First off, its about time they made a forum about welding and fabrication. This should be a good forum that i probably well stay at more now.

Now my question is, i have a desent mig welder, Lincoln 100HD welder and i was wondering if its worth it to add Argon to it.

Now i heard Argon cools down the wire faster but is cooling it down really better? Or do i have that wrong and Argon makes it hotter, which would make more sense to me. TIA!

 

Argon take the place of oxygen, therefore reducing oxizidation

 

<TABLE WIDTH="90%" CELLSPACING=0 CELLPADDING=0 ALIGN=CENTER><TR><TD>Quote, originally posted by eLusive ek4 &raquo;</TD></TR><TR><TD CLASS="quote">Argon take the place of oxygen, therefore reducing oxizidation</TD></TR></TABLE>

Sorry but cant you explain that a little better. How does the welds come out with Argon over without? (i never took chem.)

 

I have never welded without argon to be honest. should come out a lot cleaner with less splatter

 

<TABLE WIDTH="90%" CELLSPACING=0 CELLPADDING=0 ALIGN=CENTER><TR><TD>Quote, originally posted by eLusive ek4 &raquo;</TD></TR><TR><TD CLASS="quote">I have never welded without argon to be honest. should come out a lot cleaner with less splatter</TD></TR></TABLE>

It will also help prevent the weld from balooning up or putting a hole through your metal.

 

The simple answer is; YES!!!

I use a mix of argon and co2.

The idea is that the welding occurs in a "bubble" of inert gas (at the welding tip). The welds are a lot cleaner than using flux core wire. (BTDT)

Wes

 

Thanks so far for the answers its helping me understand it a little better. If i wanted to make intercooler pipping and weld them together you guys would recommend using Argon gas for the cleaner look right?

Now my next question is where could i pick up Argon cheap, like maybe a 5 gallon bottle and just refill it if it dies out. Thanks.

Edit: Also can anyone show pics of non argon welds, argon and co2 welds on a mig? Just if you guys can just a butt weld or something quick, thanks.

 

weld with gas , its the only way to get a decent weld from a MIG.

and it shields the weld from the oxygen , it doesnt take the place of it...

C12 is the gas of choice , FYI.

 

Luserkid;

You will have to go to a welding supply shop to purchase the Argon or as I use, Argon/co2. You don't "refill" the tank (a less "mis-leading" term than "bottle"), you exchange it when it gets low. The cost isn't that much and I don't think shopping around would do much good.

Ask at the welding shop if they recommend straight Argon or a "mix".

Wes

 

<TABLE WIDTH="90%" CELLSPACING=0 CELLPADDING=0 ALIGN=CENTER><TR><TD>Quote, originally posted by Doctor CorteZ &raquo;</TD></TR><TR><TD CLASS="quote">weld with gas , its the only way to get a decent weld from a MIG.

and it shields the weld from the oxygen , it doesnt take the place of it...

C12 is the gas of choice , FYI.</TD></TR></TABLE>

If you really wanna get technical it does take the place of oxygen by displacing it therefore shiedling

 

Welding with gas is the way to go.
Metallic inert gas (MIG) welding, done right can come out almost as clean a TIG weld. Flux core welding, (without shielding gas) is less affected by wind, rust or other material containments. Flux core welders are wire fed just like a MIG welder, but <U>can</U> be as sloppy Stick welding. If you are going to weld parts for a vehicle that you may want to show definatly use 75%/25% mixed gas in your MIG. You can buy a bottle and have it refilled at your local welding supply shop, some places allow bottle rentals.

 

Sheilding gas is to shield the weld from airborn contaminants such as oxygen.

Point being: if your not using shelding gas, why are you welding?

Rich

 

Your choice on gas is also dependant on the metal you will be welding.

 

Im a newbie to welding, just picked it up and ran with out. Only spent about 4 hours on the machine. I use a 75% argon 25% co2 mix.

 

Run argon/c02 mixture when welding metals with Mig that require a higher amount of heat. The mixture allows for a hotter burn.

 

Yes, you want to use the gas. Do a simple test yourself. Weld a bead on some scrap without the gas, then make one with. The difference is night and day.