Think i could make a watercooler for my tig welder out of a subaru radiator?

all i think i need to do is run the water line through a pump, and have it cycle back through the radiator, into a resivior, and then get pumped back through.. perhaps have a fan blowing on the radiator....ideas?

the size of an oil cooler might be better.or an intercooler.just a thought.why would you need a reservoir?continous flow seems like it would be a more efficient way to handle that. you could probably get some copper coolant tubing that you could utilize .ya'know,like the coolant system on the back of a fridge.??i dunno,just babbling

Summit racing sells small aluminium radiators....

 

GD

check out the home shop machinist bbs... and http://www.metalillness.com ... there are a few others I'll remember in a bit, but there are various people that have built various coolers for their tig torches

what about a heater core???

 

and ahhh... what is the purpose of it? specifically? (obviously it cools... but ya...)

By keeping the inverter transformers cooled, you can dramatically increase the duty cycle of the welder (the amount of time you can weld before the machine will automatically shut down to protect the electronics from overheat).

 

GD

The 89-93 JDM legacies used the water-intercooler. From these you get:

1. small (approx 12" x 18" ) radiator with 5/8" inlet / outlet, both on the same side.

2. compact 12v water pump to suit 5/8" pipes, has 2 speed operation as well. Designed to run all day.

If you already have an extra car radiator, I'd go with it and sandwich it between two box fans. Or four

lol, i like the boxfan sandwich idea

 

For a tig torch, the water flows inside the electric line, keeping it cool, the welder itself in this case has no water affiliation. They sell crazy adapters which get the water on the inside of the electric line (it just a tube w/ water in it, with a coax-type electric around it), there are also some small veins in the torch which the water goes through, cools it, etc...

I'm not sure exactly what kind of temperatures the coolant will be operating at... but.. whatever

I'll see if i can find an intercooler from the junkyard, this could be fun

my dad said i could try using an old mini-fridge, and just run a ton of pipeing inside of it... and just keep the fridge running..but i don't think that's as good as a radiator idea... it'd use a crapload more electricity too!

I'd say examine real watercooling setups and plan yours from there. though a subaru radiator would for sure be big enough. nothing succeeds like overkill right?

plus, what would be cooler(lol) than having subaru parts on your welder?

are you still working on this?

1) yes

2) sorta'

 

I have an aircooled torch in the mail right now, because my stailess pipes cracked again.... hmm... so i'm going to fix them with that. Once i get that all fixed, i'm going to get some aluminum heat sinks (lots of scrappd' ones at work) and weld them together to make a resvoir (a very cooling resivoir), I'll punch a hole in the bottom of the base, and thread in a coolant fixture, and run that to a pump, pump to torch, toch back to resivoir etc... with a intercooler, or radiator in there somewhere.

i don't really NEED to have a resivoir... but it'd be damn cool to have one made of heat sinks

1) yes

2) sorta'

 

I have an aircooled torch in the mail right now, because my stailess pipes cracked again.... hmm... so i'm going to fix them with that. Once i get that all fixed, i'm going to get some aluminum heat sinks (lots of scrappd' ones at work) and weld them together to make a resvoir (a very cooling resivoir), I'll punch a hole in the bottom of the base, and thread in a coolant fixture, and run that to a pump, pump to torch, toch back to resivoir etc... with a intercooler, or radiator in there somewhere.

i don't really NEED to have a resivoir... but it'd be damn cool to have one made of heat sinks

 

hmmm... why not just do the same thing one would do with some beer on a hot day... run it through a cooler full of ice :-D

hmmm... why not just do the same thing one would do with some beer on a hot day... run it through a cooler full of ice :-D

 

because that would make my beer warm

heh, my landlord and i discussed using a radiator and a radiator fan, and public cold water supply, to make an air cooler of sorts for the front window during the three weeks of interminable heat and no electricity (except 12VDC from the buick) after hurricane frances....

 

but that sounds like a great idea, its no different from liquid cooled PCs. ten years ago in high school we joked enviously about how ridiculous they were, now the high end gaming systems are so overtaxed they need them... BTW, if you decide not to use the soob rad, second generation RX-7s came with a stock oil cooler mounted under the bumper, in the extreme front. GREAT little unit, and usually like 15-20 bux at the boneyard.. good way to save some $$ when you want to install an oil cooler, too.