TIG welding in the summer

[FabioP]

Summer is coming and I just started practicing TIG welding. How do you guys deal with the summer heat? Can I use a fan blowing air to me? Will that mess up the gas shield? What do you guys do?

 

[RyanWiW]

Dress as light as you can and drink lots of water. A fan will interrupt your gas shield if it is blowing directly on you.

 

[Demp]

Stay hydrated, maybe weld for shorter times and take breaks!

 

[DougRobinson]

Welding in the summertime SUCKS. Last summer it hit 110+ in Norco one day. The air was so hot having a fan on me just made me sweat more. It was actually cooler outside than in the shop.

 

[Chase 2]

TIG welding in the summer is for little girls. Try Fluxcore/Innershield or stick with tons of hot spatter flying everywhere and you have to wear leather jacket or more, now that's hot!!!!

 

[Samco Fab]

Like Chase said, mig or arc are much worse, then you have to wear tons of leather and gear, where TIG you wear tennis shoes and a t shirt, and just worry about a sunburn.

This last summer, one of our weld stations is next to a west facing steel door, it got to be 140 degrees radiating off of that door in the afternoon.

We went to Lowes and got a patio mister kit and rigged it up outside and above the door to wet the door and evaporate. It lowered the door temp from 140 degrees to 60, and made the area bearable to work in.

I tried one of those big swamp coolers, and it just made my shop humid and hot. What are the tricks to making one of those big swamp coolers work good?

 

[Dezertpilot]

Like Chase said, mig or arc are much worse, then you have to wear tons of leather and gear, where TIG you wear tennis shoes and a t shirt, and just worry about a sunburn.

This last summer, one of our weld stations is next to a west facing steel door, it got to be 140 degrees radiating off of that door in the afternoon.

We went to Lowes and got a patio mister kit and rigged it up outside and above the door to wet the door and evaporate. It lowered the door temp from 140 degrees to 60, and made the area bearable to work in.

I tried one of those big swamp coolers, and it just made my shop humid and hot. What are the tricks to making one of those big swamp coolers work good?

Does your cooler have water running through it? Cuz my buddy told me those ones done work for Jack during humid conditions. Wear one of those bandanna looking things that have the ice pack in it and wrap it around your neck. That should help! Sorry if I didnt

 

[1450-ranger]

What swamp cooler doesnt have water running through it?

 

[punchdrunk monkey]

Swap cooler will make your shop humid and rust all your tubing.

 

[5racer]

you deal with it ,i would rather weld in summer than winter,summer i wear shorts and a t-shirt weather it be mig or tig just have to becarfull of mig sparks flying up your shorts .

 

[dirtdudeaz]

you get used to it and how to deal with it. Or at least I have here in phoenix.... just drink a lot of water, and be prepared to sweat. Plus you have to factor in the manliness of what we are talking about here. If you dont get all sweaty and hot while you're welding then put on a dress and call yourself sheila.

And I agree with Chase... fluxcore with full protection on just plain sucks. I'd rather sit on a stool or chair and tig any day than do that...

 

[tomahawkracefab]

i'll take the tig over other types of welding any day , i use a speedglas welding shield with the "adflo' respirator system , it keeps your face cool and you can keep welding , with healthy breathing air too , small tip though, the battery/backpak sucks it's air just above your butt crack , breathing air can be not so healthy after tacos!! i've heard of someone using one of those shirts with cooling tubes zig zagging the surface and running through a cooling unit , bit extreme though ?

 

[glamisrnr]

How much is the speedglass with the air system?

 

[Chase 2]

How much is the speedglass with the air system?

Anywhere from around $900 to $1,200

 

[L&LMotorsports]

The speedglas adflo system is a great system. I bought mine since I was having sinus issues with the welding fumes and have found the airflo to be a great help with the heat as well. The new systems go for $1200-1400 if you are at a welding supply store, you can get brand new systems off of ebay for $800. I picked mine up new for $700 from a guy that was not able to weld anymore, it included a second used flexview shell as well. I have seen good used systems on ebay for as low as $600.

 

[OldStroppeTeam]

I tried one of those big swamp coolers, and it just made my shop humid and hot. What are the tricks to making one of those big swamp coolers work good?

Swamp cooler are meant to keep air flowing, you need to leave a door or window open a little in the path of the air flow. It's best if you can put it in one door (Sealed around the cooler) and let air flow out another door or window. The other thing is that as the humidity gets over about 25% the effectiveness decreases greatly !

 

[Scott_F]

I hate TIG welding in the summer, but as said, it is better than MIG. I wear shorts, sandals and a long sleeve cotton T-shirt and light cotton gloves to prevent arc burn, and I try to weld early in the morning. You can use a squirt bottle to wet your shirt, and a fan on low speed under the bench where it will not interrupt your argon flow.