Spot on mate, because the argon doesn't carry the arc well, it's wasted (as per my demo above).Quote:
Originally Posted by Ben-e-boy
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Spot on mate, because the argon doesn't carry the arc well, it's wasted (as per my demo above).Quote:
Originally Posted by Ben-e-boy
Yeah I saw that after I posted, i have 2 edits there too that you might have missed.Quote:
Originally Posted by bigguwesty
@GQtdauto, this are the photos of the MIG tip/tip holder/nozzle holder, close-up.Quote:
Originally Posted by GQtdauto
Haha.. see how I feel tonight lol. I've got a 44 gallon smoker I need to finish..Quote:
Originally Posted by Ben-e-boy
These are the photos of the fitting on the regulator that I had to swap over.
As you can see the original one(silver one) has no O ring.
I added pictures of the inside of the gas bottle fitting. It doesn't look like it's damaged.
If you undo that gas defuser (yellow bronze section) you'll find the mig liner (long coil looking thing) runs right up to the base of the conductor tip (Brown bit on the end with the wire coming out), so the gas holes may look blocked, but it's totally normal.Quote:
Originally Posted by dom14
Well being on the farken forum isn't going to get the smoker done.. chop chop :pQuote:
Originally Posted by bigguwesty
And while were on bottles (which look fine), you only need to crack the bottle open, not 100% like you did in your video.Quote:
Originally Posted by dom14
When on opening a bottle it's only ever 1/4 turn, 1/2 max if I'm feeling generous or bottle is getting empty..
The pressure these bottles are under you don't need much..
🤣🤣🤣Quote:
Originally Posted by Ben-e-boy
It's getting there..http://www.nissanpatrol.com.au/forum...017/11/203.jpg
Yeah, that is true. But, it won't make any difference even if I move slowly and keep the nozzle touched or almost touched. The welds come out bad regardless.Quote:
Originally Posted by GQtdauto
Ok, cool. I'll try with slightly open bottle, but from memory, the regulator pressure meter jumped all the way to 25Mpa from memory, even when I opened a little bit.Quote:
Originally Posted by bigguwesty
Ok, guys. This is the video I would really appreciate if you watch it & give me a verdict.
The first part is when the welder is turned off and the second part with the welder turned on, and with the same result.
Basically what I did is to open the bottle valve and then shut it allowing some gas to be trapped between the bottle valve & MIG nozzle.
The flow meter is fully opened. Now, instead of the dancing of the ball as in the previous video, the flow meter ball goes up to around 10L/m(the maximum flow rate that I've been able to get out of the flow meter so far, assuming it's accurate), and gradually drops without any dancing as the gas runs out.
https://youtu.be/CFr-xfYATOg
So, my question is,
Why the flow meter behaves normally(if you can call it normal) above but totally different when a constant pressure is applied by opening the bottle valve?
Bad regulator? and perhaps bad flow meter as well?
To make sense of what I'm talking about, here is the previous video with bottle valve fully opened.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=F1ur...ature=youtu.be
Saying video is not found sorry mate.Quote:
Originally Posted by dom14
So I do agree that the reg isn't brillant.
However the pulse of gas would be nil by the time it gets to the nozel.
Mine bounces a little but settles after a bit of consistent flow.
However.
If you can hear the flow and feel it on your cheek you have enough flow..
What size wire are you running??
Westy might be onto it , only open the gas bottle max half a turn not full , the first video is how it should behave second is abnormal mate and explains the crap weld but I'm still worried about the rapid torch movement .
Try it again only opening as Westy says quarter to half a turn .
Have you checked your email mate I sent you this info yesterday .
If you meant the bottle, it's size D.Quote:
Originally Posted by bigguwesty
The tip and the wire is 0.8mm.
What did you mean the video is not found? Not working on your end?
It seems ok from my end.
Thanx
Ok, cool. I'll give it another go now and see how it goes.Quote:
Originally Posted by GQtdauto
I'm wondering.
How is it possible for the gas to flow from the trigger at the nozzle when the welder is turned off, as in the first part of this video?
Is it normal?
I was thinking the gas valve in the MIG welder is activated electrically, when the trigger is pressed on the MIG gun.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=CFr-...ature=youtu.be
Yea video is not working.Quote:
Originally Posted by dom14
So .8 is the max that machine can handle.
For comparison my 180A mig is recommended to run .8
Thanx mate. I'll try a thinner wire(0.6mm?) then, and see how it goes.Quote:
Originally Posted by bigguwesty
BTW, opening the regulator slightly or running the bead slowly and steady won't make any difference, neither would doing it on a super clean
piece of steel.
Videos are working fine. Something's not right with your end, perhaps the youtube app in your phone may be playing up.
