Tig Gas Lens.........brands and quality?

[Spokerider]

Guys,
I'm wanting to add a stubby gas lens kit to my 17 torch. 1/16th and 3/32nds for DC and AC.
I've seen most of the you tube videos on the benefits to using a gas lens and stubby cup vs the standard cups and collets.

My question is........what brand / manufacturer has the best gas lenses? I know CK is right up there, what about HTP? Paraweld?
And then there are the plethora of Chinese gas lenses.....some are actually name- branded like; "Riverweld" and "Weldflame", but is seems most are NOT branded.......at least the Chinese seller ones on ebay.

Unfortunately, I have to buy on ebay as the local welding suppliers here do not carry them and basically shrug of my business when I ask if they can get them in. Such is welding supplies in Canada. BTW, Amazon.ca sucks! it's pretty useless AFA selection for anything goes........

So, what makes a good gas lens? The purity of the copper? The quality of the screens? The number of screens? Of course, none of this info is available on the advertising / specs of the gas lenses. IS the premium price for the CK lenses worth the $$? Or, will Chinese no-name / generic work OK? Being in Canada, I WILL pay double the cost that you in the US will pay, by the time it gets shipped to me.

Ditto for the collets...........


Thanks for your thoughts.

[shovelon]

Medium stubby gas lens kit from WeldTec/TecTorch. The medium is compact enough not to be obtrusive like the standard gas lens, and is robust enough to stand up to the heat. The collets are made from Tellurium copper alloy, not the cheap soft copper that import parts use. All of WeldTec parts are said to be made in USA. They last a looooong time.

[Ltbadd]

They last a looooong time.

Just don't weld galvanized though

[FusionKing]

The imports are so bad, and so hard to notice a difference, I actually threw them away. not worth it in my opinion. They don't weld nice.
My supplier is a stocking CK dealer so that is what we use. I haven't tried Tec or what HTP carries.

[OscarJr]

I think I've tried them all, in terms of "brands". I have some CK, HTP, Riverweld, Welding City, Weldtec, FUPA. Some of the HTP stuff is CK, but not everything. Obviously not every single type of every single configuration, but I guess I've gotten lucky in that I've never come across a "bad" gas lens collet body. Even the cheap Riverweld and Welding City gas lenses have 4-5 fine mesh screens in them. I hardly weld these days because of work, but come summer time I hope to weld more.

I'd also say that torch variations and set-up's may have a lot to do with "defective" gas lenses. Some people just don't know how the TIG torch actually works and they just start slapping parts together, and just threading anything into anything, and before you know it, they have things all out of whack with wrong insulator gaskets, backwards collets, incorrectly threaded collet bodies/back caps, USB cables plugged into God knows where, ropes, chains, silk thread, Gorilla tape, electrical tape, chicken wire, etc, ends up looking like Frankenstein himself.

[Spokerider]

Medium stubby gas lens kit from WeldTec/TecTorch. The medium is compact enough not to be obtrusive like the standard gas lens, and is robust enough to stand up to the heat. The collets are made from Tellurium copper alloy, not the cheap soft copper that import parts use. All of WeldTec parts are said to be made in USA. They last a looooong time.

Thanks for the advice.
I'm looking on ebay for weld tec stubby parts....there's none to be had. It appears that Weld tec is not a retail store, and only supplies other welding supply outlets with their products. Tough for me to find parts in that brand.

[Spokerider]

I think I've tried them all, in terms of "brands". I have some CK, HTP, Riverweld, Welding City, Weldtec, FUPA. Some of the HTP stuff is CK, but not everything. Obviously not every single type of every single configuration, but I guess I've gotten lucky in that I've never come across a "bad" gas lens collet body. Even the cheap Riverweld and Welding City gas lenses have 4-5 fine mesh screens in them. I hardly weld these days because of work, but come summer time I hope to weld more.

I'd also say that torch variations and set-up's may have a lot to do with "defective" gas lenses. Some people just don't know how the TIG torch actually works and they just start slapping parts together, and just threading anything into anything, and before you know it, they have things all out of whack with wrong insulator gaskets, backwards collets, incorrectly threaded collet bodies/back caps, USB cables plugged into God knows where, ropes, chains, silk thread, Gorilla tape, electrical tape, chicken wire, etc, ends up looking like Frankenstein himself.

Good to know that you've had reasonable success with cheaper gas lens parts. As mentioned before, I try not to buy Chinese made tools and stuff as the quality is just not there, but if that's all I can get my hands on............

[FusionKing]

Welding City is the exact crap I was talking about. They were definitely not up to standard when it comes to welding quality. I had at least a dozen or more and they do not produce the quality of work that the CK did. The beads looked as if they were welded too hot or slow on aluminum. Not shiny
I would prefer to use no gas lense than their product. Or at least the ones they sold me. The looked so close to the same (as CK), it was hard to tell the difference.....until you welded with them.
I use Chinese stuff all the time. Just not gas lenses any more. YMMV

[Anarchy61187]

I got a kit from weldmonger, good quality, price and fast shipping. It's all ck and it's a way to support someone in the welding community.

[shovelon]

Thanks for the advice.
I'm looking on ebay for weld tec stubby parts....there's none to be had. It appears that Weld tec is not a retail store, and only supplies other welding supply outlets with their products. Tough for me to find parts in that brand.

Yes, WeldTec/TecTorch is a manufacturer. You order parts through your local weld supplier. You do buy gas at an LWS? Here is a link to view their products. http://tectorch.com/