i am trying to weld some 1/8 aluminum. just trying to run a bead and i am having major problems. practicing before doing my intercooler piping

heres the deal. i have been trained on a dynasty 350 and was laying perfect dimes the first time i got on.

well i am using my home welder a miller econotig 180 amps i think or 200
i have it set up and cleaned the aluminum with a brush and acetone pretty well till it got shiny. i didnt have to clean aluminum on the dynasty.

using 4043 rod, machine is always set at max amps but i prob run 100-150 amps. argon at 30cfm
forget the tungsten size. grey 2% ceriated. also used red 2% thoriated. both with no luck. maybe i should try green. i used my same setup as the one on the dynasty same cup/tungsten/collot body/back cap. everything was the same but the machine

heres the situation
heat the aluminum try to get a flow. once i try to dip the filler it ***** alway like the alum is contaminated or something. i can run a shitty bead without filler but wtf. if i turn the amps to 200 it will run a bead but the bead will be contaminated like crazy and dirty not shiny. forogt to mention the aluminum gets a hammered effect when i try to weld it or run an arc across it

 

I would start by turning down the gas flow to half that. Its probably creating some turbulence and not shielding. The filler will ball up if you dont just shove it into the puddle and if its too close to the arc.

 

Subscribed.

Is it possible to explain a little more about "too close to the arc"?

 

First off ONLY use the green tungsten for aluminum nothing else, the machine must be set for AC current turn your heat down to like 100amps untill u get the hang of the peddle and your puddle .... Best way to explain the " too close to the arc " is when u start in on the peddle be about an inch from the work and stay in on your heat untill it starts a little glass puddle then u will be on the right track. Learn on a flat peice ,first puddle move puddle move puddle move or whatever repetition u wanna use, post some pics of what u got so far !!

 

ok cool. will practice today

will buy the green soon then. yes its set to ac. i dont think amperage is a problem. i can control everyhting with the pedal. will post pics
i always wait till i see the puddle and then i try to dip the filler maybe you guys are right im dipping the filler into the arc and not the piece lol

 

I disagree with a couple things here.

1. He doesnt have to use green tungsten only. Infact, red will be alot more durable and more resistant to contamination. Now I'm sure youll say something like "thats whats recommended" or something, but I weld 40 hours a week at work with red tungsten and its great. I might resharpen once a day.

2. No reason for him to turn it down to 100amps. First off, he will just get irritated because it will take forever to get the puddle fluid enough to fun a decent bead, and second, he already knows how to weld so he doesnt need to get a feel for anything.


what I would do for 1/8": 150amps, 15cfm argon MAX, 3/32 red tungsten.

What size filler are you using? 1/16" or 3/32" is fine. Also, JAM THE FILLER IN. if you dont push enough in, your weld is going to be dull regardless.

Just my .02

 

I looked up the econotig and it's only rated for 150 amps. My first suggestion would be to get some pictures so we can all see. Second, dont buy green tungsten just stick with the Ceriated. If you contaminate the tungsten even once, resharpen.

Are you welding inside or outside? Is there wind draft where you weld? If your in a area with no draft turn your regulator down to 15-20cfm. To much cfm your just wasting gas and can cause turbulence.

 

Watching this thread. If your aluminum is that clean and it's just going turning into garbage, there is definitely a problem with shielding. I once had a REALLY weird problem with a tungsten. I must have spent like half the morning trying to figure it out. Finally, I swapped out the tungsten for a new one and that solved it. I still can't explain that one. The problematic tungsten was clean as a whistle, but it just wouldn't work. It's almost as if the positive cycles of the AC wave were not contacting, whatever, it was weird. Otherwise, as mentioned, check your gas flow, and make sure there is no air contamination in your lines.

Sorry if this sounds stupid, but you're running pure argon right?

 

machine might be a little light also... among everything else mentioned, if you just cant get it to flow then maybe try a argon/helium mix.

