Torch line to regulator fitting for 140ST

[junkman]

Hello,

Apologize if this has been covered on here before and I have searched the forum on this but not finding a clear solution.

Bought a 140ST and having some problems figuring out how to hook the 3/16th line to an ARGON regulator.
Mark made me aware of the youtube video on the 5/8 CGA conversion but not sure how that applies to the 140ST.
Been to welding equipment suppliers, auto parts stores, propane gas suppliers, Lowes and cannot find a 3/16 barb fitting or the parts to make a suitable connection.
One place offered to make me a new line to the torch with a larger fitting but after looking at the torch not sure that is an option.
Do you just add lube and force the line over the supplied 1/4 fitting on the regulator?

Thank you in advance,

Don

[RichardH]

I think I saw a similar challenge when hooking up the new 210 EXT - the hose barb fitting at the regulator end appears to be for 5/16" i.d. tubing, while the hose barb on the welder fitting was something slightly smaller than 1/4" i.d. (3/16?). I too tried to find an alternate hose barb fitting for the regulator end, but it seems to be an odd thread size - something larger than 1/4" NPT (5/8?).

As compromise, I used 1/4" i.d. (3/8" o.d.) white poly tubing - the stiff stuff, rated for ~120psi. (I later installed a gauge and found my regulator maintained 40psi on the output.) For the regulator end, I heated it with a hair dryer to soften it enough to push over the larger hose barb, then secured it with a tiny hose clamp. For the welder end, this tubing slipped over the fitting but the barb didn't bite into it; I fastened it with a hose clamp as well, and it all passed a pressure / leak test.

FWIW,
Richard

[junkman]

Thanks Richard,

I will give that a try.

[Kempy]

3/16 is a standard fitting for welding with small torches 1/4 is most common but I have all kinds for 3/16 internal, external LH or RH ones.

[junkman]

It appears to be 1/4 on the regulator I have, looks just like the 1/4 you show in the photo.
Right now it appears Richard's idea may be the easiest as I could not find the smaller fitting that would fit the regulator, could find the 3/16 barb union i guess you could call it.
Will try and gather some white poly and the fitting tomorrow and see if we can make it work.

I appreciate the help.

Richard, you would think the 210 EXT has enough margin built in to cover the cost of Everlast including the needed fittings.

[joshuab]

What I did was take my regulator in to my LWS and hand it to them, then shrug my shoulders and put my wallet on the counter. They found the right fitting and it only cost a dollar or so. I bought some other torch parts and stuff while I was there to thank them.

[RichardH]

I'll admit, it struck me as weird that two items in the same box expected the hose to be different sizes, but it was workable. I just got another regulator and was comparing the fittings - they're both 1/4" barbs, but the one that came with the welder has slightly stronger bite. And that hard poly tubing just doesn't stretch well.

FWIW, the flowmeter outlet seems to be a "B" fitting - 9/16-18, non-tapered thread. I.e., not something you're going to find at a home improvement store. More likely an industrial hose store like Parker (or a LWS as Joshua suggests).

Cheers,
Richard

[joshuab]

the flowmeter outlet seems to be a "B" fitting - 9/16-18, non-tapered thread. I.e., not something you're going to find at a home improvement store. More likely an industrial hose store like Parker (or a LWS as Joshua suggests).

That's consistent with my experience. I took the regulator to a hardware store first, assuming it was a standard pipe fitting, but no dice. Only the LWS had it. Apparently, compressed gasses use their own fittings. The hardware store had a barb that was almost right, but as far as I could tell, it had tapered threads, and the ones on the regulator were straight.

[RichardH]

Only the LWS had it. Apparently, compressed gasses use their own fittings. The hardware store had a barb that was almost right, but as far as I could tell, it had tapered threads, and the ones on the regulator were straight.

Yup. And to confirm your K.I.S.S. solution, I took my regulator to the LWS and they matched it to a 3/16" hose barb with the proper thread. Didn't even charge me for it, since I'd just bought a tank and a bunch of consumables.

(To Don's point, while the 1/4" barb seems to be standard on flow regulators, it wouldn't cost much for Everlast to add a 3/16" barb in the box to match the welder's fitting.)

No surprise, but the LWS didn't have other adapters (like to convert to pipe thread), but I've found those elsewhere.

Cheers,
Richard

[Rambozo]

The 140ST is kinda the odd man out as most of the other welders hook the regulator to a matching barb on the back of the machine. The 140ST goes straight to the torch, so the hose is smaller. As they sell worldwide, hose barbs make more sense than other fittings. metric or inch you can mix and match pretty easy, 6mm or 1/4" hose and 8mm or 5/16" hose.

[RichardH]

Hmm. I pretty much ran into the problem Don described when I unboxed the 210 EXT - the quick disconnect on the welder used a 3/16" hose barb, but the regulator was 1/4" barb. I was just agreeing with Don that tossing a 3/16" barb in the box for the regulator would seem to make sense, so it matches the welder end.

Cheers,
Richard

[Rambozo]

Hmm. I pretty much ran into the problem Don described when I unboxed the 210 EXT - the quick disconnect on the welder used a 3/16" hose barb, but the regulator was 1/4" barb. I was just agreeing with Don that tossing a 3/16" barb in the box for the regulator would seem to make sense, so it matches the welder end.

Cheers,
Richard

That is true. They get closer, but getting everything matched between different factories is not quite there, yet. The first 210EXT models shipped with a male QD fitting on the back and nothing to mate with it. Now it has a barb, but not the same size barb as the other models. It seems like just when things get all sorted out, something changes like the new regulators or new welder models, and it's back to square one.