Print

Please login or register.
1 Hour 1 Day 1 Week 1 Month Forever
Login with username, password and session length

[malichite]

I have been running straight argon on my HF tig for stainless and it has been working good.  My bottle is just about empty and I am picking up a Syncro200 as soon as Uncle Sam drops my tax return in my account.  Should I stick with straight Argon or look at a mix?  I want something that I can do stainless and aluminum with.  What do you guys run?

[t_cel_t]

strait argon

[malichite]

Cool, I will just keep it the same then.  Awesome!!! ;D  God damn I can't wait to get this new fucking tig.

[civiceggturbo]

straight argon for steel/stainless
helium and argon for ac aluminum 1 bottle for each
straight helium for dc aluminum

[malichite]

straight argon for steel/stainless
helium and argon for ac aluminum 1 bottle for each
straight helium for dc aluminum

What mix do you run for helium and argon?  What difference does the helium make?

[civiceggturbo]

i think my welder at work is 17 cfh helium and 14 cfh argon, two seperate bottles with lines connected to a Y, helium makes a huge difference because it heats up the metal faster

[PhilStubbs]

anyone using argon/co2 for mild steel with a tig? i got the bottle when i only had a mig, since i got my tig, i just kept using it. i wonder if my welds would be better with straight argon

[turbob16hatch]

Just use straight argon.

[PhilStubbs]

i use them both quite a bit so rather than switching the bottle back and forth, i think i might just get straight argon for the tig. then no more switching

[t_cel_t]

in school we welded ac with strait argon and then strait helium and i didnt see any difference

[turbob16hatch]

in school we welded ac with strait argon and then strait helium and i didnt see any difference

I haven't used helium het, but i would think it would help on real thick AL jobs.

[t_cel_t]

well apparently becuase its lighter then air it is really good for doing inverted welds

[malichite]

well apparently becuase its lighter then air it is really good for doing inverted welds

Shit, never really thought about it that way.  Would probably suck for doing the inside of a collector where you hope it pools in the bottom.

[Toysrme]

Don't use Argon/co2 mix. That's for spray & pulse transfer mig. Using it with TIG will introduce impurities into the weld and will cross contaminate your tungsten into the weld also.

Helium is used for aluminum when you MUST have a hotter arc, but can't get a hotter welder, or increase your penetration without increasing your bead size & heat affected zone. It is expencive. Not only is it outright more expencive, but requires a significantly higher flow rate because of how much faster the helium disperses (even in overhead welding, tho it will build up in pockets once run). It is harder to light/maintain your arc, generally provides no benefit to the weld beyond 1/3 more heat input.

Stick with argon. With tig its a smooth running gas, good starting & cheap.


Helium has little benefit AFA applications that you will run into car wise. You will never find yourself needing helium.

[jundoc]

straight argon for steel/stainless
helium and argon for ac aluminum 1 bottle for each
straight helium for dc aluminum

x2

[90turboteg]

ya i use straight argon 90% of the time on basic alum and steel work on engines, when im doing aluminum work like a crack in between seats or seat to a water jacket i burr down into the head, heat it in our oven for a few hours then turn the argon off and switch to 75%argon/25% helium mix. makes a huge difference in penetration. i don't need to use nearly as many amps to do the job. the preheat helps alot also. i also run a y setup but we still only run mixed helium/argon, helium is way to dam expensive. i noticed that there is less contamination, but the new aluminum acid cleaner helps alot.... you run into some nasty shit fixing core motors