Hi Guys

Looking for thoughts on Gasless Mig Welding on my XJS

With the Crazy price they are charging for a Bottle of Argoshield Gas about £90 per cylinder per year, I was thinking of going Gassless, does anyone have any thoughts to Share on this, as I have heard that quite a few guys are Switching to Flux Core

Alex

 

Metal Inert Gas is MIG welding. Gas as the welding shield.
Wire Feed Flux Core welding is what you are describing.

They are both WIRE FEED welding but flux core is not MIG. (no inert shielding gas)

The flux core will 'spatter' like 'stick-weldng' but I use it to weld thin wall square tubing.
MIG is cleaner but if cosmetics are not a concern, then it is fine.

TIG is the cleanest I have but it is slower and uses a gas shield just like MIG.

 

I use flux core on an old Clarke MIG welder that has the option to reverse the polarity. Having gas never made much economic sense to me when I weld something maybe once a year.
Works fine, i've even done bodywork on the XJS with it. The welds aren't pretty and there's more beautifying required with the grinder once you're done but it works.

 

Hi Motorcarman

You are sort of 'mirroring my thoughts' but I've also heard that you have to Change the Polarity +-

Welding for me is one of those things that you sometimes do a lot, like for instance making a Waste Oil Burner, as I have done or hardly ever using it at all where £90 is basically just for the Rental and in a lot of Cases doesn't include the Cost of the Case

So £90+ every year is quite a big outlay but is probably what a Welder would charge, even to do as Small Job

I've got my eye on as 'Parkside Inverter' although that doesn't have a Speed Control, where the 'Hit Box' one does but the Parkside one is only £70 with a watertight guarantee and if anything goes wrong with their Stuff, then they will give you a refund, on the Spot 'No Hassle' and I've never seen a bad review of that Welder

Thanks Again

Alex

 

Hi Asdrewq

My own thoughts exactly!

I've already got a big Mig Welder, so I will have to change the Wires Round inside but since it's quite a big piece of kit, its not exactly portable!

But from what I've seen of Flux Cored Welders, the Reel that holds the Wire has got quite a Small hole in the Spool while the Reel of Wire for a proper Gas MIG has a much bigger hole in the Spool

Or can you get a Small reel of Wire with the big hole through the Spool so that I can try it out on my Big Mig Machine

Any thoughts on Wire Sizes, as I want to try and get the best size for the Job

Thanks

Alex

 

When I get to weld inside, I use the gas but when I have to weld outside, I switch to flux core. I prefer using the gas shielded MIG option but when it is windy outside gotta go to flux core. I have a portable Millermatic.

 

Hi 67 Camero

OOO Owwww! I love the Millermatic!

I've got a BOC one, that is OK but not as good as Miller IMO

Can you actually Weld in a very High Wind by using Flux Core?

I was thinking of using 0.8 but that's just a guess on my part as is everything else!

Also do you or anyone know, if you can connect a MIG to a 3K Generator and while I don't need to do that, I have this sort of obsessive uncontrollable desire to give it a try, Just Because................

 

Years ago Harbor Freight had some on sale for $$89 US.
I bought a few to give to neighbors that constantly want to borrow my welders or bug me to weld things at their property.(surprise Christmas presents)

These cheap welders actually work on the 14 gauge square tubing I build things out of like chicken coops and other projects around the farm and auto shop.
I have one that I use for around the house. Light, portable and it will plug in to 120V wall outlet if the outlet has 12 gauge wire supply to it.

https://www.harborfreight.com/weldin...der-57798.html

 

Hi Motorcarman

That Welder is very Similar to the one that I was thinking of getting and you've also answered my other Question as well, as I can see that there are different Spool Sizes, as if I'm OK with Flux Core Welding

Then I could get a Bigger Core to go on my other Machine

I've also done small Jobs for other people (Not on Cars) and I don't always think they realize just how long these 'Do you think you could Just...........Jobs Take so giving them their own Welder was a very good and generous idea!

 

Hi Alex. I saw the Parkside welders on offer in Lidl a couple of weeks ago and admit I was tempted to get one. I don’t even do welding but thought at that price it was worth having in the garage just in case I needed to.

Rob

 

Hi Robbo

Same here, as I've never seen a Bad Review of that Welder £70 so I think I might get one, as I was in there Yesterday and they still had them in, if not you may have to wait a long time before you see them again

The Best thing is the Guarantee! instant refund there and then if it ever goes wrong in 3 Years!

Alex

 

I just use the small reels of flux core (0.45kg) and 0.9mm diameter, but I think I did use 1mm diameter at one stage as I had to buy new tips to do so. I don't recall any real practical difference between the two.
My exact model is the Clarke MIG 105EN. I think it did come with a reel adapter to take the big (5kg?) reels you can buy, but I haven't used it like that, and i'm not sure flux core is available the other way round - small weight on large reels.