 

1/8" 6061t5 aluminum - econotig

 

i work at a sheetmetal fab shop but i don't weld. my father-n-law welds with a lincoln squarewave 275, 1/8" aluminum he usually runs about 120 working the pedal. also uses red tungsten, 3/32 filler, a special cup that doesn't reduce down at the tip of the tungsten. he also ***** up the end of his tungsten on a piece of copper first.

again sorry i'm a newb. i don't know the all the terminology for welding. going to try and tackle this myself in a couple of months. g/l

 

Watch your torch angle too, you should be about 80ish degrees. I had a short problem with melting the filler before I got to the weld pool because of that.

 

Purty! Did you have it turned all the way up to do that? (legendboy)

SovXietday, are you saying you were laying the torch down too flat?

 

^Yessir. Aluminum rod melts very easily and very fast, I noticed when I had too much torch angle (<50 degrees or so) I was melting the rod before I could get it to the puddle.

 

although rare, bad argon is possible. a few weeks ago at work, I swapped out tanks first thing in the morning because i nearly ranit dry the day before. The welds were coming out TERRIBLE. I didnt change any settings so I was stumped. swapped another tank, same problem. Then im thinking did I forget how to weld? lol. Tried one more tank, same problem. Then we tried one of the tanks on the other machine, same thing. THEN, I put the tank that was initially on the other machine, onto my machine. Bam problem solved. Apparently they sent us an entire lot of bad argon, wasted like 3 hours trying to figure it out.

 

I stay nearly straight up and down, maybe a 15 degree angle

 

ill check my stuff today will try diff torch angles and maybe even get new gas. that's the first thing i said to my friend. the gas has to be bad because aluminum is pretty easy to weld.

e-rok thankyou for the tips
i really cant weld though lol im a beginner. just started like last year or so. i love welding aluminum. sat in our shop for hours on one seat and must have went through 50 rods in 3 hours

 

sorry slowreaction is right. econotig is a max 165 amp machine

i always use 3/32 filler my tungsten are 3/32 also
i had red/green/grey
both had same effect. green doesnt like heat though
changed cfm to what you guys said 10-20 min-max. i was told alum needs higher gas flow?
i am welding in my garage. and if it makes a difference the garage is usually very cold even with the heater maybe 40 degrees
welded some stuff and played with some ss tubing
here are my welds
i didnt have a clean sheet of aluminum so went over previous welds

the center one cleaned with a brush looked dirty when not brushed. why is that?

my first attempt days ago on this machine



my first time welding ss. buddy had a bought a ton of ss sch10 tubing so im putting it to use. he tried to weld but failed if anyone want to see the most epic thread click below
http://www.realhomemadeturbo.com/for...?topic=13843.0



i have a long ways to go but the ss turns out pretty good for me at least but alum looks ****
the ss should show the gas is good right?

 

also need to know what is stronger flat welds or welds that bulge out. or caved in. how do i know my welds will penetrate. more heat and move faster or less heat move slower


also showing i can weld alum. shitty but still clean

 

I'm no skilled welder, to say the least, but I'd be proud of those welds on the stainless tube, and also those last aluminum welds. Nice!

 

for the stainless pipe try to play with the heat on the machine and get it rights then you can flat peddle it will help on your weld consistancy the aluminum stuff looks good to me but remember is you dip then clean the tungsten and restart

 

yeah but compared to some of the welders on here its garbage. im still practicing.

yeah thats true. my pedal sucks. i cant gently let of pedal. it has no spring lol so its on off and the craters make it all inconsistent.
how should i clean the tungsten i just grind it on the bench grinder. should i brush it after i grind it with some acetone maybe

 

You need to clean your aluminum better, that's for sure. I don't even know how you're welding that and having it come out half decent. Dedicated stainless steel brush is your best friend!

For tungsten I just grind it and quick wipe it with a towel with some acetone on it. It will usually last me until I n00b dip a little later lol.

Stainless stuff looks pretty good though. Much better than mine, I find it frustrating how hard it is to get a good bead going with steel. Filler rod melts so slow!

 

i have cleaned it
when i run a bead with no filler it comes clean but once i add filler it gets blackish on the surface and looks ****

 

Wipe down your filler rod with acetone too, that helps!