MIG aluminum. What ya think?

[Oatsy]

First off I'll start by saying this is the first time I have ever welded aluminum with my machine. Prior to today I have only practiced aluminum once and the machine was already set up for me, I ran a few beads just to try it and that was it. I have wanted to learn to weld aluminum for quite some time now and finally gave it a go tonight. Heres a few pictures after about an hour or so of experimenting with different settings and travel speed.




Certainly not the prettiest welds but I am very happy with how they turned out
Setup:
Clarke 180EN no spool gun. (i heard after they went out of business here the machines are made in china? luckily mines an old one.)
ER5356 .030 wire
100%argon at about 6-7 cf/h
base metal was 16 gauge i believe.
Full penetration
Any suggestions on things I should make changes to? I have a few projects I want to do soon but I will continue to practice a bit more before I jump into anything too serious. And yes I know about how to avoid the burn through at the end of my weld, this was just me practicing my bead.

[shovelon]

Ya need more gas bro.

For a 1/2" orafic nozzle, you need at least 20cfh.

[Oatsy]

I'll try turning it up to 20 or a little more. I had turned it up to around 17cfh while i was still experimenting and the results appeared to be the same as with running lower cfh. With more practice I think I can lay down some nicer looking beads, maybe even as nice as my steel beads.

[shovelon]

Are you pushing the bead? That is the recommended direction for mig alum.