Is there a process to dry machine after Plasma?

[Buggy Chief]

If I expect that moisture has entered machine via plasma cut and affecting my TIG (arc jumps and severe contamination happening), is there a process to try and remedy this? how do you dry out, if at all? I have a filter with a desiccant on the plasma set up, but it is 2 years old and may need to be changed.

At first, I thought my argon was running out, but it isn't, as my tungsten is not turning black, but something is contaminating and I can't hold steady arc.

Any feedback is appreciated.

[performance]

Just use, or you can disassemble the unit, solenoid and lines and replacing said lines, and cleaning the solenoid out.

[Rambozo]

Also be sure not to use the water trap when using Argon for TIG. If you accidentally got a slug of water in your TIG torch lines, you can blow them out with plenty of argon, but it takes time to get everything dry. Not as easy in cold weather, either.

[Buggy Chief]

So should I just crank the argon up and just press pedal and let flow through? for how long?

[Rambozo]

It somewhat depends on how much water you got in the hoses, how long they are, the temperature, and a few other variables. But for a 12 foot torch cable I would guess that if you lay it out flat on the floor, so the moisture doesn't have to travel uphill, if you run about 50+ CFH for a minute or two, you should have it pretty well cleared out. How wet was your air? Plasma doesn't like wet air either. I guess this is another thing to keep track of with multi-process machines.

[Buggy Chief]

Plasma works fine . TIG was working great. I am starting to suspect bad gas, but wanted to try everything before returning a 1/2 full bottle. Do the filters that have desiccant in them need to be replaced ever so often? Mine is 2 years old.

It somewhat depends on how much water you got in the hoses, how long they are, the temperature, and a few other variables. But for a 12 foot torch cable I would guess that if you lay it out flat on the floor, so the moisture doesn't have to travel uphill, if you run about 50+ CFH for a minute or two, you should have it pretty well cleared out. How wet was your air? Plasma doesn't like wet air either. I guess this is another thing to keep track of with multi-process machines.

[everlastsupport]

The filters do need to be replaced. I do mine often (monthly with the small ones), but it depends on the environment/temperature. Most of the new ones have an indicator on them, or turn a color. Sounds like you are sucking in air somewhere or have moisture in the air tank that has gotten in the lines, or bad gas. If you can swap the argon tank that would be great. We see this often. Maybe call the LWS and see if they have had an issue.

[Buggy Chief]

Thanks Mike for your help. I am going to swap torch setups to my stock torch and see if there may have been moisture in that line. I plan to swap the cylinder today as well.

[John71a]

Blue silica balls get wet fast, but are easy to "reconstitute" or dry. If any of your line is open to the ambient air, they will lose their drying ability rapidly and turn pale blue to clear. When totally dried out they are a dark navy blue. You unscrew the inner core by turning that black input nut while holding the plastic body. Do this over a paper plate or large bowl to capture any lost balls. Remove the white foam collar that keeps the silica balls in the outside chamber and dump them into a foil cupcake cup or a foil cup you make yourself. Put them in a small pizza oven or toaster oven at 350 degrees for 10 minutes and they come out very dark navy blue. Cut 1/3 of 3 x 5" index card and roll it inside the center tube to keep the balls from falling into the center. They belong in the outside ring chamber. Keep corks and tubes with corks over any disconnected lines. Don't use air filter for Argon input. There is a huge improvement in Plasma cutting if you use only freshly dried silica. Buy several filters, dry them all together, and plug openings so you can quickly swap them out on a busy day. Disconnect line from compressor when not in use since they'll try to dry up all the moisture in that system over time.