WHY IS MIG GAS HOSE A WASTEFUL ¼ INCH ID?

Why is most MIG gas delivery hose ¼ inch ID?  This large size causes excess gas to be stored in the hose when welding stops and wasted every time welding starts.  Fabricators find it causes from 30 to over 60% wasted gas!

If it is not to handle the nonexistent pressure drop then why is typical MIG gas delivery hose ¼ inch ID?  MIG welding was developed in the 1950’s by two of the dominant US industrial gas producers.  Working at the Welding R&D Lab of one of these companies, a Division of Union Carbide Corporation, it was located with our   equipment factory.  Our major equipment product line manufactured at the time MIG was introduced was Oxyfuel Welding and Cutting apparatus.  The flow rate of Oxygen required when cutting is quite high.  It can use 250 CFH and higher flow.  At a 50 psi regulator pressure setting 250 CFH will produce an 11 psi pressure drop in a 100 foot ¼ inch ID hose versus the less than 1 psi at 35 CFH flow used for MIG welding.  (Note the pressure drop at 35 CFH will be under 1 psi either at 50 psi or 5 psi hose pressure.)  The highest volume gas hose used in the factory was ¼ inch ID which easily handled the pressure drop for the largest sales volume Oxyfuel hose lengths, 25 feet.  Fitting this size hose was automated.

SMALLER MIG GAS HOSE SYSTEM CUTS WASTE 80%

DIFFICULTIES OVERCOME TO USE 1/8 INCH ID HOSE WITH THE GSS

The patented GSS employs unique components allowing it to utilize 1/8 inch ID gas hose for MIG welding.  To handle the rugged environment the custom extruded hose has a very heavy wall.  It is also fiber reinforced so it will not wear through even when dragged on the shop floor.  The large OD to ID ratio prevents the gas from being blocked even when the hose is stepped on.  However this heavy wall thickness does not allow it to expand over normal 1/8 inch CGA hose barb fittings.  The hose barb must be of a smaller OD to allow it to be inserted into the gas hose.  In addition, the CGA fittings can not be made from large heavy wall ID brass tubing as can ¼ inch hose fittings.  This makes them more difficult and costly to manufacture.  The cost is more than twice the more common ¼ inch hose barb fittings.  The accompanying photos provide a comparison between these two CGA hose barb sizes. Note the long hose barb shown in the  provides an excellent gas light seal.

Standard hose clamp designs that work well on ¼ inch ID hose do not function adequately on the heavy wall GSS hose.  A special constant tension spring hose clamp custom fit to the hose OD is used, similar to that employed for automotive fuel systems.

BOTTOM LINE

There is no need to use large ¼ inch ID gas delivery hose when MIG welding and thus creating shielding gas waste and making inferior welds starts.  Our patented GSS:

Responding to inaccurate Forum comment about pressure drop in MIG shielding gas hose:

First lets set the record straight.  Your setting flow NOT pressure on your MIG flow meter even on a regulator/flowmeter (Pic Right.)  Look carefully and you'll see the output gauge says CFH NOT psi.  What does that mean?  CFH stands for Cubic Feet per Hour.  That is what your setting.  Pressure is measured in Pounds per Square Inch.

A point of confusion on hose size may be from what is needed with an  air compressor.  Even a small one may be rated at 10 CFM and does need a large hose!  That stands for Cubic Feet per Minute!  So even a small air compressor can flow 10CFM  x 60min/hr or 600CFH!!  Sure at that flow rate you need a big hose!  But not at the 25 to 30 CFH we use in welding.  That is only 1/2 CFM!  Pretty low flow.  In fact that is about the amount your breathing.  Anything more and your just pulling air into the gas stream!

At 25 CFH flow rate with a 30 foot GSS hose there will be about a 3 psi pressure drop.  If your using a regulator/flowmeter like the one in the picture you'll have plenty of excess pressure.  I'll explain how the system works so you'll see why: 

With a regulator/flowmeter you are actually setting pressure!  Your setting the pressure above a very small orifice in the outlet of the regulator.  Typically it is about 0.025 inches.  It takes about 40 psi above the small orifice to flow 25 CFH.  Why do they have such high pressure?  So the flow will be constant when spatter builds in the torch, as you bend the torch cable. 

Typically the pressure needed at the inlet to a welder/feeder is 3 to 7 psi.  By having about 40 psi above the small orifice the flow will remain at the flow you set.  (SEE Automatic Flow Compensation if you want to know how that works.)  If you put a pressure gauge between the welder/feeder and the gas delivery hose you'll measure about that 3 to 5 psi when your welding.  However when welding stops, gas will still flow through the small orifice and will rise quickly to the 40 psi regulator pressure. That creates the big surge of gas at the weld start which is what our GSS  eliminates!

Now if you read about Automatic Flow Compensation you found out you needed about twice the pressure above that small orifice compared to below it to achieve that constant flow (all pressures measured a absolute pressure.)  With 30 feet of our GSS  hose with its 3 psi pressure drop you have more than sufficient pressure with 40 psi to achieve constant flow.

PURCHASE PRODUCT-- DETAILS

One Page Summary of Gas Saver System

PayBack Averages Less Than 2 Months even at $2.00/100CF gas cost-   CLICK HERE FOR CALCULATION