Even if you have a TIG Welding Machine with a large (50mm) gas-thru-the-Dinse connector you can hook up a smaller, lighter more powerful water-cooled TIG welding torch…

The Q5WGT connector is designed for welding power sources in which the Gas Flows Through the Power Source and Connector. The Q5WGT is designed to spilt the gas off into a “side hose” (black in color) which connects to the “gas in” hose on the TIG torch. You will need one each female-to-female 5/8″ x 18 RH thread “B” style gas adapter (AW-430) to couple the two hoses. This completes the shield gas supply from the gas cylinder, through the flow meter, through the TIG welding power source to the Q5WGT Dinse adapter to the TIG torch.

The water from your water-cooler or tap is directed through the inlet hose on the TIG torch which has a 5/8” x 18 LH thread nut. The cooling water travels through the torch head and down the power cable into the Q5WGT connector and out the side water return hose (Red in color) which is the warm water return to the water cooler or drain.

Depending on the type and location of the cooler/tap you may be able to connect the “cool water” in, and the “warm water” return hoses directly to the cooler. Alternatively, you may need additional hoses to make up the distance to the cooling equipment. In either case you will need two each 40V76 water hoses and two each female-to-female 5/8” x 18 LH thread “B” style water adapters (AW-431) to couple the water in, and water return hoses.

Note: some of the more popular welding machines with the large gas thru connection include: Lincoln Invertec V160-T, the Lincoln Invertec V205T, Lincoln Precision TIG 185, Lincoln Precision TIG 225, Miller Econo TIG, Miller Syncrowave 180, Miller Syncrowave 200SD, Hobart TIGMate, and the Hobart 150STi.

For more info, check out CarmenElectrode’s blog post, “Hooking Up Your Water Cooler to your TIG Welder” or give us a call (800-944-2243 toll free US or 760-931-1500 worldwide) and we’ll hook you up!

I have spoken to several customers recently that were under the impression that water-cooled TIG torches are bulkier than air-cooled torches. Additionally they were unsure of the real benefits of water-cooling.

It sounds logical, because water-cooled TIG torches have three hoses instead of one for an air-cooled torch. But, in fact water-cooled torches are significantly more efficient and that allows the copper power cable and surrounding rubber hose to be considerably smaller, resulting in less weight and much more flexibility than air-cooled torches.

Another benefit of the water cooled TIG Torch is that because the torch itself actually stays cooler, you can hold onto it longer, without having to set your torch down to let it cool off. This is especially beneficial when you’re TIG welding a long seam, allowing for a more consistent bead.

There’s a great article on the Arc-Zone.com website, “Why Upgrade” (.pdf) which outlines the benefits of going from an Air-Cooled TIG torch to a Water-Cooled TIG Torch.

When you’re ready to upgrade, you may want to look into the Arc-Zone CoolKit™ –everything you need to upgrade to a Water Cooled TIG Torch.

The metal working and metal fabricating industry use common terms like weld zone or heat effected zone, These general terms refer to both Arc welding (using an electric arc) or Gas welding, Brazing or Soldering (using compressed gas as the heat source). The term arczone(tm) is specific to “Arc Welding” and includes Plasma Arc Welding (PAW), Metal Inert Gas Welding (MIG), Gas Tungsten Arc Welding (GTAW) or Tungsten Inert Gas Welding (TIG), Shielded Metal Arc Welding (SMAW) or Stick Welding, Electron Beam Welding (EB), Plasma Spray Welding (PSW), Laser Welding (LW).

Specifically, the arczone(tm) is the area directly heated or affected by the heat generated from an electric arc. It is also used when referring to welding safety as in “wear eye protection when you are in proximity of the arczone(tm)”.

Arczone(tm), or more specifically arc dash zone dot com is the name I chose for my company which is a registered trade mark with the US Patent and Trade Mark Office.