How much weld time from 1lb of CO2 ?

[albrightree]

Came into some surplus CO2 and was thinking of using a one or two lb tank as a portable gas source when doing small mig jobs(mild steel) rather than dragging a 80, of 120 cf bottle of 75/25 with me. Just wondering how much weld time I could get with a pound or two of CO2 ?

Thanks

[Oldendum]

1 pound is about 8.7 cubic feet. So maybe about 20 minutes at a flow rate of about 20 CFH.

[walker]

About a year ago I bought a large paitball cylinder (24oz?) along with the bottle adapter. I screwed the adapter into my flow gauge then just twist the cylinder on when I am ready to use. My field welding is generally a few beads here and there. A second bottle would be nice. If I have a lot of welding I bring along a 20 pound borttle to refill with. I made a little bracket on the back of my feeder to hold it. It works well. It has saved me a lot in damaged gauges from nocking over the bottle, and is very convenient to move around with the feeder.
Miller had a similar built in system on their passport.

[albrightree]

1 pound is about 8.7 cubic feet. So maybe about 20 minutes at a flow rate of about 20 CFH.

Thanks, I would be happy if I got a real 15 minutes out of a 1lb cylinder. I have 5 - 1lb. cylinders for a soda machine because we could never find any exchanges that had them in stock. So I bought a 20lb CO2 and a filling adapter.

About a year ago I bought a large paitball cylinder (24oz?) along with the bottle adapter. I screwed the adapter into my flow gauge then just twist the cylinder on when I am ready to use. My field welding is generally a few beads here and there. A second bottle would be nice. If I have a lot of welding I bring along a 20 pound borttle to refill with. I made a little bracket on the back of my feeder to hold it. It works well. It has saved me a lot in damaged gauges from nocking over the bottle, and is very convenient to move around with the feeder.
Miller had a similar built in system on their passport.

I was thinking of doing something similar with my 210mp, clamping the cylinder to the machine. Would be easier than dragging a 60cf or a full 20lb bottle which is awkward, and also with regulator being vulnerable . Wouldn't be for any major welding, but for jobs up 4 flights of stairs, to put in 16" of weld.

It reminds me of my first mig welder, which was a 115v Italian wire feed with a CO2 cartridge.

I'll have to keep my eyes open for paint ball tanks, wouldn't hurt have a slightly larger tank. Just last week I passed an aluminum cylinder on the side of the road(garbage night), looked like a 5 or 10 lb CO2, by the time I got back it was gone. So I went to find a small regulator to go from he sodastream tank to gas line, and it just happens to be commonly used for charging small kegs of beer in refrigerators. Who Knew ? Thanks amazon.

Thanks for the replies

[Oldendum]

Hobart used to have a kit with a 20 oz. tank and a fixed-flow requlator. Ads said approximately 40 minutes weld time. Flow rate may have been 25 cfh.

[Billdacat]

The 5-lbs cylinders are popular with people that keep beer kegs at home. In New Jersey (yeah it sucks) many liquor stores will refill them for maybe $10. Or any welding/gas vendor will swap out for less. You can do a lot of welding on 5lbs.

[smithdoor]

I would use flux cord
Next use a longer hose on handcart.
There still stick welding too.

The down side to small tanks is cost. When had my shop I had 60LB tanks to keep the cost down with long hose in shop and in field stick welding.

Dave

Came into some surplus CO2 and was thinking of using a one or two lb tank as a portable gas source when doing small mig jobs(mild steel) rather than dragging a 80, of 120 cf bottle of 75/25 with me. Just wondering how much weld time I could get with a pound or two of CO2 ?

Thanks

[Louie1961]

The 5 lb cylinder would seem to me to be the sweet spot: 5.25 inches in diameter and 18 inches tall. That should easily get you 90 mins of arc time.

[Billdacat]

The 5 lb cylinder would seem to me to be the sweet spot: 5.25 inches in diameter and 18 inches tall. That should easily get you 90 mins of arc time.

I have retired my C25 cylinder to Argon... I can run MIG all day long on CO2...really not much difference.. IMHO. Get a CO2 adapter for your flow meter and live a happy MIG life ever after.

[smithdoor]

One pound of CO2 has 8.74 cf
So if 8 cf per hour about 1 hour.

https://science.blurtit.com/205175/h...-of-liquid-co2

Dave

Came into some surplus CO2 and was thinking of using a one or two lb tank as a portable gas source when doing small mig jobs(mild steel) rather than dragging a 80, of 120 cf bottle of 75/25 with me. Just wondering how much weld time I could get with a pound or two of CO2 ?

Thanks

[nick121]

I would go with a 5 lb cylinder, decent weld time and not too big/heavy in my opinion. Should vaporize approx 40 cf from 5 pounds so a couple hours of weld time. I get a 1 pound is very portable especially just for quick welds, but might be more useful having a slightly larger tank. Just my 2 cents

[Oscar]

One pound of CO2 has 8.74 cf
So if 8 cf per hour about 1 hour.

https://science.blurtit.com/205175/h...-of-liquid-co2

Dave

The math certainly works out. But a MIG nozzle that would be satisfied with only 8 CFH flowrate would likely provide very little gas coverage at the actual weld puddle. Would be like what a #4-#5 TIG cup uses.

but might be more useful having a slightly larger tank. Just my 2 cents

I agree. A 20lb tank of CO2 is tiny! I thought weldors were tough and rugged and didn't mind using force! 1lb tanks? Afraid to get your dresses dirty too?