My non-expert welder advice would be to get one with more than 4 power settings like mine has, because it's hard to find that sweet spot. It's pretty old though so maybe that's every welder now.
Power setting 1/2 are useless. 3 is what I use for sheet metal on cars etc but sometimes get quite poor penetration, e.g when recently welding the rear radius arm mounting cups which are 3mm'ish thick. Power setting 4 just blows straight through sheet metal - I wish it had somewhere in-between.

Nice thing is you can remove the gas shield from the end of the torch when welding gasless so you really get a good view of what you're doing in tight spots/angles etc, like under a car

 

The Parkside one seems a bit of a bargain compared to some others and so I may go for that in terms of portability, as my bigger BOC one has got all the 'Bells and Whistles' that I would ever need

Alex

 

Alex,

I'm no welding expert in general, but have never been happy with my flux-core results. But I also have probably not spent the appropriate amount of time practicing. I get much better results with MIG.

If Argoshield is pure argon, you can save significant money by using 75% Argon/25% CO2 (75/25) and finding a source from which you can buy instead of renting. Keep an eye out for folks selling used welders on local for-sale websites like Craigslist and Facebook Marketplace. Often, they'll have owned, nearly full gas bottles they may be willing to sell separately, or you may get a great price on a full package with welder, auto-darkening helmet, gloves, wire, and other tools.

For aluminum, you do need 100% argon.

Cheers,

Don

 

Gas less is more hobby welding ,the tractor supply gas less welder for instance, they are good for small things, not a full days work .
If your project is more than just small welds, I would advise to buy a more serious set up.

 

Flex core generally spatters more than gas shielded. The wire is bigger and if you're welding sheet metal there is a much greater chance of warping the panel.

Take a look at this video, he's a bodyman by trade and does a lot of rust repair. It's an hour, but he's an excellent teacher, all his videos are worth watching if you intend to metalwork on a car.

 

Had a Lincoln Mig without gas, and it was ok. Learned to grind as much as I learned to weld. Also learned how to burn holes in everything. This Lincoln was a consumer grade product, bought it when I was in high school (I’m 47 now). Was never a great welder. When I converted it to gas (this model was made to be converted) things just went so much easier. The tank rental was ridiculous years ago when I bought it, so I just bought a tank, and now they are REALLY ridiculous to buy. In the USA you can buy a tank and exchange it, and will always get a good date on the tank even if your tank is out of date. I might be old enough that buying the tank doesn’t cost out anymore, but when I went to TIG I bought the tank again.

As for the TIG, it’s way better than mig, but I also got a much better welder than that old Lincoln… Invertig 221. This is a pro-sumer grade, high end but not super high end Tig. Went for the water cooled version, figured if I buy it right I’ll only buy it once. Let me tell you… wow. Right out of the box, I was an expert welder. So much easier, so many more heat settings, just a fantastic machine. Love it love it love it.

 

Don't know the answer to the generator powered MIG welder. I've used gasoline powered welder/generator units. Not sure if they would accept a wire welder option but it is probably out there. Concerning the wind outside when welding, I've not experienced much trouble welding with a bit of wind. Now, if is really windy, I don't attempt it. I bought the Miller not only for the shop but to bring along when we do mission work in New Orleans. We've done a bunch of vehicle and equipment repair. I've used the welder to replace the floor in a big dump trailer. My welder also is dual voltage, 120v/220v input. I prefer the 220v as it will allow the full range of amperage setting. My shielding gas is 75/25, argon to C02.

 

Hey OB my thoughts on the 3000w generator. It would be to small in my opinion. As you need a good steady power source to run even a small welder. I have a 110V mig, and it will ocassionly trip the breaker in my shop when used heavily. I don't believe 3000w is quite big enough, as it would be at max capacity / wide open all the time. I guess the only way to find out is by trying, and then go buy a bigger generator. LOL

Jack

 

Hi Guys

Many Thanks for all that useful input and I'll try and get back to all of you eventually but I have been missing in Action as I have been putting together a Secret but not now quite so Secret (now the GF has found out!) Workshop in a Hallway that we don't use very much

And although the GF Blew a Fuse to begin with, She is gradually coming around to my way of thinking that the Parts Racks on the Wall give the Windows extra Protection in terms of someone trying to break in, obviously overlooking the fact that they might want to steal all my Tools!

Everything was progressing ok but thought that the Bench Vice and Drill Press might have given it away a little bit but said that I was intending to Modify the Drill Press into a Food Mixer! (Can you see what I did there?) and even I am starting to believe that Now, as it could even be better that one of those £500 ones!

So much more convenient that having to keep popping out to the Garage every time you need to find some Screws

She has now come to the Conclusion that its even given the Hallway a 'Touch of Ambience' 'Whatever that is'? in a Sort of 'Steam Punk' way, that his hard to replicate using Modern OEM Decorating Materials