Thanx for the email mate, but I didn't check it. I'll check it shortly.Quote:
Originally Posted by GQtdauto
Gas shouldn't come out till you press the trigger (pre flow) then after you finish welding and release the trigger you still get gas coming out (post flow) these are fully adjustable on more expensive (better) welding machines .
Gas should only come out when trigger is pressed or for a short time after it's released .
Yeah, but this cheap MIG machine doesn't has those pre flow and post flow from what I can see mate.Quote:
Originally Posted by GQtdauto
I hope I'm wrong about that.
Even for the TIG machine I have, I would have to control pre-flow/post flow manually until I get the AC TIG unit that I'm planning to get soon.
So it's working on a quote but not on your original post lol..Quote:
Originally Posted by dom14
Anyway.
So Yea, reg ain't the best.
I'd suspect it's built for lesser pressure, that's why it's so far on your bottle gauge and skittish..
But, will that affect flow at the nozzel. Doubt it.
If you can hear it and feel it you have gas.
However by taking the lines on and off all the time you are filling them with oxygen, so purge the system by allowing gas to flow through, 10 seconds will be plenty..
Personally, get some black steel as the galv will have fully penetrated that stiff you have.
Grind it up clean.
Half wire speed (5) an and voltage set to max 1.
Adjust wire from there.
These cheap welders have a poor duty cycle so on max 2 you may only get 100m weld at a time before it stops..
Thanx mate.Quote:
Originally Posted by bigguwesty
Duty cycle is not an issue at this stage.
I guess as I progress, I will move onto a better machine, but my real focus is on TIG, particularly TIG AC.
I need MIG to handle more rugged work like the trailer cage that I've been building out of scrap, as I've made a mess of it by
doing most of it using the stick welder.
I can hear and feel the gas 100%, but just can't decode what I see on the flow meter.
I turned the below pictured(arrowed) screw on the regulator anti-clockwise using a spanner(which I haven't had a clue about as an adjuster of regulator pressure, but it appears that is the case), and the flow rate on the flow meter started moving higher than 10L/m with open hose. I'm yet to test it with the MIG welder as it got dark, so It's gonna have to be tomorrow morning or late arvo.
I think I was getting argon flow, but not strong enough for MIG to work at least a little bit. I reckon it was working with the TIG with low flow 'cos I used the smallest TIG torch with the smallest tungsten tip.
I'm pretty sure it's not the metal 'cos I did it on a clean piece of steel as well. I think as you described above, it is the low amp weak machine combined with too thick MIG wire to handle with argon.
I might have some luck with thinner MIG wire, but that means I need to buy the 0.6mm rollers as well, don't I?!
Yes you will but check the feed roller isn't double sided (two grooves) you may be lucky enough to have .8 and .6 grooves .
You also need smaller contact tips .
If what you did to the regulator gives you a steady flow try it all again with a weld .
Yep, I'll try tomorrow first thing and if I get reasonably ok weld beads with that, I don't need to spend money on MIG gas bottle that I don't have atm. :)Quote:
Originally Posted by GQtdauto
Of course, eventually I will need to get proper MIG gas mixture, but need to go easy with spending in the meantime. :)
I think the roller is 0.8 and 0.9 double grooved(That's the way it is with the gasless one).
To get it to roll 0.6mm wire, I need to swap both top and bottom rollers don't I??!!
Bugger about the rollers but I don't think they're too expensive , and yes if the flow is now stable worth trying again .
Meant to ask how much the gas cost .
tbh mate with the power level of this mig or more the lack there of you would be better off putting the time and effort into becoming better at stick welding and save the gas for your tig efforts if you need to weld real thin stuff. between practice and trying some different electrodes you will find a combo that works for you. ive successfully gone down to 1mm sheet with a stick before, yes it was slow and tedious but its doable. and the difference between a generic gp rods behavior and a nice low hydrogen rod is massive. you can get rods that will freeze up faster or be more liquid
the hard truth is that with a small hobby mig and pure argon your never going to get good results
It's D size. So it has 2 cubic metres of gas in it according to the label on it.Quote:
Originally Posted by GQtdauto
The empty bottle is $200 which I can recover when I return the bottle to Bunnings.
The gas is $99. It's the same price for both pure argon & argon/co2 mix.
The same size refill is $69 at Gasweld Dandenong, but they charge too much for the bottle & the bottle
can't be returned. So, Bunnings has the best deal overall.
I'm ok with the cost of the gas 'cos I won't be using much of it as a hobbyist, but the bottle cost is too
much from Gasweld or Total Tools for me to own it.
I think the either the rent or outright owning it, the price tag on the empty bottle is a rip off.
