Harbor freight 9 dollar torch
I picked up one of the clearance torches a few months ago for 9 bucks. Threw it in a drawer and really didn't know what I was going to do with it. Well, I figured, instead of trying to burn up a water cooled torch without a cooler, why not just adapt the cheapie to work with my 250EX. I actually like the HF torch. It's a 17 with a valve (I just lock-tited the valve slightly open) It's much more flexible than the stock torch that came with the 250ex and makes it very manageable. Not sure of the amperage or duty cycle of the torch, but I really haven't had a reason to push it over 170 amps so far. When it starts heating up, I just set it down. I used the dinse connector off my 160's stick electrode holder and fit it to the Harbor Freight torch. I took dimensions off the gas connection that came with the 250EX and made one up to fit the HF torch. It works like a charm. I imagine that thing will go back into a drawer once I get a cooler or build one.
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