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Old 23rd November 2011, 02:29 PM
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brainbug007 brainbug007 is offline
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Default Welding with Argon/CO2 vs CO2

I recently bought a bottle of argon/co2 mix of the bay as there wasn't any pure co2 going at the time. It's the 1st time I've used it and it seems to affect the power settings compared to co2? On my normal setting (3/6 power, 4.5 speed) it almost seemed really hot and about to blow holes and looked sounded the same as when i was using co2 on 6/6 power with 5 speed for really thick plate?
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Old 23rd November 2011, 02:53 PM
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Talonmotorsport Talonmotorsport is offline
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C02 in mig welding acts to shield the arc and the weld pool from out side contaminants, it's not a great inert gas but it's cheap. 100% Argon is used in tig welding to give a very stable arc but is around 2/3 more expensive. Basicly the more stable you can get the weld pool (molten material to which the filler is added) the better penetration and stronger the weld is. 10-15% Argon mixed in to C02 will stablise the arc between the filler wire and the weld pool during welding, it means the weld will be cleaner as the filler rod will effectivly become more fluid like a stream of water from a tap rather than a dripping one. I hope this makes sense to some one
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Old 23rd November 2011, 03:40 PM
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ozzy1 ozzy1 is offline
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I got argoshield light that i use and gives real good welds,about70quid for an E size bottle and lasts bloody ages.Although i cant compare it to Co2 as this is all ive used
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Old 23rd November 2011, 03:48 PM
andysredmini andysredmini is offline
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Not sure how it affects the power settings or the weld but I was told by our welder at work and by the welding store we use that Co2 welds hotter than a Co2 argon mix.
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Old 23rd November 2011, 04:37 PM
baz-r baz-r is offline
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only low co2 content mixed gas is any good for light miging (light ie sub 6mm) as you go up in thickness its better to up the co2 content a little
the co2 effects the arc stablity
somtimes even other gasses can be added in the mix like helium and others
its a real complex affair but all we need to know here is low co2/argon mixed gas for light mild steels and pure argon for stainless and alloy

only thing i would use co2 for is realy thick plate on realy thick wire and a realy big welder otherwise its not nice to use
see below
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Old 24th November 2011, 09:00 PM
flyerncle flyerncle is offline
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Straight Co2 does give hotter welds but is controlable with a little jiggling of the settings,at £12 a bottle from local beer supplier I cant complain too much.
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