255ex cooler

[BigD]

New to forum...but not welding. Been at it for 45 years. 98% of it stick and wire. Retired so with countless hours of research going to pull the trigger on a 255ex. Question, is it absolutely necessary to have a water cooler on this machine or can I get it later.

[performance]

That's sort of like asking the Doctor, so my arm is broken...do I absolutely need to get it set now, or can I wait until later? lol. The water cooled torch that comes with it needs to have water to operate. The air cooled one that also comes with it is rated for 125 amps. So, even if you purchased the 26 series air cooled torch, you will be limited to 200A for G.P. use.

[christian]

Gee,

If the unit is just for use in your home garage for smaller projects, like personal autos, etc., I'd say just try the #17 torch gas-cooled for a while. A #26 torch takes a larger sized hose/cable, which may make it a needless added expense if you go to a water cooler later.

You'll know pretty quickly if a water cooler is in order.

I've been using my 210EXT for over 5 years without one, but my pistol-grip style amptrol device keeps my hand off the torch directly, so maybe I'm cheating.

[Blaster]

Don't forget that you the option of using the watercooled torch without a cooler though. All it takes is that you connect your torch to a water supply...

Coolers are a nice self-contained, portable, improvement but, I can't tell you how many years we just hooked our torches up to the sink

[BigD]

That's sort of like asking the Doctor, so my arm is broken...do I absolutely need to get it set now, or can I wait until later? lol. The water cooled torch that comes with it needs to have water to operate. The air cooled one that also comes with it is rated for 125 amps. So, even if you purchased the 26 series air cooled torch, you will be limited to 200A for G.P. use.

My mind is kind of numb and eyes blood shot with all the research I've done in looking for a tig welder. I've run enough mig wire and stick to run around the earth a couple times, and in doing so I haven't kept up with tig welding so I m not conscience of what I need or what's included in each package. Will get the 255ex with the water cooler, don't want to do anything half ###.