Flow meter on a welder, anybody use one?

I finally got a way to hook gas to my welder today. I was hoping for a regulator but ended up with a flow meter. My pops said the sales guy said this would make for a better and easier weld. Does anybody use one of these? Are they easy to set up and use? I haven't read the directions on mine yet, so I don't know.

 

We use them on the TIG's and MIGs both at our shop, but for field work we use Regulators. Some people have opinions about preference between the two, but I tend to set my gas by holding it up to my ear and listening.

One thing about flowmeters, its easier to figure out when they're screwed up...

 

Flow meaters are fine in most cases. Most of them have 3 different scales for different types of gas. If your running 75-25 or pure co2 start at about 12 cfh. You may want to increase or decreas depending on what your doing but not much. All welders fine tune the machine to sute there style of welding. Some like it hotter than others. It's a learned process. When all else failes read the instructions.
The Wizzard

 

I've found that flow meters do a better job of regulating the gas. At the low flow numbers used for some applications I don't trust pressure regulators.

Frank