Thread: Tig setup help asap!

Originally Posted by BLKWDW

Hey all i need some help desperately. i have a unimig inverter welder and over the last week have acquired the tig gun and some gas plus a regulator to start to learn to tig weld. What i need help with is how to i get it all to connect up. I bought a small disposable bottle of argon gas the regulator came with the tig torch but nothing will screw together. Is there a part im missing still or wat its making me very frustrated. If need be i can take pics of what i have so you can see it.

Theres no instructions on setting the tig up with any part i bought and i have extra tips for the tig torch as well which i have no idea what to use or how to get them in as one is a screw in type and the rest arnt.

Yeah I feel your pain in getting this all set up but I suspect that your reglator is setup for a normal gas bottle.
I don't know if you van convert it with and adaptor or not but it may be necessary to buy a specific regulator to suit the disposable bottle. I have never seen a disposable so it's hard for me to know.
It would def help if you can post pics of the bits you have and the connections on the powersupply.

Hi ,

It may be best to get some pics. Sounds like your gas reg is not suited to the disposable bottle. Once we see some pics we can guide you.

Regards
Pete (Tokentools Welders)

Yeah well you definitely need to sort out what you want to do with the regulator. The one you have is for a regular gas bottle.
If you wish to use the disposables then you will also have to aquire a different regulator and whatever else to fit that style of bottle.
You probably already know but those bottles don't last long at all and from most reports are a waste of time unless you are just doing the smallest, and I mean smallest of jobs.
I would think carefully before spending too much hard earned cash on setting up for disposable when your money may be better spent of setting it up properly.

What model Unimig is it? and does everything else connect up on the power supply end?
If your machine doesn't have a gas valve and outlet then all you need to fit at that end is the power cable so you need a correct size dinse socket to match the plug on your TIG torch cable or visa versa.
Assuming that you will only have scratch start DC TIG which you will need to connect electrode negative and understand it is not the easiest of TIG operation also not suitable for Ally, although some may argue you can. depends a lot on what model machine you have so we just not enough info to tell you any more.

I did the calcs on this forum some years back on consumption rate for this disposable cylinder.

Even when or if you do source some fittings for a connection to your tig torch you have about ten minutes of tig welding per cylinder.The SIP cylinders have their own regulator for disposable cylinders

I would say you need at least an hour of arc time to get started and it would not be cheap for your at what your paying for 6 x cylinders at ?$ each


Sorry, but you have to go the whole way and obtain an argon cylinder for your regulator.


Happy New Year all
Grahame

Mate go to a welding shop with the whole lot and get them to show you how it goes together.

With your regulator you have what appears to be a push on pipe conection (pic 2) (that stepped type connector) whereas your gas line has a female thread (pic 3) maybe you can undo the stepped connector and replace it with a brass male at both ends connector? Bunnies might have that in the plumbing secton, but probably not. Or maybe once you take off the step you may actually have the male thread hidden under there, its hard to see in the pic but I am thinking it is there.

As for tips, well I can barely mig so know nothing about tig tip set up, sorry but I hope what I have to offer has helped. Oh and that cylinder will never fit that tank me thinks UNLESS there is a female under the stepped connector.....

Chris

Here are some pics of the sip regulator. Its is a delivery only unit and has no flow meter or cylinder volume contents display.

Note that it is a female thread to the cylinder male thread
It also has a fitting that depresses the cylinder seal or check valve. ( Pic 4).

To be frank,there would be a lot of fluffing around to replicate the screw and and valving assembly then adapt a hose and female thread for your existing argon regulator.Probably cheaper to go straight to the E argon cylinder.

The SIP reg unit costs about $53 from bob the welder. I would not bother as the cylinder (maybe $36 and $53 for the reg )plus some hose and clips will get you half way towards a full E cylinder of argon.
Sorry, but setting up for tig welding is not cheap.

Grahame