TannerS14

I'm building what will be my 4th sheet metal plenum. I have an htp 221. I can weld runners without much problem, what I want is the cleaner weld on the cast runners, and to not have to wait for the puddle.

What is the best approach for this setup? I need this plennum done by thurs, I can weld it with argon, but would prefer to get my setup going anyways as i will be welding an intercooler core for my car soon. Air gas will take a week to get it and does not have a good selection of mixtures.

That being said, I'd love to see pics of y'all's setups. If anyone knows of a fitting kit for a standard helium tank that'd be cool. is it literally as strait forward as snagging another regulator and using cfm to determine your mixture percentage?

EGJDM

A lot of local welding suppliers stock pre mixed helium argon mixes. The one I have used is a 50/50 mix. I just use my regular argon regulator all though you have to run more cfm because the helium is lighter.

all_motor_mike

argon works fine on cast aluminum

mike

onefstek

Usually I only use helium/argon mix only when my welder will not produce a puddle due to the thickness of the material. Other than that I use 100% argon on all aluminum.

Stefan

TannerS14

Here's a guy on ka-t that welded 65helium 35 argon.

Here's his comments on his prep and HE setup. "To minimize porosity, I recommend preheating your workpiece,running the weld hot(but don't overcook it!), moving at a slow to steady pace to give it time to burn out the contaminants, and use just enough filler rod to meet your visual/dimensional requirements. The He/Ar mix gas helds tremendously also."

Mike- what if im looking for better than fine? I know you can weld it with argon.. as i've said, ive done a few manifolds and welded to plenty of castings. Hopefully your comment is coming from your first hand experience with HE mixes. Irregardless, my question was not, which is better He Ar on aluminum or strait AR??? It was specifically about He setups.

Unfortunately im just going to have to deal with strait argon on this intake mani, there is a helium shortage. One of the welding places around me isnt taking anymore customers for HE, air gas will take over a week to get a tank. I will most likely just T two regulators together and keep my a full 160 of just helium as i now have 3 160's. Thought maybe there was a fitting to use a standard balloon tank etc but havent found much and wouldnt want that small of amount anyways. Tried to delete thread a while ago to no avail. Thanks for the advice guys.

frostyrb

i weld in areospace. i use helium alot. i use around/ a bit less then 5cfm of helium and 15cfm of argon. separate bottles with a splitter. helium is nice cause it starts your puddle a ton quicker, but it also seems to create a dirtier puddle. it has its pros and cons. i use it when i think i need it. i have never used it on cast, nor do i think i would.

all_motor_mike

these are all straight argon cast to billet welds.....













mike

aroddpr

Nice welds all motor mike!

TannerS14

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I can weld to cast with argon too... New cast is significantly easier, which some of those do look like new castings. Old carbon ridden and oil soaked castings are a diff animal.

Again lol, i did not say "omg its impossible to weld cast without helium argon". You're attempting to prove that it has no benefits by posting your lack of experience with HE..

I am not trying to insult you at all, but trust me, i understand you can weld cast with argon. My prep in order to achieve even the mediocrity i posted was a retarded process, i am looking to improve upon that and try something new as well as take advantage of the extra heat.

EGJDM

Helium is not gonna make a cleaner weld on old cast really. The reason most are using the helium mix is to extend a under powered machine. Like say you have a syncrowave 200 which is rated to 1/4" aluminum the helium mix is a lot hotter and will allow you to weld closer to 1/2".

all_motor_mike

well if u notice my argon cast aluminum welds look a little better then urs.... basically what im getting at is its not the gas..... its the person welding it or possibly the machine, hope that helps.



mike

TannerS14

Cool story about you bein better, you clearly win the competition I was holding in this thread. And dudes welds on the cast runners I posted are better than yours with helium, so I really don't get why you're all bashing it and everyone is saying it dosnt weld clean. You act like I'm some 13 year old kid buyin a 2000 dollar guitar when he can't hold a tune. I just wanted to show you I could play, not tryna play into your complex.. That was with my diversion 165 2 years ago with 6 months experience, good job topping that hoss.

Either way, help me improve on my cast then, regardless of internetz advice, every machine does not react the same to different materials, and I'm gonna still try it. Why anyone would be opposed to experimenting with different methodologies I'll never understand. Are you on a newer miller machine? Apparently performance on aluminum with those is spot on.

Here's a few shots of the runner welds I did the other night. Still didnt turn out quite how I wanted, 3 was contaminated cause I over cooked it, which I think was a large problem of mine from before. As I usually like to go hit a dip fast. The 221 actually has plenty of heat to do it tho, was backing off the pedal most of the, and once I figured that out it welded ok besides me dipping.

150hz, 65% balance (htp measures cleaning inverse of most I think). Tried 80 but it would get contaminated. Seemed to perform better at the lower frequency for sure.




Like I said. Kinda overcooked a few of em. But I learned a lot, advice is def welcome from cast master flex.

Here's the port, I really wanna start porting with a router, this takes a while and isn't too uniform.

type-r-heart

We use a 75 argon 25 helium mix what may help you with the grain look is pre heat the part to around 325 and run your tungsten out around 1/8 inch.... Helped us a little bit!

Tyconway

which welder do you have? I still can't get good looking beads on aluminum

all_motor_mike

i have a invertec 205


tanner back the hertz down to 100 and set the balance 55-58..... thats about where the cast runners to plenum floor welds i posted above were done at. and the first pics u posted of the other guys work... it just looks like he was dipping alot and using alot of gas coverage with good prep.


mike