[smithdoor]

It would be best to use 20 to 30 cf per hour. 8 is being very little gas
I would be better to 24 cf would be 20 minutes.

When I use gas for welding like 40 to 60 cf per hour but I weld outside.

It would better to E71T-11 or E71T-GS and forget the gas.

Dave

The math certainly works out. But a MIG nozzle that would be satisfied with only 8 CFH flowrate would likely provide very little gas coverage at the actual weld puddle. Would be like what a #4-#5 TIG cup uses.



I agree. A 20lb tank of CO2 is tiny! I thought weldors were tough and rugged and didn't mind using force! 1lb tanks? Afraid to get your dresses dirty too?

[MinnesotaDave]

I have retired my C25 cylinder to Argon... I can run MIG all day long on CO2...really not much difference.. IMHO. Get a CO2 adapter for your flow meter and live a happy MIG life ever after.

Yep, I use co2 almost exclusively as well. I use the 20lb tanks but also have a 5 pounder.

I've even welded car body panels with 0.035" wire and co2. Welds just fine
(the 0.035 was already in the machine, just left it)

Added bonus, the duty cycle on a mig gun is at it's highest with straight co2.

[ronsii]

Yep, I use co2 almost exclusively as well. I use the 20lb tanks but also have a 5 pounder.

I've even welded car body panels with 0.035" wire and co2. Welds just fine
(the 0.035 was already in the machine, just left it)

Added bonus, the duty cycle on a mig gun is at it's highest with straight co2.

Cool!!!!!

[smithdoor]

[/COLOR]
Cool!!!!!

You will find is CO2 is use is Ag/farm equipment, Furniture, Fencing any where they having to keep the cost down.

The places that like mix gas is Machine Shops, Repair Shops, and any where low production with high cost labor.
Code work requiring may require mix gas too.

Dave

[albrightree]

I have plenty of bottles of Argon, and AR/CO2. I traded in my 60 cf argon/CO2 back to straight argon again to do portable aluminum spoolgun welding. My other 2 bottles are 300cf Argon, and AR/CO2 mix at the home shop. I figured the 20 lb CO2 would be the back up or portable tank for mobile jobs. The real question was about using the soda stream 1lb tanks as I have more than I need now that I can reload at home now. I figured it might be handy for small jobs like welding a fender back on, or fixing a dock plate , or walk over platform at work quickly . Most small repair jobs are about an hour of fit-up to 10 minutes of welding. So I think a re-fillable 1lb would come in handy. Trust me, I've done my share of lifting 300 cf cylinders onto scissor lifts, and hooking together 12ft, and 25 ft hoses together to reach a weld job on top of a tank 40 ft in the air. Never been afraid of hard work or getting dirty, done plenty of both. Just why waste time and energy if its unnecessary. Now I need to find a regulator for the CO2 that fits the welder, all my regulators are CGA580,and I think the CO2 is a CGA320 .I will need to check. I will also need a small kegulator for the 1lb CO2 cartridge .

I wonder if the CO2 will work with the dual shield I already have ?

[Oscar]

I wonder if the CO2 will work with the dual shield I already have ?

Most likely. Check the class.

[nick121]

I'm all about working smart too, The little bottles would probably work out ok for that, especially if you can bring a few with you. If you were buying new ones that's where I'd think the 5 pound would be useful to get more weld time and still light weight.
As for the regulator, I use a regular one with a cga 580 to cga 320 adapter

[albrightree]

Here's the wire.







Blue Demon doesn't list gas mixtures or flow ratings on their website like lincoln , hobart, and ESAB.

https://weldingmaterialsales.com/cat...71t-1-1m-plus/

this another application paper I found on the web(New Zealand?), says maximized for mix. At least they show CTWD .

https://www.globalweldingsupplies.co...DF/MWMF_BD.pdf

I'm guessing that the "M" is for mixed gas, and the "C" 100% CO2. So I think it should be fine. I read something about using CO2 would have a slightly lower tensile strength, but I don't think enough for me to worry when welding bollards, and plow frames.

Just ordered the 580 to 320 adapter from Mcmaster, will order the little one from amazon. If the one lb doesn't work out , I can always use it to carbonate something (water, cider, beer).

Happy Election Day !

[Broccoli1]

make sure you use the washer with the adapter.

[Lis2323]

The small gray tank in this photo is a 20 pound CO2 I believe. I got it from a business that services fire extinguishers $100 Cdn (about $75 USD) filled.




Sent from my iPad using Tapatalk

[albrightree]

make sure you use the washer with the adapter.

Funny that you mention this, I didn't notice the gasket when I first hooked up my tank to my filling adapter. Didn't know the CGA320 fitting had a gasket, unlike the CGA580. When I flipped the tank to fill the smaller cylinders and cracked open the main valve, I had a frosty little leak.
Found the gasket in the mailer later on.
https://www.weldingweb.com/images/smilies/laughing.gif

[Broccoli1]

I have a few extra and used a bread bag twisty to tie them to the handle on my welder.

[Lis2323]

I bought a couple of extra also and put them "in a safe place".

I hope I come across them before I actually need it.


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk