Cooler Fluid

[dlong]

In the process of setting up a 250 ex with cooler. What is the recommend fluid or mix? The pamphlet that came with the cooler does not indicate.

[DisWeld]

Distilled or Deionized water. Do not use anti-freeze or tap water. Tap water will create mold and you run the risk of clogging the small lines on the torch. a lot of Anti-freeze is specially formulated to help seal small holes and that to could clog the lines. You could also by specially formulated tig coolants but they are a little more pricey.

[performance]

Dis weld,

Sorry, I do not mean to flame you, but

Miller makes a water cooler antifreeze and in general an RV type fluid is safe for our machines. It cost a little but definitely better than having a water cooler freeze in the winter or a torch freeze. Tap water is avoided if possible not because of mold but because of other deposits. Mold will form eventually even with distilled water.

Regular antifreeze is not recommended, but with that said, there are thousands of water coolers out there with that in them.

[Rodsmachineshop]

I have some shops here that just use RV & MARINE ANTIFREEZE in there machines and have not had any problems . that what i use in my machine cooling unit since they have not had any problems for years using it and its bidegradible and safe since is use for rv drinking water systems in motor homes in winter when not being used, it only like 4 buck a gallon from camper world . never use automotive coolant will plug your torch head . I us 1 gallon to 3 gallons of distiled water since it never get too cold here in the winter at Parker az , never use tap water eather .

[DisWeld]

you do not mean to flame me.....What does that mean?
RV coolant is conductive and will rob HF. Automotive anti-freeze is not only conductive but the additives in it will attack copper. Everything in a tig system is copper. If you do not have to worry about freezing temps just use distilled water, if you are to worry about freezing temps you should really use a low conductivity coolant, just make sure it it designed for Tig.

[performance]

RV fluid is fine. It is used widely. Its formulation is very similar to some of the water cooler coolants on the market and that is why its used. Our products are safe for use with it. The construction of our coolers are fine.

Rob HF? Sure a lot of things rob HF. Its a theoretical situation... It really is only a very small amount compared to what ours generate. But our units only use HF to start and NO problems with starting have ever been reported with it.

[dlong]

Thank you all for your help. And, yes, my issue is where the equipment is stored when not in use - below freeze several months a year.

[performance]

A gallon or two of the "real" water cooling fluid is not too expensive when you compare it to the cost of a new cooler. Last I checked it was about 20.00 here.

[dlong]

FYI
You might find this interesting. Not definitive, just more information.
http://newsgroups.derkeiler.com/Arch.../msg00161.html

[Intrepid]

In the process of setting up a 250 ex with cooler. What is the recommend fluid or mix? The pamphlet that came with the cooler does not indicate.

I have read this thread about coolant and gone to the Miller site and many others trying to figure things out. What's so special to charge $25 per gallon for TIG/MIG coolant with HF start. It was as I suspected, Miller doesn't make the coolant but a distributor in Florida called Star Brite. They make a variety of products related to automotive and recreational market.

http://www.millerwelds.com/pdf/msds/Coolant043810.pdf
http://www.starbrite.com/

So from my reading it is EG(ethylene glycol) mixed with deionized water(distilled water works too) probably in a 50/50 mix.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ethylene_glycol
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Deionized_water

So can anyone tell me why just regular EG from the auto parts store, maybe the cheaper stuff with no other additives wouldn't work? And not have to pay the high prices others want to charge plus shipping?

UPDATE

Okay, I went to the auto parts store and looked at the selection and thankfully the contents are listed for the most part. There were ones that stated it worked for Aluminum I knew would not work. I found some with additional additives for corrosion protection. I settled on PEAK Long Life which list the contents as Ethylene Glycol (107-21-1), Diethylene Glycol (111-46-6) and Water (7732-18-5). So this looks to be identical to the Miller/StarBrite stuff for less than $15 for 2 gallons. I will do a a 50/50 mix and see what happens

[cmd]

Myself I just use distilled water, but what about windshield washer fluid? why wouldnt that work?

[trackmaster]

Guy's ...... there are only two things that really matter. One, is it corrosive? and two, does it contain coagulants like those in some automotive coolants. Otherwise have at it and report back! You could probably use Alpaca urine, .... i dunno. Tap water, hose water, etc, are eventually going to calcify, and lime up your little torch pathways. But i guess thats why they make CLR, and lime away. Some auto coolants have radiator coagulants to help guard against small leaks. RV coolant is a different formula. Distilled water, .... sure why not. As far as sub zero temps, .... god bless ya if you can weld in that enviroment! lol! If just occassional work, just dump the water when your done, what is it, ... 2 gallons of distilled?

Don't get me wrong here my friends, just bein a little tongue in cheek to lighten it up! There's lots of ways to skin a cat!

[dirtyfarmer]

I have been using pink RV anti-freeze(propylene glycol based) fluid in my home made cooler set-up with a PP256 and it starts/welds perfectly. I even added 6oz of "radiator anti-rust with water pump lube" to the mix when I noticed my pump, an in-tank automotive fuel pump, getting rusty. By using a submerged 12v.DC pump and all the various fluids of the mix, I'm probably breaking lots of rules, but this has worked fine since I got the welder in June. I will post any problems that might arise.

[dirtyfarmer]

Just checked the pump in my cooler set-up. Still no rust, pressure(30psi) and flow (1 qt/min.) are fine, but there patches or green mold floating on top of the coolant in the tank. Probably not a good thing.