They aren't worth anywhere near that in terms of their manufacturing cost.
A mate of mine picked up a large E size bottle(a spotless one) from the side of the road near Sydney and
brought it home & was planning to get it stamped. The only issue is all these companies won't accept bottles
other than their own. It is a well organized rip off I reckon, be it a rental or buying a bottle from them.
What Bunnings is doing is a good thing I reckon. Their $200 deposit system is a quite fair, 'cos Gasweld charged
around $270 for the D size empty bottle that we can't return to get the money back.
P.S.
It appears Gasweld has revised their prices in last few days or so.??!!
Here their D size argon refill is $97 now.
I was sure it was $69 few days ago.
This means their empty bottle is $225 now.
http://www.gasweld.com.au/speed-gas-...ly-gas-d-argon
http://www.gasweld.com.au/speed-gas-...as-argon-d-kit
Yeah, I agree with you 100% mate. It is only temporary thing for me to use(or rather try to use) argon with my el cheapo MIG unit.Quote:
Originally Posted by billyj
I am focusing on TIG and particularly TIG AC as I progress.
I did an OK job with the stick welder on the trailer cage and other projects and yes I did learn to weld really thin sheet metal with the
stick welder by managing heat and adjusting the amp, and yet it is time consuming and somewhat noisy comparing to MIG or TIG, but far
lot cheaper than MIG or TIG. :)
Basically, I built the cage with a $10 pack of welding sticks & some electricity and some time.
Time was the most concern 'cos I had to take time with scraping off the slag.
But, couldn't have been any quicker with MIG and TIG 'cos the scrap I used had to be wirebrushed regardless of that.
And the stick welder came really handy on bits where I couldn't be bothered to wirebrush. :)
It's the burning toxic gases of paint and gal I need to worry about, so I did my best to wear a hanky around my face as much as I can. :D
Stick welding is necessary one way or the other when building a trailer or trailer cage I believe.
Believe it or not, I patched up a 0.5mm thin sheet metal muffler using the stick welder. :D
Don't ask me how I managed that, I have no memory of it. :D
well free tip no1, go grab a box of wia or esab 16tc rods 7016, they run alot nicer than cheap gp rods which are probly a 6013 and you can clearly see the slag sitting on top of the weld as your laying it makes it slot easier to lay a nice weld without getting any slag inclusions
even brand name gp rods like cig's satincraft rods are a big improvement over bunnings home brand rods
I've had some dearer Cigweld sticks but lost them somewhere in the garage, and only found them yesterday.Quote:
Originally Posted by billyj
I could've done a better job with my bad looking stick weld beads had I have it in time. :)
Yeah, there are some specialized welding sticks that can do amazing work including thin sheet metal.
I once saw a guy welded two shaving blades together perfectly using a stick welder and a special sticks.
Thanx for the tip. I'm not well versed with different types welding sticks and their code names. 6013 is the one I'm familiar with and
have been using, most of the time.
Cheers
The movable top roller is cheap, but I'm not sure about the other one 'cos it may come as a unit.Quote:
Originally Posted by GQtdauto
I'll have to check with Bunnings or BOC.
Should only need the roller with the grooves , well all the migs I've seen not sure about cheaper units but can't see them being any different .Quote:
Originally Posted by dom14
Yeah mate, you're right, I was reading the manual wrong. It will be cheap.Quote:
Originally Posted by GQtdauto
I haven't given up on doing MIG with my el cheapo machine with argon yet! :)
@billyjQuote:
Originally Posted by billyj
Is this the same one? or a cheaper one with the same number?
http://www.ebay.com.au/itm/2-6mm-Sti...oAAOSwwxlZkYUv
Hey Guys,
Which regulator should I go for out of these two?
One is Trade Flame brand and the other is Cigweld.
Cigweld one seems to be covering slightly more flow rate & slightly more pressure from the bottle as well.
Also the Cigweld one has the flowmeter on left(kinda intuitive to me 'cos flowmeter comes after the pressure gauge).
They both are the same price.
Trade flame's from Bunnings, & the Cigweld is from Total Tools.
I'll have to return one of them.
Thanx in advance for any advice or opinions.
Cheers
This is the best I've got so far with argon. This is after wirebrushing it with angle grinder wire brush, so all the soot circles around the welds have been removed. It was with various flow rates(from 5L/m to 20 or so)
Next try will be with gasless wire with argon. :)
cant say ive ever seen that brand before if i was going to bet id reckon there probly a chinese copy of a good rodQuote:
Originally Posted by dom14
you do know that when going from gas to gasless and vise versa that you need to switch the polarity on the welderQuote:
Originally Posted by dom14