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Straight answers to the questions people ask most when choosing and using accessories for TIG welding.
Beyond the machine, torch and consumables, a range of extras can make TIG welding easier or give better results. Common ones include water coolers for water-cooled torches, trailing shields and purge chambers for better gas protection, purging aids such as flux and tape for stainless steel, gauges for setting tungsten stick-out and checking gas flow, adaptors and quick connectors for gas and water, arc starters that add features to simple machines, and trolleys to carry the equipment.What you need depends on your machine, your torch and the metals you weld.
You need one if you use a water-cooled torch, which is the usual choice for higher currents and long, continuous welding. The cooler circulates coolant through the torch and cable, keeping them cool and allowing a lighter, slimmer cable than an air-cooled torch of the same rating.Check that the cooler suits your torch and your power supply: its voltage, its water connections, and its capacity to cool at the heat your torch produces. Some machines and trolleys have a cooler built in or a place to mount one.
It is a flexible enclosure that you fill with argon and weld inside, so the whole joint and the area round it sit in an inert atmosphere. It is used mainly for reactive metals like titanium, and for jobs where normal gas coverage cannot keep the hot metal clean as it cools.You place the work in the chamber, purge it until the oxygen level is low enough, and then weld through the sleeves or openings. Follow the maker's instructions, and make sure that any enclosed space is properly ventilated, since argon displaces air.
They are ways of protecting the back (root) side of a weld from air. Purge flux is a paste painted on the reverse of a stainless steel joint to protect it from oxidation when a gas purge is not practical. Backing tape is stuck to the back of the joint to protect the root. Foil or similar tape is also used to seal the ends and gaps of a joint when it is purged with gas.Which is right depends on the metal and the job. Flux residue must be cleaned off afterwards, and some industries restrict what may be used, so check the requirements for your work and the maker's instructions.