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I have run out of Argon/CO gas for my MIG.
I am faced with either getting a BOC cylinder on rental at great expense. Or:
A local welding supplies company have small Argon/CO cylinders (11 Ltr) for £110/five years up front rental and £20 per refill.
Another local factor offers 20 Ltr for £70 deposit and £54 per refill. Amid other deals.
Unable to decide, I called another local welding supplies firm who I have dealt with in the past. They no longer keep gas but offered me gas free MIG wire 0.8mm £40 for 5Kg. My solid MIG wire was getting low so I though it might just be a cheaper alternative, not wishing to divert Marlin funds to the Astra at this stage.
I was very apprehensive because I had heard poor reports about gasless MIG. I checked it out and it seemed I might have to swap polarity. Normally the torch is + positive and the ground is negative, however I heard that flux cored wire requires the reverse, positive ground and negative torch. I tried it as standard and the results were poor, so I switched to polarity by delving in the power supply side of the welder, I know I should have had an adult to supervise but I couldn't find a sensible one!
The result was a much improved weld, very controllable and uses very low settings on the welder. I was still uneasy about the task of welding up the sills on my Astra because they are pretty thin and badly rusty. Cut a long story short, the flux cored wire was very good, with a little practice I found it more controllable than the solid wire, even overhead I was able to completely fill holes larger than a two pence piece by stitching around the edges and building up the bead. I completely rebuilt part of the edge of the wing where the cill becomes the back wheel arch, so I am very happy, I learnt something positive today.
Just wanted to pass it on. If you have a MIG, only weld occasionally and you don't want an expensive gas cylinder then try the gas free wire, just remember to switch the polarity. It's not quite as neat as solid wire but it buff's up well enough.
I am faced with either getting a BOC cylinder on rental at great expense. Or:
A local welding supplies company have small Argon/CO cylinders (11 Ltr) for £110/five years up front rental and £20 per refill.
Another local factor offers 20 Ltr for £70 deposit and £54 per refill. Amid other deals.
Unable to decide, I called another local welding supplies firm who I have dealt with in the past. They no longer keep gas but offered me gas free MIG wire 0.8mm £40 for 5Kg. My solid MIG wire was getting low so I though it might just be a cheaper alternative, not wishing to divert Marlin funds to the Astra at this stage.
I was very apprehensive because I had heard poor reports about gasless MIG. I checked it out and it seemed I might have to swap polarity. Normally the torch is + positive and the ground is negative, however I heard that flux cored wire requires the reverse, positive ground and negative torch. I tried it as standard and the results were poor, so I switched to polarity by delving in the power supply side of the welder, I know I should have had an adult to supervise but I couldn't find a sensible one!
The result was a much improved weld, very controllable and uses very low settings on the welder. I was still uneasy about the task of welding up the sills on my Astra because they are pretty thin and badly rusty. Cut a long story short, the flux cored wire was very good, with a little practice I found it more controllable than the solid wire, even overhead I was able to completely fill holes larger than a two pence piece by stitching around the edges and building up the bead. I completely rebuilt part of the edge of the wing where the cill becomes the back wheel arch, so I am very happy, I learnt something positive today.
Just wanted to pass it on. If you have a MIG, only weld occasionally and you don't want an expensive gas cylinder then try the gas free wire, just remember to switch the polarity. It's not quite as neat as solid wire but it buff's up well enough.
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