Question for all you welder so it there

JohnnyBgood

JohnnyBgood

Well-Known Member
Supporting Member
Was running low on mig gas so I went and got a new bottle.... Yesterday I was practicing and I was having a terrible time with porosity in the weld..looks really bad...today I went out and looked at the welds and it looks like there is a small amount of rust around anywhere I welded...can a bottle of gas be bad?..water in the tank?..never had this issue before and it only started with the new tank of gas..
 
Hey, yes this can happen, I have experienced this before with a bottle of argon, and with a very large bulk storage oxygen tank, hooligan would probably remember that lol. However I’d check your set-up to ensure it’s 100% before taking the bottle back.

Cheers
 
As Taggert29 mentioned, check the set-up of your welding equipment. I surmise you are indoors, away from any wind that would affect the gas shield. Check the setting on the gas flow meter and set correctly. The gas nozzle on the MIG gun must be clean; no spatter build up. All areas on the metal that is in the weld zone must be clean, particularly mill scale. This step will definitely improve weld bead quality. After ensuring these steps have been followed, and you are still experiencing the problems you mentioned, check with your gas supplier and get a new bottle of gas. By the way, what are you using for shielding gas? Please report back with your results, as the solution will help all of us.

Good luck............Bgbkwndo.
 
Called Messer where I got the gas from and the first guy I talked to said it's possible to get moisture or a bad mix...second guy I talked to said it's very unlikely that there is water in the tank..I'm using something called a Argo shield light... It's a mix of argon ,co and oxygen....don't know what the ratios are...I took a small peice of sheet metal and drilled a 1/4 in hole in the middle...then I cleaned the heck out of it..put the mig wire through the hole and pressed the end of the mig gun against the metal..pulled the trigger and let the wire run through the hole and the gas onto the metal for about a minute. Went back 2 days latter and it had a rust circle where I held the gun. Took the metal and showed the dealer where I got it from and he said I might be right about the moisture in the tank...gave me another tank to try...will post results when I try welding with new tank...
 
well I changed the wire, tip, tip cover and even the guy welding and it didn't help...lots of porosity and splatter... Took back the tank of gas and got another one and its welding like it should...kind of frustrating spending the time and money to eliminate all the things it could be when the only thing I had changed was the tank...they should have some kind of moisture meter that they can test their gas ..
 
I alway thought that the mix was 75 argon and 25 co..when did oxygen get in the picture?..having looked at some of my old welds and the welds I just did it seems like the old welds are cleaner and just a better looking weld...still think something is amiss with that gas mixture...
 
I've never heard of O2 mixed with inert gases before, so I checked into argosheild light and sure enough its 93/5/ and 2% O2.
I 've always used C8 which is 92/8 (argon/co2). I have never experienced moisture with this mix or any other mix period. I wouldn't be surprised you are paying extra for a "specialty mix". I would try the c8. It works well with all mig wire including metal core.
 
Ya I’d say the same, I run the Air liquid Blue shield 8, which is a 75/25 co2 argon mix, never had any issues.
 
My old supplier mix was the 75/25 which I never had a issue with...will look for another supplier that has that mix when I'm done this bottle...thanks for all the input guys...really helps to have some help when your doing something your not that comfortable with and everything you try just doesn't work....
 
Any time!
So the shielding gas you have with the o2 just has a couple advantages over the 75/25 mix, which I doubt you’d need, like with that gas you can roll into spray transfer at a lower current, which would be above 24volts roughly, still very hot and usually used with metal core and flux core wire. It also has less fumes then the 75/25. I should state the three transfer methods, first is Short Circuit, second is Globular, and the third is Spray, I won’t explain all as it would be too much typing lol, but most of the welding I’d suspect you’d be doing is body work? Maybe some frame work? Which would mostly still be in the short circuit range.
 
I called the distributor and he gave me a number of their welding guru...guy says run ithe gas at 35 instead of 25...I said I've never ran it that high...he said run it at 35... So I upped it to 35... Guy was right better weld..very little splatter...but I still made a crappy weld I when I was welding upside down...just a foot note..I ended up welding everything myself after 2 no shows from my welder guy I hired...still not finished but it's almost done...Someone else on this site once said..put on lots of weld and grind off the ugly stuff...which is what I did...as long as it holds I don't really care what it looks like...
 
JohnnyBgood said:
I called the distributor and he gave me a number of their welding guru...guy says run ithe gas at 35 instead of 25...I said I've never ran it that high...he said run it at 35... So I upped it to 35... Guy was right better weld..very little splatter...but I still made a crappy weld I when I was welding upside down...just a foot note..I ended up welding everything myself after 2 no shows from my welder guy I hired...still not finished but it's almost done...Someone else on this site once said..put on lots of weld and grind off the ugly stuff...which is what I did...as long as it holds I don't really care what it looks like...
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Hello JBgood...........sorry to hear that the welder you hired was a no-show. Keep a cool head, and you will get it done. The person who said, on this site, put on lots of weld and grind off the ugly stuff, was obviously not a welder. That is very bad advice to say the least! I hope it is just frustration coming out when you say, as long as it holds I really don't care what it looks like.

Bgbkwndo.
 
Yeah it was frustration coming out but the only time anyone will see the welds is if they are laying on the ground with their face pushed in the dirt so I'm sure not too many people will see it.....But I am going to go out and grind out some of the welds and redo them...
 
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So I'm summery it looks like I did have moisture in the tank and this gas with the oxygen in it seems to perform better running at 35 instead out the 22 or so that I always run at...please remember I am not a welder and this is only what ended up working for me....
 
You bet! The mix you have should be just fine when set properly and most of all with a uncontaminated clean bottle lol.
 
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