Gasless Mig welding.

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Hello all, I have a SIP Mig welder not the best but does the job.

In the past I used Argoshield from BOC, but their £80 a year bottle rental made it too expensive for my limited use so took the bottle back, the little bottles (Halfords etc) seem poor value.

Was mulling over trying gasless wire and modifying the Mig to suit, I've never used gasless wire before and was wondering if anybody on here has and what were the results like?.

The welds will be mainly under the car, dressed and smoothed where needed.

Any input appreciated.
 
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Only my opinion Keith but I'd stick with the genuine MIG....consider the likes of Hobbyweld (and others) for very reasonable cylinder supply.
For small tasks I use the throwaway canisters from Machine Mart but I also have a cylinder of BOC Argoshield (slightly warm) and when that goes its Hobbyweld for me.
I prefer an argon / CO2 mix of 80% 20% rather than pure argon - suits me better. If there's any wind I turn up the gas pressure and keep the wire moving fast.
Gasless MIG is ok for thicker stuff but I don't go near thin stuff with it - but my experience is rather limited! Stopping and starting wasn't nearly so easy compared with the gas MIG.
John :)
 
Cheers John, some food for thought.

Will have a look at Hobbyweld as well!.

Have you ever tried straight CO2?.
 
I have used the straight CO2 cylinders, but for me an argon mix seemed to work better - but I'm not really experienced enough to comment on why!
So long as the weld is shielded from the air should have the desired effect, I think. I find the argon mix deals with rust spots and other contamination a little better than CO2 but that could be a wild coincidence.
I have found though, the disposable cylinders do seem to leak a little.....some of mine were over a year old and when I tried to use them, there was nowt in :eek:
John :)
 
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Turns out I know the local Hobbyweld stockist through work so will give him a ring on Tuesday.

Take it there's no bottle rental involved with Hobbyweld?, can handle a deposit but not going down the rental route again!.
 
Yep , you pay a deposit - around £60 I believe - and that's it. Hobbyweld often comes from Calor outlets, motor factors may use other suppliers.
John :)
 
I went 'gas less' with my MIG some time ago, the main reason is that I used it mostly out of doors and the wind tends to blow the gas away which doesn't give a good weld. I don't use it very often, I use my very old stick welder for most jobs but the MIG is useful for smaller jobs.

Peter
 
Had a chat when he came in, £65 deposit and £38 for a 10l bottle of Argoshield.

I'll be weling outside most of the time as well thats why I was thinking gasless wire.

Suppose I could try a small reel and see how it goes (think I need to change the polarity of the torch but will look into it.).
 
What else would be involved, Keith? A nozzle change at least, just wondering if coated wire would pass through the feeder wheels?
I'm welding outside too, so I look for a calm day and use gas pressure around 6psi. Dead easy to tell if things aren't going well.....!
Interested to hear if its possible to reverse the torch polarity.
John :)
 
I don't think the wire is coated John, I think its cored - like solder, works on mine OK, don't even think I changed the nozzle but my memory being what it is I can't be sure of anything.:cautious:o_O

Peter
 
Yes, that's correct Peter - victim of prescriptive text once more (n) Is the wire thicker than usual?
I haven't had much experience of 'gasless' MIG (bit of a misnomer, that one) but I do recall the arc being somewhat more fierce than expected.
I'm wondering how good it is on car panel material?
John :)
 
I haven't found anything that's good on car panels John, that could be my welding skills of course.:unsure: I think the cored wire is about the same diameter as the gas wire, its a long time since I bought any but I don't recall having any problems. I think most welders come with a couple of different sized nozzles, if not they are easily obtainable.

I only ever used the small disposable gas cylinders, I don't use it enough to do otherwise but I find the gas-less wire generally more satisfactory.

Peter
 
Hobbyweld are brilliant, or Albeegas if you can find any. Pub gas is a bit cack for welding thin material, it doesn't seem to sustain a good enough arc at low enough volts.

Get yourself a proper regulator with the high and low pressure gauges and you can set it up at 10psi if welding on a windy day - the cylinders are large enough and cheap enough that it doesn't matter UNLIKE buying the mini cylinders.

Nozzle
 
Just readthis and might not have to reverse polarity (although the recommend +ve earth).

I'm sure my MIG can have the wring swapped over inside at the torch feed, will have to dig it out and have a look.

The welds shown would be fine for my needs (welding underside of car, possibly new sills etc).

http://www.mig-welding.co.uk/gasless-mig.htm
 
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