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This is the setup and use video for the 8201 Nitro-Fuzer® welder. This welder has a digital control system, dual gas input with an automatic switch, does not include a cart, and does include a nitrogen regulator.
The 8201 Nitro-Fuzer® welder is a stand-alone welder intended for use on a tabletop or workstation. It is a nitrogen plastic welder intended for use with a nitrogen tank. It has dual gas inputs, for both air and nitrogen. It features an automatic switch between air and nitrogen to eliminate any waste of your bottled nitrogen gas.
Polyvance was the first to bring nitrogen welding technology to the automotive collision repair industry in 2006, and we have continued to be the innovator in nitrogen plastic welding since that time. Your nitrogen plastic welder will give you the ability to weld virtually any broken plastic material quickly and with great strength. Please watch this entire video to learn how to set up and use your new plastic welder.
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This is the setup and use video for the 8201 Nitro-Fuzer® welder. This welder has a digital control system, dual gas input with an automatic switch, does not include a cart, and does include a nitrogen regulator.
Thank you for your purchase of a Polyvance 8201 Nitro-Fuzer® welder. Polyvance was the first to bring nitrogen welding technology to the automotive collision repair industry in 2006, and we have continued to be the innovator in nitrogen plastic welding since that time. Your nitrogen plastic welder will give you the ability to weld virtually any broken plastic material quickly and with great strength. Please watch this entire video to learn how to set up and use your new plastic welder. This video has the following sections: Unboxing and Initial Setup, Safety First, Turning on the Welder for the First Time, Doing a Basic Weld, Helpful Accessories, and Troubleshooting.
Your 8201 Nitro-Fuzer® welder is a stand-alone welder intended for use on a tabletop or workstation. It is a nitrogen plastic welder intended for use with a nitrogen tank. It has dual gas inputs, for both air and nitrogen. It features an automatic switch between air and nitrogen to eliminate any waste of your bottled nitrogen gas. The 8201 Nitro-Fuzer® welder also features digital temperature control for precise and repeatable performance. The welder comes completely assembled from the factory, but there are a few things you’ll need to do to get it ready for first use. First, you’ll need to take it out of the box. Open the top and remove the foam padding. Visually inspect the welder to make sure there is no shipping damage; if there is, you’ll need to contact the company that delivered the welder.
There are several items that come with your welder. You will find a full selection of natural polypropylene plastic welding rods in a convenient organizer case, a selection of other plastic welding rods, your airless welding element and tips, and a nitrogen bottle regulator. Your nitrogen welder torch and hose assembly is detached from the welder. Inside the box you’ll find a Quick Start Guide which covers everything you’ll see in this video to help you set up and use your machine. Let’s unpack the box and get everything set up.
Place your welder on the workstation. On the backside, you will see two gas inputs; one for air and one for nitrogen. The air fitting has a quarter-inch NPT female thread, so screw in your shop’s quick-disconnect fitting here. The nitrogen side has a push-to-connect fitting designed for the quarter-inch flexible tubing that you will attach to your nitrogen tank regulator. Set your nitrogen tank nearby or plumb it to the location you’ll be installing the welder. Plug the tube into the inlet on the back of the welder.
Carefully attach the nitrogen welder hose to the welder by lining up the notches in each part. Don’t push the connector in—the pins are easily damaged. Use the threaded collar to pull the connector in. Put the nitrogen welder torch into the top holster. Note that this holster has a moveable base which will automatically switch the welder to nitrogen when you pick up the torch. Thread the flat, teardrop-shaped tip into the airless welder, plug it into the receptacle on the face of the welder, and put it into the lower holster.
Plug the power cord into the back of the welder and into a power receptacle. Plug your shop air into the fitting on the back of the welder.
