Interesting Fed up buying gas for the mig so.....

[Jaws]

I am currently looking at getting a gasless one.. Mine MIGHT work ok as some welders do if the tip is -ve, but if not..........
Anyone got any thoughts or recommendations ?
Do not need anything OTT ( 130ish amps will be fine )

 

[sr71caspar]

No recommendations, but the gasless welds I've seen look awful. Spatter everywhere and a rough weld.

 

[Jaws]

No recommendations, but the gasless welds I've seen look awful. Spatter everywhere and a rough weld.

Its funny, I have heard this several times before, but when I tried a rig last week I got pretty good results.
The guy did say he had tried several makes of wire but Halfrauds stuff gave the best results

 

[slim63]

Personal opinion just use pub gas on the mig its cheap & the results will be as good or better than any gasless I have tried, I only bother using argon now if its a safety critical stressed weld & nothing has come unput in the last 10 years or so, tip dip helps keep the weld clean too & its pennies for a tub that will outlast you or me mate

If you do decide to go gasless I think I still have a 5kg of flux core wire you can have for the post but honestly think you will regret the decision

 

[Jaws]

Personal opinion just use pub gas on the mig its cheap & the results will be as good or better than any gasless I have tried, I only bother using argon now if its a safety critical stressed weld & nothing has come unput in the last 10 years or so, tip dip helps keep the weld clean too & its pennies for a tub that will outlast you or me mate

If you do decide to go gasless I think I still have a 5kg of flux core wire you can have for the post but honestly think you will regret the decision

Tried pub gas.. In fact still have 3/4 of a bottle but it has so many impurities in it I wont use it any more..
Serious welds I still use a stick welder....

 

[sr71caspar]

I suppose I should have asked who you buy your gas from and how big the bottles are.

There are companies around that don't charge rental, just the cost of refill.

 

[slim63]

Tried pub gas.. In fact still have 3/4 of a bottle but it has so many impurities in it I wont use it any more..
Serious welds I still use a stick welder....

Welding gas such as argoshield is only more pure than straight co2 pub gas by the percentage of argon added & welding mild steel does not really require much more than 5% -10% argon so the co2 content is virtually the same, I get clean welds on co2 alone & only slightly cleaner on 5% argon but it does require the mig to be set up slightly differently but I do suppose this partly depends on how much fine adjustment you have on your mig

I still use the arc welder on heavy stuff, cast or stainless myself that's where I started & I still find it much more satisfying than a quick & easy mig weld

 

[Vinterceptor]

I am currently looking at getting a gasless one.. Mine MIGHT work ok as some welders do if the tip is -ve, but if not..........
Anyone got any thoughts or recommendations ?
Do not need anything OTT ( 130ish amps will be fine )

Does the cored wire not make it more expensive? I only use the ordinary mig set up at work. Although I have enquired with our welding rep about setting up so we can weld outside or under a canopy in windy conditions etc. He made out the cored wire was about 5 times more expensive, as a result we just use stick welding in those conditions and continue with the standard mig set up in the workshops.

 

[Jaws]

Does the cored wire not make it more expensive? I only use the ordinary mig set up at work. Although I have enquired with our welding rep about setting up so we can weld outside or under a canopy in windy conditions etc. He made out the cored wire was about 5 times more expensive, as a result we just use stick welding in those conditions and continue with the standard mig set up in the workshops.

No mate.. for the little half a kilo reels it is £2 more