Has anyone ever used this stuff?

http://www.aptuned.com/18960

Seems a handy thing to have in the garage.. or is another one of these products that promise everything and doesnt last.

 

seems legit, especially being from Vibrant, but the only alternative to welding, is infact welding. at only 300*, its not going to penetrate the metal. this is the same basic principle as soldering, sweating pipe, or led filling. could this work as a quick fix to repair something while in a bind, sure, but i wouldn't rely on this as a long term fix. the $100 you would spend on this wire, you could possibly spend half of that to have whatever it is repaired properly by a welder

this is def. better than things like JB weld, but nothing can really hold up like a real weld will

 

I did many many tests on the Fuse Wire b4 its release. It will hold 1800 PSI on Vibrant aluminum pipe fused to aluminum vbands (pipe burst first). Its holding power is 13,000psi on fused aluminum block (shear load).

It does actually penetrate into the aluminum, and its travel ratio is ~6:1. This means with one 10" stick you could easily complete the joints in a whole IC pipe kit for most Hondas (B-Series EG etc etc).

I've filled gaps/tears permanently in Moroso oil pans with this product. It can save you from having a short lived track day.

 

How much heat can the joints take after they are fused? I.e. could an aluminum exhaust be fabricated with this technology?

 

stuff like this has been around for years. This is brazing, not welding. I have no personal experience but I've seen as many good reviews as bad

http://durafix.com/
http://www.weld-aluminum.com/
http://www.jalopyjournal.com/forum/s...d.php?t=526243

 

It melts at 720F. It can be applied with a MAT gas or butane torch to most items that don't have a ton of mass.

Compared to other items out on the market... this is much more flexible before application and goes on much easier once everything is to tempurature.

 

so you're saying that theoretically i could build an intake manifold with this stuff?

 

Yes.

 

hmmm. I might have to pick some of this stuff up for giggles and try it.

 

Thought I'd chime in since I've tried this stuff before.

I never did really get much success with it, as you need A LOT of heat to get the aluminum hot enough to let the braze flow.

I would get some patches with a decent braze, but some seemed super stubborn on getting any sort of adhesion (probably heat again). 16 Ga aluminum pipes with 2 MAPP gas torches (handheld) was extremely borderline. Essentially you're going to run right up to the melting point of the aluminum to get things to flow nicely, and most the videos you see are people using an oxy-acetylene torch and a lot of experience to keep from melting the aluminum they're using.

There's absolutely no way you're going to make an intake manifold with this stuff in my experience. Maybe with a big oxy-acetylene torch, but even then I've got my doubts.

I vote - forget it.