Next, get the nitrogen tank set up. Inspect the tip of your nitrogen tank regulator to make sure it is clean and smooth. The conical face of the tip is what creates the seal to the tank valve, not the threads. Accordingly, do NOT use any Teflon thread tape on the regulator threads. Just screw it in by hand, then tighten firmly with a wrench after the tip makes contact. Unscrew the tee-handle until loose, then slowly crack the valve on the tank. The gauge closest to the tank shows the tank pressure. The other gauge shows the downstream or outlet pressure of the nitrogen. Turn the tee-handle to get about 25 psi of outlet pressure.
With the air line and nitrogen hooked up, you are now ready to use the welder. Please watch the rest of this video to learn how to use your welder for the first time.
Before you turn on your welder for the first time, please keep in mind the following safety precautions. First, use safety glasses whenever grinding or sanding plastic. Second, we’d recommend that you use mechanic’s gloves to protect yourself against accidentally touching hot components. Finally and most importantly, do NOT touch the metal barrels on either the nitrogen welder or the airless welder. They get VERY hot and can cause severe burns on contact. Be conscious of this hazard as you weld and try to prevent distractions from taking your mind off this point.
Your Polyvance welder has automatic low-flow heating element protection, but despite that, always get the air and nitrogen flowing through the torch before you turn on the heat. First, attach your shop’s compressed air line to the inlet on the back of the welder. Make sure your air is clean, dry, and free of oil. Oil and water in your compressed air will damage the welder’s internal components. If in doubt, install a filter-dryer at the wall where you plug in your welder.
We recommend that you plug your welder into a surge protector at the wall outlet. Power requirements in the United States are 120 volts single phase, or common household current. The welder will draw about 7 amps of current at maximum power, so make sure the circuit you plug it into will support that.
Turn on the welder’s main power switch. If the torch is in the holster, you will see the yellow light on the air side glowing. The LED temperature setting readouts will activate and show “OFF” at first. Leave them off until you set up the air and nitrogen flow.
With the torch in the holster, adjust the fine flow control on the air side to get the ball in the analog flow meter to float at about 12 liters per minute. As you can see, the ball is floating between the 10 and 15 marks here. Make sure you have air flowing through the tip of the torch.
To set up the nitrogen flow, open the nitrogen tank valve and inspect the upstream pressure gauge to make sure the tank is not empty. Then adjust the tee handle to about 25 psi on the downstream side.
Take the torch out of the holster to switch the welder to nitrogen. You should see the yellow light on the nitrogen side glow now. If the flow is too low, you’ll see the red “low” light glowing. Turn the fine flow control valve until the ball in the flow meter is floating at about 12 liters per minute. That is a good baseline flow setting for most bumper repairs. Again, verify that you have flow through the tip of the torch.
Put the torch back into the holster and the yellow light should switch back to the air side. Now turn on the heat by pushing the temperature control knobs one time. Both welders will show the preset temperature. From the factory, the nitrogen side is set at 52, which is a good setting for polypropylene, the most common automotive plastic. The temperature setting may be adjusted depending on material and flow. You should notice that the nitrogen flow coming out of the welder has begun to get hot. Allow about five minutes for the welder to reach its working temperature.
If the gas flow through the nitrogen welder is adequate, you’ll notice the green “safe” light blinking. It is normal for the light to blink. If you reduce the flow under 10 liters per minute, the red light should start to blink, indicating that the flow through the welder is too low. This helps protect the heating element from overheating. Increase the gas flow until the green “safe” light blinks again.
If everything seems to be functioning as described, you’ll be ready to perform your first weld. Please watch the next section of this instructional video to see how to perform a basic nitrogen weld. Before that, though, let’s take a look at how to properly shut down the welder. First turn off the main power switch. Close the valve on the nitrogen tank. Leave the compressed air on and flowing for about five minutes to cool down the heating element. Once the welder has cooled completely, disconnect the welder from the shop air supply and turn off the welder.
If you’ve never done a nitrogen plastic weld before, don’t be afraid to try it out. For safety’s sake, be aware that the barrels of both heating elements get extremely hot and may cause burns. Wear eye protection and temperature-resistant gloves for your safety.
