Gas for mig welding?

[Azcaryx]

Hi,
What gas are people using for general farm welding with mig?
welding duties would include welding from gates up to plates on rsjs.
thanks

[Louie1961]

Generally people use either 75% argon/25% CO2, or 100% CO2. 75/25 is probably most popular, but other mixes are available that work well depending on what machine you have. I prefer 100% CO2. It burns in a little hotter, and it is a whole lot cheaper than any argon/CO2 mix. A 20 lb CO2 tank holds 178 cubic feet of gas. At an average of 25 cubic feet per hour that's about 7 hours of actual arc time, compared to about 3 hours of arc time for an 80 cubic foot tank of 75/25 which approximately the same physical size (27 inches for a 20 lb CO2 tank vs 32 inches for an 80 cubic foot argon/CO2 tank). I pay $25 for a CO2 swap vs $48 for an 80 cubic foot 75/25 swap. If you are not doing autobody work or anything that needs to be pretty, you are probably better off with CO2

[G-ManBart]

Wow....I only pay $65 to swap a 330CF bottle of 25/75. It's cheap enough I wouldn't bother with Co2 and the extra spatter.

[Louie1961]

He may not want to tote around a 330 cf bottle for fence repairs.

[shovelon]

C25 is the all purpose clean, nearly spray arc compatible gas. User friendly as well. As long as the mig welder gas a door chart for ballpark settings for C25 you are golden(provided the chart was written by a competent machine builder and is accurate).

[G-ManBart]

He may not want to tote around a 330 cf bottle for fence repairs.

Maybe not, but I was only commenting on the price difference....your $48 for an 80 versus my $65 for a 330.

Besides, farmers always have big tractors or skid steers that can easily lug a big bottle around

Honestly, for fence and gate repair outside it would seem to be easier/smarter to run flux core and not bother with a bottle at all.

[psacustomcreations]

This two gases inert or non-inert are best gas use for mig welding. You'll find [SPAM LINK REMOVED] about inert and non-inert gases.
I use the non inert gas with argon to save money. I always keep a full bottle in stock.

I like to open up my spam this way.



Sent from my SM-G930V using Tapatalk

[CAVEMANN]

I'm not sure you really want to use gas shielded wire for outdoor uses, you may have a hard time keeping the gas around the arc, have you considered flux core self shielding wire?

[ronsii]

I like to open up my spam this way.



Sent from my SM-G930V using Tapatalk

That SPAM looks inert??? there also should have been a chart on the can showing just how mush is needed for the typical welder meal

[12V71]

That SPAM looks inert??? there also should have been a chart on the can showing just how mush is needed for the typical welder meal

1/4" slices, lightly browned on sourdough with a thin slice of pepper jack cheese, Mayo and stone ground mustard to taste and it's good to go.

[BD1]

I do outside farm repair work on equipment ,fencing, and gates. I always use stick outside and old rusty metal with 6010 s no problem.

As for mig, I only use 75/25 inside. It's great for sheet metal work and small part repairs. The only way to mig well is with clean metal.

[shovelon]

I do outside farm repair work on equipment ,fencing, and gates. I always use stick outside and old rusty metal with 6010 s no problem.

As for mig, I only use 75/25 inside. It's great for sheet metal work and small part repairs. The only way to mig well is with clean metal.

90/10 is a pleasure when you want a nice spray and welding mostly flat. 95/5 for stainless(called Stain mix), and reserve 75/25 for gen purpose like autos.

[BD1]

90/10 is a pleasure when you want a nice spray and welding mostly flat. 95/5 for stainless(called Stain mix), and reserve 75/25 for gen purpose like autos.

I use Trimix for my stainless. I'll have to ask supplier about the Stain Mix

[shovelon]

I use Trimix for my stainless. I'll have to ask supplier about the Stain Mix

5% co2 is the max for welding stainless without the weld becoming subject to corrosion. 2% co2 is even better. I think most suppliers offer StainMix in either 2 or 3 %. I hate TriMix. Too expensive and not user friendly for thin stainless.

[M J D]

My gas supplier told me about a mix for ss that they carry. Nitrogen was one of the gasses involved. It's supposed to work pretty well for spray transfer.

[shovelon]

My gas supplier told me about a mix for ss that they carry. Nitrogen was one of the gasses involved. It's supposed to work pretty well for spray transfer.

Here is a good paper by Em(Ed) Craig regarding gas mixes. He changed my mind from Tri-Mix to Stain-Mix. https://weldreality.com/MIG_welding_gases.htm

[M J D]

Here is a good paper by Em(Ed) Craig regarding gas mixes. He changed my mind from Tri-Mix to Stain-Mix. https://weldreality.com/MIG_welding_gases.htm

I just skimmed over it as it's pretty long winded. I'll have to go over it later. He described a mix similar to what I described. My supplier offers 95 percent argon, 3 percent co2 and 2 percent nitrogen. The nitrogen is supposed to help get better " color" than the 98-2 percent mix.

[shovelon]

I just skimmed over it as it's pretty long winded. I'll have to go over it later. He described a mix similar to what I described. My supplier offers 95 percent argon, 3 percent co2 and 2 percent nitrogen. The nitrogen is supposed to help get better " color" than the 98-2 percent mix.

Hmmm, never tried the nitrogen kind.

[Bob]

People that don't like CO2 must not have figured it out if they don't like it. You just have to keep the nozzle much closer to the work than the mix and you won't have any more spatter or any difference in the weld. I make a lot of furniture for several different interior decorators and the welds need to be neat and I don't use any thing but CO2. You can get a little more penetration with it over a mix as well. It being way, way cheaper is the main reason I use it.

[vwguy3]

Hmmm, never tried the nitrogen kind.

https://www.lindeus.com/gases/gas-mi...-shielding-gas

[Louie1961]

People that don't like CO2 must not have figured it out if they don't like it.

I agree. I mean if I was doing auto body work or something that I really needed to be aesthetically pleasing, I might use C25, as I do have it on hand. But on my MM252, for the bang around everyday projects I do, I couldn't really tell the difference. I am mostly welding square tube, and a lot of the welds are not visible, or get blended anyway.