regulator freeze up.

By raftergwelding (*****)

Date 01-21-2007 21:45

I dunno sourdough but sure would like to know just incase how do you keep the gauges from freezing up?

By aevald

Date 01-21-2007 22:22

Hello Sourdough, there are regulators that have a heater built right into them, they are generally used for straight CO2 applications. The more CO2 in the gas mix, the greater the chance of freeze-up (reason being, CO2 tends to be in a liquid or semi-liquid form and when it leaves the bottle it changes to a gas causing the cooling or freezing to take place depending on the ambient temperature and ratio of mix). I have also used a trouble light set close to the regulator chamber of the gauge, but be careful not to set it too close to the flowmeter portion of the regulator if so equipped and if this chamber is plastic or it can melt it. I would also think that a heat tape could be used with success. Also run just the minimum of flow on the gas to help with this problem. Good luck and regards, aevald

By Sourdough (****)

Date 01-22-2007 03:18 Edited 01-22-2007 04:15

Problem is, I cant use a minimum on large applications. Heat tape sounds real simple to me. I cant imagine it requires a bunch of juice? It hasn't been this cold in years, and I can't go out without the capability to:

--- spark, arc, fit, rip, bend, heat, seat, pound, tenderize, hone, grind, size, sand, polish, fab, hack, weld, perforate, notch, plug, fit (again), bevel, braze, loosen, tighten, flip, land, design, wire, fire, harden, replace, re fab, re heat, heat treat, heat seat, penetrate, cap, generate, waterjet, machine, type it up, bill it out, get it signed, eat lunch, fill it up, restock, rock and roll, and....... "SHOCK AND AWE" the people that watch me doing it!!!--- say that ten times really fast!!

Fact is, if I can't do the job, I shouldn't leave the house in the morning. . . . .. .. .I'm a German Irish prick that demands perfection??? Sorry Christine.....

By raftergwelding (*****)

Date 01-23-2007 01:50

H ey Sourdough you work in the oil field like me i have asked many people this question and tried the tricks they told me but none of them seem to work good. How in the world can a man demagnitize pipe I' building 2 sets of pipe racks out of 4 1/2'' drill stem some is not as bad as other i've reversed the polarity and it helps but sucks when u go to run 7910 so i put it back to reg. on 7018 and on 5p i reverse it and run it hot but it still breaks right ar the weld causing more work than needed i dont need to tell you all of this I'm sure you've run into it yourself. So whats the trick wrapping the lead around the pipe dont work reversing polarity dont work what the hell works

By PlanB

Date 01-23-2007 04:19

Hey rafterg, Ive done miles of drillstem at slow times. Heat was the only thing that worked for me. Put some heat on it, torch, once you start welding and keep going it seems to get better. I've got a Miller 302 Trailblazer that I use once in a while, it has ac, but that dosnt seem much better than just heat. My .02 cents Oh- I think I have another break lined up, If so I'll get with you and make a couple pair of 200 doors, you can swing by if not I'll be in San Antone soon.
Troy

By hogan

Date 01-23-2007 14:56

if you can, set the pipe vertically, then take your welding leed and coil it about 5 times. set the machine to ac. with the coil energized, drop it down the pipe. kind of like a ring toss. have the pipe set on something so the coil will completely pass the entire length of the pipe. this is the standard ac technique for demag

By raftergwelding (*****)

Date 01-24-2007 02:31

thanks hogan but i have an older machine no ac switch jus strait good old fashioned dc 1968 lincoln sa 200 solid copper wound with the slick armiture in it not no octagon shaped aluminum wound junk

By 357max

Date 01-23-2007 16:40

Get the cheapest AC stick welder and use two work clamps on the end of the weld cables. Plug the machine in the engine drives 230/240 volt receptacle. Turn the AC stick machine on and set the amperage for 100% duty cycle. Clamp the two work clamps on the ends of the pipe. Let the AC run through the cables and pipe while welding with the DC arc from the engine drive. FYI the AC load voltage will be less than 2 and with 100 amps that is only 200 watts. Easily with most machines 100% duty cycle.

By raftergwelding (*****)

Date 01-24-2007 02:27

thanks 357 but theres a dilema i have a 68 model machine there is no 220/240 plug and with what they are paying i'll jus burn it hot and let it go at that it wouldnt be feasable for me to go buy a ac stick welder

By 357max

Date 01-24-2007 19:05

With a DC only weld output I have had good success with wrapping the work cable tight around the pipe and from a really old timer who is now welding the streets of gold and gates of heaven. He had us wrap an uneven number of times over nine, ie 11, 13 15 or whatever. Pipe wrapping required trial and error with clockwise or counter clockwise. One time one way/direction of wrap would really make the arc blow bad and versa vice.

By raftergwelding (*****)

Date 01-24-2007 19:10

I've tried it all as well sometimes it helps a little but most time theres no difference. I figured out ro reverse the ploarity and burn it hot dont waste time trying to step it or weave jus burn it hot and drag it then cap with 7018 with the polarity strait

By hogan

Date 01-24-2007 19:40

if you are trying the dc method, you need a gauss meter. it will show you what the magnetic field is doing. this will let you know whether to wrap clockwise or counter clockwise. and if the current is sufficient.

By Sourdough (****)

Date 01-27-2007 17:36

rafterg: I always put my first pass in with an ln-25. After that a crank it up to about145amps and blaze away with 5/32 Euctectic.

By raftergwelding (*****)

Date 01-28-2007 05:40

an ln 25 would be nice but a little pricy even for a used 1 and well once again i may sound dumb but i never heard of a Euctectic rod. I did discover on friday before i fried every wire in my machine that if you run 1/8 8010 hot it grabs and holds. now i need a wire diagram for a 200 lincoln with a pc board in it i have replaced everything from the front to rear panel wire wise includinh the points condensor and coil and still wont fire off beats the hell outa me figured i'd be safe by changing 1 wire at a time with the right color boy was i wrong been down for 2 days messin with this thing

By webbcity (***)

Date 01-28-2007 07:38

shad , i'm going to foward you a couple of pages might be able to get some info. from them . good luck . willie

By billvanderhoof (****)

Date 01-23-2007 12:39

Heat tape should work, it may require that the machine be at high idle all the time if you use the accessory plug from the welder. Depending on how primative you want to go just pointing the exhaust from the machine in the general direction might work, sooty though if you have a diesel. You might be able to tap hot water from the welder engine (like a vehicle cab heater) and wrap that line around the regulator. If you let the truck motor idle and keep the heater on you could just put the bottle in the cab.

-38 is just too cold, I hope you are making a fortune.
Bill

By Bill M

Date 01-24-2007 19:59

In the DC method, try wrapping the pipe with say 7 turns or so, and use 100% full amperage and energize. Then reverse the polarity (switch the welding leads) & apply a full 100% amp energizing current in the opposite direction. Then set the welder to 80% full power, reverse the polarity again and energize. Reverse the leads and energize at 80% power. Step down to 60% power, reverse the polarity and energize,.. etc., etc... and continue down to zero amps. try to keep each current shot the same time...say 30 seconds each time.

By Sourdough (****)

Date 01-27-2007 17:37

Well, I'm definately making a small fortune

By cmays

Date 01-28-2007 18:30

Sourdough,
Ive used a small heat lamp before. The type that has the clamp on it. Id just clamp it on my regulator guards. Just as long as its not damp or raining out then you have an electrical shock hazard. But if you have GFCI plugs on your machine you should be ok. Ofcourse if you run an older lincoln Im not sure if this will work because of no AC auxilary power.

By obeamweldor Date 01-27-2007 02:39

I've used halogen work lights close to regulators to help with freezing regulators, not the most cost effective method, but it's good enough most of the time here in Fairbanks, AK! I've heard of heated regulators, never used them though.

By darren

Date 02-04-2007 07:17

a light bulb in a bucket over the reg, need more heat get bigger bulb, less heat smaller bulb, also can wrap light bulb next to reg in glass insulation used both of these and worked great. one shop i worked in when was new had trouble light in clear plastic bag wrapped around reg, but that was for production welding in shop with straight co2 kept the frost of reg.
any way of directing the exhaust from welder onto the reg?
darren

By Sourdough (****)

Date 02-05-2007 02:30

Not worth it. My new motto: If it's too cold for my torch to work, I aint cuttin' it!!!!!!

By makeithot (***)

Date 02-14-2007 00:26

Try using a high flow regulater in cold weather they are not as pron to freeze up heat tape sounds like a good solution. Use to lean a work light agains't the reg worked great .

By bushrat Date 11-05-2007 16:39

Hi, my simple way of keeping my co2 reg from freezing is to hang a trouble light (100 watt bulb) from the reg then put my welding blanket over top of it all. you could use a 100 watt 12 volt spot light as well. My last 2 trucks I mounted the bottles right behind the rad of my welder so the warm air would blow past the regs. Hope these ideas help.PS I had a inline co2 heater between the bottle and reg once but the bouncing on the bush roads broke it off.

By Sourdough (****)

Date 11-07-2007 01:59

Don't know if you guys remember the thread last year or not, but I was talking about regulator freeze up at cold temps.

I won't mess with it anymore. Last year was my last year of being a hero.

If sombodies kid is drowning in a freezing river I will be the first to get wet - BUT screw these huge corporations, because at the end of the day they don't care about you. All they care about is that the job was done. You're lucky if you get a check in 60 days for that sacrifice you made................It aint worth it.

By gshuma

Date 11-07-2007 21:25

Sourdough
You are right on about freezing. It only took me 50 or 60 years to figger that out.
I still can't keep my hands off. I work inside in air conditioning and the heavyest thing I have to lift is my mouse (and a beer can later). I still go out in the sun and weather to weld on little repair jobs and love it. This stuff gets in your blood.

By Sourdough (****)

Date 11-08-2007 02:18

AMEN>>>>>

By vagabond (***)

Date 11-22-2007 02:01

It gets in yer damn lungs too they tell me. . . .but seriously don't overlook your residual engine exhaust heat as a back-up or a real simple solution to your problem. As long as yer reg's are bagged or something they'll be warm I know you've probably had to "hootch" a machine or two in AK when it's a bit chilly. . . . .

By Sourdough (****)

Date 11-22-2007 20:04

But don't get them machines addicted to hooch......then you can't start em without it!

By Superflux (****)

Date 12-11-2007 00:50

Now that we're coming into the cold and flu season, Ithought I'd add another little Wyoming trick to the old frozen flow meter syndrome. Go down to the local "X-Mart" or who-ever and buy the cheapest hair/blow dryer (mine cost $8) and tape or wire it into position. Many times just the fan without heat is enough. Also, there's nothing better to stick down the Carharts, gloves and boots to cut that bone chilling cold.

By Sourdough (****)

Date 12-11-2007 21:36

2:30pm. Just got back to the house - 1 day wasted. My rig is buried in the driveway, and I am writing this while my 77 chev is warming up in the yard. Stuck twice today in snowdrifts, and pulled out 2 guys so far. God, aint Wyoming great. The wife is gearing up to drive my rig, while I tug her up the hill with my plow truck. Looks like I got the rest of the day/night to get us plowed out.............I'll let you know how it goes!!

By Sourdough (****)

Date 12-19-2007 06:16

So, I got my rig out. Got my plow truck stuck, because the right hub busted. Long story short, my wifes Tahoe got me unstuck.............

By doombak (*)

Date 12-13-2007 02:16

oxy or acetylene?

By Sourdough (****)

Date 12-19-2007 06:17

huh??

By doombak (*)

Date 12-19-2007 20:18

your regulators witch ones are freezing?

By Sourdough (****)

Date 12-19-2007 21:07

oxygen

By doombak (*)

Date 12-20-2007 04:23

i work in -50c and that never happens it may be because i have my regulators relativly close to the rad of my welder

By cepennington (*)

Date 01-02-2008 00:27

Clamp a 100W light next to the regulator. I use to have this problem often with CO2 regulators. We would take some of the cheap lights with the aluminum surround and spring clamp, and clamp it to shine on the regualator. This was in south GA. Further north, you may want to try a heat lamp.