Get a bumper out of your scrap pile. Clean both front and back with soap and water first and let it dry. Look on the backside of the part for the plastic ID symbol. These are usually two or three-letter designations molded into the backside. The letters are often shown between two arrows pointing toward them. Here, you can see the bumper says “PP-EPM”, which means the plastic is a mixture of polypropylene and synthetic rubber. Whenever you see the “PP” on the part, use the R02 polypropylene welding rod. Your welder comes with a selection of natural polypropylene rod in five different profiles. For fusion welding, always use the welding rod that matches the substrate. Do not use FiberFlex® welding rod with the nitrogen welder. This is a specialty welding rod for use with the airless plastic welder, which you can learn to use later. At this point, let’s concentrate on a simple nitrogen weld on a polypropylene bumper.
To practice a full bumper repair, cut the bumper at the bottom edge for a couple of inches with a pair of tin snips. Do your weld on the backside first with the R02-04 welding rod. Grind a shallow v-groove into the plastic on the backside with a die grinder about the width of the welding rod. In order to perform a good fusion weld, you have to expose the raw plastic, so grinding off any paint overspray is essential. To strengthen the repair, grind along the edge for about an inch on either side of the split so you can weld a reinforcing tee. Finally, apply aluminum tape to the outer surface of the tear to align the damage.
Normally you’ll weld from the inside toward the edge. Starting here, hold the welding rod close to the bumper and preheat the end of the rod and the bumper using the hot nitrogen gas. The bumper will start to look glossy and the end of the rod will start to melt. At this point, apply a slight downward pressure on the rod while continuing to focus the hot nitrogen gas at about a 45-degree angle where the two materials come together. The key to making a strong nitrogen weld is to melt both plastics at the same time. Note that the welding rod is held perpendicular to the surface while the welder torch is held very close to where the rod meets the bumper. The rod will roll down onto the bumper naturally as it gets to the right temperature as you hold a slight downward pressure on the rod, fusing the two plastics together as you make your pass.
When you get to the end, cut the welding rod by heating on the top and gently pulling straight off or down. Allow the weld to cool for a bit, then reinforce the repair by welding a tee along the edge using the same technique. Weld along the edge for about one inch on either side of the tear. Again, cut off the welding rod when you reach the end by heating the top and pulling straight or using the torch’s nozzle to cut the ribbon.
While the weld is hot, you can use the airless welder to smooth the weld if needed. Don’t flatten the weld completely, just dress the edges and smooth it.
Let the weld on the backside cool completely before you do anything on the frontside. Cooling can be accelerated by blowing compressed air or applying a wet towel on the weld. Once it’s cool, flip the bumper over and peel the aluminum tape off the frontside. On the front, use one of the narrower welding rods to keep the repair area as small as possible. For this repair, let’s use the R02-07 narrow ribbon. Grind a v-groove about the width of the welding rod halfway through the bumper, or until you see the welding rod from the other side become exposed. An optional step would be to feather the paint back from the v-groove with some sandpaper. Again, it’s important to weld only to raw plastic, not paint.
As before, direct the heat from the nitrogen welder at about a 45-degree angle to heat both the bumper and the end of the welding rod. After the plastics begin to melt, apply a slight downward pressure on the rod to begin your weld. Keep the welder’s heat focused where the rod and bumper come together, making sure to melt both plastics at the same time as you make your pass. If the v-groove is not filled with welding rod, make another welding pass until the v-groove is filled.
When that is done, use the airless welder to smooth the top of the weld. Lay the welder on the surface and pre-heat the welding rod with the nitrogen at the same time. Let the weld cool to room temperature before sanding or testing its strength. This can be accelerated by blowing it with compressed air or applying cold water.
