leaks check the cone and the fitting have not been damaged. If not, reassemble and check with soapy water. If the leak is still there, might be worth sending back for a replacement.

 

[pedrobedro]

Push the red collar back, insert your white nylon pipe then release it and it should grip and seal. You can push the collar in to release it if you want to go back to disposable regulator.

 

[skotl]

@Pedro - didn't know that's how it worked - will check it out over the next couple of days
@Voipio - thanks for that - I'll remove and try re-fitting it.

Great forum! Thanks all

 

[skotl]

Re the gas leak, it looks like the hose has a fitting designed to mate with the coned outlet on the regulator which is where the seal is formed, so PTFE tape should not be required. All the nut does is hold the two together. The hose connector should not move once the nut has been tightened. Looking at the first picture in the original posting, the hose doesn't appear to quite sit in line with the nut, so it's worth loosening off and retightening the nut with the hose held in line. If it still leaks check the cone and the fitting have not been damaged. If not, reassemble and check with soapy water. If the leak is still there, might be worth sending back for a replacement.

Darn - you're absolutely correct. The hose does have a cone which mates perfectly with the reg, but when I do the nut up then the host can move 30 degrees up, down, left right and all round. So it's not that it's "not tight" - as far as the hose is concerned, it's not being screwed up at all.

The hose was only £10 worth from WeldUK - did I miss something re compatibility, do you think, or go back to WeldUK and ask them?

Thanks


(p.s. figured out the 4mm push/fit & extract now!)

 

[voipio]

Sounds like the threads on reg and hose don't match. Check that the thread in the nut that goes onto the regulator goes all the way to the "end" of the nut and is clean. It could be that the regulator thread is slightly oversize or the nut is undersize, or both, or that the nut has a tapered thread when it should be parallel. Try using the inside diameter jaws on a measuring caliper to check for parallelism of the threads in the nut, and the outside diameter jaws to check the regulator threads; those do appear to look parallel in the photo.

 

[octo0072000]

put a picture of the ends of the regulator looking into the centre hole
same for the pipe looking into the threads
also second picture in the middle undo the fitting picture both ends please

 

[skotl]

A quick update and conclusion.

I emailed Welduk, asking whether there was another cable / adaptor I could buy (I wasn't looking for a refund) and the very helpful Keith offered me a number of options. He suggested that, if it was him, he'd trim some of the depth off the nut.

He did, say, though that he could understand if I didn't want to try that and he'd find some other cable that would do.

As it happens, tho, I had a brand new angle grinder lying in its box so it was a perfect excuse to try it out. Boy, does a grinder get through brass like a knife thru butter!

So, lopping 1/8th an inch off and some careful filing and it now fits perfectly.

Thanks to all on here for the help, and special thanks to Keith at WeldUK who was willing to help / replace / supply an alternative to what was only a £10 cable

 

[octo0072000]

glad you got it done
bit of soapy water on the joins to see if it's gas tight, saves money on gas a small leak can go undetected till you realise you are using more gas than you need always turn the bottle off when finished welding

 

[voipio]

So, lopping 1/8th an inch off and some careful filing and it now fits perfectly.

The photos suggested there was plenty of thread spare on the regulator so the fact that grinding a bit off fixed the problem suggests the threads didn't quite match and taking 1/8" off was enough to allow the nut to go on just far enough to nip the connector firmly into the seat.

 

[skotl]

The photos suggested there was plenty of thread spare on the regulator so the fact that grinding a bit off fixed the problem suggests the threads didn't quite match and taking 1/8" off was enough to allow the nut to go on just far enough to nip the connector firmly into the seat.

I hear what you're saying, but the nut on the cable was very definitely hard up against the nut on the regulator. Lopping the 1/8th off stops it just a mm or so away from the reg's nut.
All's well that ends well, though.

 

[voipio]

Glad to hear it's all sorted.

 

[skotl]

Cheers Voipio (and thanks to everyone else for their help).

Had it cranked up to the max the other day for "A Very Important Project" - welding up a new handle for my La-Z-Boy recliner out of 9mm round steel. My amateurish lack of expertise not-withstanding, it was a success and I'm typing this with my feet on said recliner