 MIG welding gas, What do you use? |
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| obscurity |
 Apr 8 2007, 07:46 PM
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#1
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Member  Group: Members Posts: 411 Joined: 24-February 06 From: Atlanta ,GA Member No.: 5,628 Region Association: South East States  |
I did a search but didn't find much. What gas are you using for your MIG welder? 100% CO2, CO2/argon, or 100% Argon?
Just Curious, John W. |
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| skline |
Apr 8 2007, 07:49 PM
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#2
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Born to Drive Group: Members Posts: 7,910 Joined: 26-December 02 From: Costa Mesa, CA Member No.: 17 Region Association: Southern California |
You could either have Aaron come over and fart around the welds (IMG:style_emoticons/default/av-943.gif) or use the most common C02/argon mix which should be available from Airco or one of your local welding supply houses.
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| JPB |
Apr 8 2007, 07:50 PM
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#3
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The Crimson Rocket smiles in your general direction. Group: Members Posts: 2,927 Joined: 12-November 05 From: Tapmahamock, Va. Member No.: 5,107 |
When all else fails or when in dought, us straight argon brother. Any weld supply place will answer any of your technical questions though. (IMG:style_emoticons/default/beer.gif)
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| PRS914-6 |
Apr 8 2007, 07:55 PM
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#4
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Excellence Magazine Project 914 3.6 Group: Retired Members Posts: 1,278 Joined: 20-May 06 From: Central California Member No.: 6,031 Region Association: None  |
QUOTE(obscurity @ Apr 8 2007, 06:46 PM)  I did a search but didn't find much. What gas are you using for your MIG welder? 100% CO2, CO2/argon, or 100% Argon? Just Curious, John W. What I use.... Thick metals with more penetration (not as pretty) use straight CO2 Fabricating and thinner metals (better looking welds) use CO2/Argon mix YMMV |
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| Aaron Cox |
Apr 8 2007, 07:58 PM
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#5
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Professional Lawn Dart Group: Retired Admin Posts: 24,541 Joined: 1-February 03 From: OC Member No.: 219 Region Association: Southern California |
50/50 fart / argon mix as skline mentioned (IMG:style_emoticons/default/rolleyes.gif) (IMG:style_emoticons/default/laugh.gif)
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| LS6/914 |
Apr 8 2007, 08:27 PM
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#6
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Never leaves the shop member Group: Members Posts: 301 Joined: 1-October 03 From: Port Townsend,WA Rivabelosa/Madrid ESP Member No.: 1,215 Region Association: Pacific Northwest |
Mild steel, 75% Argon / 25% CO2. Aluminum, 100% Argon... (IMG:style_emoticons/default/welder.gif) Larry
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| BigD9146gt |
Apr 8 2007, 09:03 PM
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#7
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OCD member Group: Members Posts: 376 Joined: 24-January 05 From: Sydney, Australia Member No.: 3,502 Region Association: Australia and New Zealand |
FWIW, the gas mix Argon and CO2 reasoning is 75%/25% because Argon excels with purity of the weld and the CO2 excels with the penetration of the weld. Aluminum needs purity so Argon&Helium are the ideal gases. Steel isn't as picky and benefits from the CO2 mix for strength.
Cheers, Don. |
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| nebreitling |
Apr 8 2007, 09:14 PM
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#8
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Member Emeritus Group: Members Posts: 3,314 Joined: 26-March 03 From: San Francisco Member No.: 478 |
if you're cheap, use straight CO2. it costs nothing. 75/25 mix is more workable and pretty. I much prefer the latter.
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| John |
Apr 8 2007, 09:22 PM
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#9
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member? what's a member? Group: Members Posts: 3,393 Joined: 30-January 04 From: Evansville, IN (SIRPCA) Member No.: 1,615 Region Association: None |
QUOTE(obscurity @ Apr 8 2007, 05:46 PM) I did a search but didn't find much. What gas are you using for your MIG welder? 100% CO2, CO2/argon, or 100% Argon? Just Curious, John W. For steel, I prefer the 75/25 ARGON/CO2 mix. You can go CO2, but your welds may not be as clean looking. I feel that the Argon helps with less than ideal welding conditions. For Aluminum TIG, I think our shop uses Helium. just my $0.02 |
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| TravisNeff |
Apr 8 2007, 09:37 PM
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#10
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914 Guru Group: Members Posts: 5,082 Joined: 20-March 03 From: Mesa, AZ Member No.: 447 Region Association: Southwest Region 
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75/25 Argon/CO2 Mix
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| Andyrew |
Apr 8 2007, 09:59 PM
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#11
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Spooling.... Please wait Group: Members Posts: 13,376 Joined: 20-January 03 From: Riverbank, Ca Member No.: 172 Region Association: Northern California
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helistar I do believe its called.. but its 75/25..
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| Maltese Falcon |
Apr 8 2007, 10:33 PM
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#12
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Advanced Member Group: Members Posts: 4,701 Joined: 14-September 04 From: Mulholland SoCal Member No.: 2,755 Region Association: None |
75/25 aka "Steel Mix"
marty |
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| bperry |
Apr 8 2007, 10:50 PM
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#13
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Lurker Group: Members Posts: 477 Joined: 16-February 04 From: Dallas, Tx Member No.: 1,661 |
I use 100% CO2 but then I only weld steel and my welder (Miller Passport)
was specifically designed for using CO2 in paint ball cylinders. It is inverter based and is a self contained 50 lb suitcase. One 12 oz paint ball cylinder is good for over 45 minutes of trigger time, which is quite a bit of welding and costs about $2.00 to fill. --- bill |
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| LvSteveH |
Apr 9 2007, 02:02 AM
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#14
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I put the Poor in Porsche Group: Members Posts: 1,080 Joined: 22-April 03 From: Las Vegas, Nevada Member No.: 600 |
Good advice so far. A few other points of interest:
CO2 is stored as a liquid, and will last much much longer than an equivalent cylinder of 75/25 shop mix which is stored as a gas. The cylinders are not compatible. As noted, CO2 will typically give more penetration. I agree that 75/25 is a little cleaner, but you can make very nice welds with either of them. It really depends on what you are doing. For most automotive fabrication which is typically thinner material with less deposition, I'd go with the 75/25. If money is tight, then there's no shame in using CO2, it's perfectly acceptable. Some guys will actually refuse to run CO2 which I just don't get. A good welder can make great welds with either gas, and a bad welder is just as likely to make bad welds with either of them. I actually have a bottle of each. I generally use the 75/25, but if I run low, the CO2 is always there and it seems to last forever. I can guarantee that even an expert would be hard pressed to tell the finished welds apart. The characteristics are a little different, but once you adjust for them, it's business as usual. Good preparation, free of paint, oil, undercoating, and rust will make much more of a difference than the type of gas. The extra time it takes to get down to nice clean metal is worth the effort. |
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