Test the strength of your weld before you invest any time in the refinishing process. As you can see, this weld will be more than sufficient to carry this bumper to its next accident. Once you’re satisfied with the strength, sand the weld flush by knocking it down with a 50 grit disc in an angle grinder, then using 80 grit in a DA sander. Normally you’ll sand the repair slightly flush then apply a flexible filler to finish. Polyvance’s 2000 Flex Filler is an excellent choice, for its epoxy formulation gives it great flexibility and it is easy to sand and finish.
Congratulations on making your first plastic weld! Your welder comes with a QR code sheet which gives you instant access to Polyvance’s complete training video library. Please review some of the other welding techniques on the Polyvance website or on the Polyvance smartphone app. Polyvance has the industry’s most extensive plastic repair and refinishing training resources. If you are interested in taking one of Polyvance’s live, hands-on I-CAR Training Alliance courses, contact our training department by going to our website or calling our toll-free number.
Although your Polyvance plastic welder is the most fully featured in the industry, Polyvance offers other accessories to help make plastic repair faster, easier, and more profitable. Check out the “Accessories” brochure that came with your welder or go to the Polyvance website for the current offerings.
One of the most popular accessories is the 6146 Bumper Pliers kit, which helps make repairs to the rectangular mounting slot tabs much easier. The metal die inserted into the hole prevents melted welding rod from obscuring the hole, making the process easier and more accurate. After the plastic cools, you’ll simply have to finish the top and the edge for a complete repair.
A plastic stapler from Polyvance is a helpful complement to the plastic welder. Hot staples are great for holding headlight tabs in position or for tacking long tears together that are too much for the aluminum tape to hold by itself.
Polyvance offers a wide range of cutting burrs for both air die grinders and for electric Dremel tools. These burrs are designed for cutting plastic quickly so you can start welding as soon as possible. The carbide cutting burrs make quick work of your v-grooves, and the drum sanders for your Dremel tool are great for preparing and finishing mounting holes and headlight tabs.
Polyvance also makes refinishing materials like plastic cleaners, flexible fillers, adhesion promoters, high-build waterborne primer-surfacers, and specialty paints like our Flextex VT texture coating. Go to the Polyvance website to learn more about all the products that will make your plastic repair process easier and faster.
Polyvance is the only company in the industry focused exclusively on plastic repair and refinishing. We have the experience, products, and training resources to help you make better and more profitable plastic repairs. Thank you for allowing Polyvance to help you.
Rigorous quality checks are performed at the Polyvance factory to ensure the welders are fully functional and complete before they are packaged for shipping. However, if there is an unforeseen problem, we’ve included a troubleshooting section in the welder’s quick start guide to help you diagnose the issue.
If your welder won’t turn on, check that the power supply you have the welder plugged into is putting out 120 volts. Make sure your power strip is on. Make sure that all the cords are plugged in all the way. Finally, check the circuit breaker on the back of the welder. If your welder still won’t turn on, call Polyvance technical support.
If your nitrogen welder is not getting hot enough, check that your nitrogen flow is about 12 liters per minute and the temperature is set between 52 and 64. At this setting, it should get hot enough to gloss over polypropylene in three to five seconds. Normally if the welder is not getting hot enough, it’s because the flow is set too high and the temperature has not been increased accordingly.
If the nitrogen welder doesn’t get hot at all, but all of the lights on the welder are working and the green light is blinking, it’s most likely you have a burned-out heating element. Unplug the welder, then remove the heating element from the handle. Check the resistance of the element across the two pins – it should be about 26 ohms. If your multimeter shows open circuit, the element is burned out and needs to be replaced. If the element shows 26 ohms and still doesn’t get hot, call Polyvance for technical support.
If your airless welder does not get hot, check the resistance of the heating element using an ohmmeter across the two pins on the plug. It should read about 53 ohms. Again, if it reads open circuit, the ceramic heating core inside the airless element will need to be replaced.
For any other problems, call Polyvance at 800-633-3047 between 7 am and 4 pm Central time for immediate help. Since 1981, Polyvance has been committed to providing the best customer service and technical support possible with a live human being answering the phone to give you immediate assistance.
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