Ask Your Welding Questions Here!!!

[tigmaster]

Tigmaster,

I saw your other thread with the amazing weld on that coupler. You have any pics on back gasing that weld? Do you use two argon bottles or what?What amperage did you use? Did you you just use the torch tip to tack? Was the pic of the interior weld just burn through from the front weld? I just obtained a syncrowave 250 like in the above post. I saw your technique but was confused at the tapping off part (asuming that was back gasing prep). Any help would be appreciated. Pics would be appreciated.

Bartman
[email protected]
Denton,Tx

ahhh the age old question....one bottle of gas with a splitter...about 40 amps to tack and weld first fuse pass...yeah the interior weld was made on my first fuse pass from the outside of keg....thats why i place my coupling in with the face flush.....heres a pic of my backpurge set up....i tape that can up into the keg on the \backside of the coupler....then i put a 6 inch nipple in the coupling to get the area i need to tape off away from my heat....u need to tape the opening of the nipple off to provide back pressure....feel free to ask any more questions...if i missed something....to adjust my back gas pressure i lick my lips and just feel a light breeze out of the vent hole....too much purge will blow ur weld out:rockin:

 

[tigmaster]

sorry heres that back purge set up

 

[Snake10]

Tigman,

Fantastic! Of course I have more questions. The splitter was key! On the the 6 inch nipple put in the inside of keg. I can't picture it. Can you flip that tapped can around and take a photo of it? The inside of that setup your holding I mean.
Thanks
Bartman

 

[tigmaster]

no the six inch nipple goes on outside of keg....can on inside

 

[WrongCoastBrewery]

check out the welder ive got....a miller 150 stl...u shopuld be able to get one around 900....the best tig welder for size and price

Thanks tigmaster.

 

[tigmaster]

heres my machine....and some off topic welds!!

 

[mikelikesit2000]

If I was going to spend 1600$ on a welder... Hands Down Miller. Maybe even a little backpack welder like this one http://www.millerwelds.com/products/tig/maxstar_150_sth/ That's all you needs plus its small, weighs like 15lbs and easily movable. You can buy all kinds of attachments for it too.



Not true you can solder/braze its easy... Just a little propane or mapp gas torch and silver-tin solder.

Thats not nearly as strong as TIG or MIG?

 

[Ohio-Ed]

...

I'll post my impressions when I get one - As long as nobody makes fun of my welding skillz (Or lack of!)

I started another thread intending to document my efforts to get the welder running and my learning curve. I said I'd post pictures of my very first tig attempt. I'm sure it will be UGLY :cross:

Ed

 

[tigmaster]

Thats not nearly as strong as TIG or MIG?

no...not as strong as tig....and dont ever mig weld a keg if u dont have to....mig welding is more for stuff u dont really care about...tig is way cleaner and better to use for a sanitary process:rockin:

 

[passedpawn]

Super-great thread guys. Thanks.

 

[GreenMonti]

no...not as strong as tig....and dont ever mig weld a keg if u dont have to....mig welding is more for stuff u dont really care about...tig is way cleaner and better to use for a sanitary process:rockin:

Not every body has access to TIG. Not every body has the ability to TIG even if they had access to a machine. Also, the only pieces that "need" to be sanitary are the pieces that come in contact with the boiled wort. The kettle doesn't even "need" to be sanitary welded.

Why the push for a sanitary weld, when you welded on a threaded coupling?

 

[tigmaster]

the longevity of it...and its prettier..and plus its what i do for a living...i love making that weld...i have a very strong passion for my work and what i do!

 

[tigmaster]

plus i wouldnt trust any type of chemical cleaner around the solder...its a real soft metal....these r my opinions...and i work in process facilitys and we back purge....its how we operate...remmeber your talking to a professional!! and tig is the best process to learn in my opinion...once you learn how to control the metal...other welding is easier to grasp

 

[GreenMonti]

the longevity of it...and its prettier..and plus its what i do for a living...i love making that weld...i have a very strong passion for my work and what i do!

I can understand that. No doubt. I too am a weldor. I was in the food industry before my current position in aerospace.

I guess its the MIG remark that got me. IMO, there is nothing wrong with MIG if that's what one has to work with. If they have the skills to weld the thin gauge material and not have a leak, then it will work and last just fine for anything up to the boil. While there are some "pro's" on here, IMO the majority is the DIY home brewer.

You do nice work, and your a skilled weldor. Your passion shows in it IMO. I'm not trying to be rude or call you out in any way.
Have a good night.

Just for fun, here is one of mine.

 

[tigmaster]

hey so what is the tool to pullthe keg wall ouut like that? and i didnt take it that way! cheers! thats very nice too..your dipping the rod...i can telll...i do that to but mainly walk thje cup

 

[GreenMonti]

plus i wouldnt trust any type of chemical cleaner around the solder...its a real soft metal....these r my opinions...and i work in process facilitys and we back purge....its how we operate...remmeber your talking to a professional!! and tig is the best process to learn in my opinion...once you learn how to control the metal...other welding is easier to grasp

Just remember, your not the only one.

Every single weld I do is purged. I also work in a purge chamber when needed, due to the part being difficult to purge.

This is an 8" flange welded to a formed body. The material is 718 Inconel. .045 filler added.
Outside,

Inside,

 

[GreenMonti]

hey so what is the tool to pullthe keg wall ouut like that? and i didnt take it that way! cheers! thats very nice too..your dipping the rod...i can telll...i do that to but mainly walk thje cup

I know you walk the cup. That's the snake skin appearance in your welds. Yes I dip the wire in my fillets, I ball the wire up and drop it in my groove/butt welds.

Oh yea the tool. I lost my pics of that tool. I will send them to you just the same as the others that are asking me. There is another version of it on here that the others have built. Theirs is much more simple to build then mine. Check the soldering thread.

 

[tigmaster]

hey thats freaking sweet bro...i dig that...wish i could get into aerospace...thats some good skill...how does the inconel weld compaired to 304 or 316 or even the al6xn...thats the toughest stuff ive welded

 

[tigmaster]

like u mean u literally let the wire ball up and the jam it in there or ?

 

[GreenMonti]

hey thats freaking sweet bro...i dig that...wish i could get into aerospace...thats some good skill...how does the inconel weld compaired to 304 or 316 or even the al6xn...thats the toughest stuff ive welded

The Nickel content makes it a bit muddy. It likes to skin if your not in the right heat range or have bad gas coverage. Gas is very important just like SS is. It will sugar but not as bad as 304. It interesting material. If you get a chance, weld on it. Once you get good at Inconel, SS is a snap to weld.

Yes I get the end of the rod to melt and ball up. When I have the right size ball on it for the weld I'm doing, I just touch the ball to the puddle. The puddle sucks the ball right into the weld.

 

[sjvicker]

I can understand that. No doubt. I too am a weldor. I was in the food industry before my current position in aerospace.

I guess its the MIG remark that got me. IMO, there is nothing wrong with MIG if that's what one has to work with. If they have the skills to weld the thin gauge material and not have a leak, then it will work and last just fine for anything up to the boil. While there are some "pro's" on here, IMO the majority is the DIY home brewer.

You do nice work, and your a skilled weldor. Your passion shows in it IMO. I'm not trying to be rude or call you out in any way.
Have a good night.

Just for fun, here is one of mine.

...And the rest of them on the kettle are just as good!

 

[GreenMonti]

...And the rest of them on the kettle are just as good!

HA,HA....LOL

Yep that's yours, you noticed.

 

[JonW]

I've been thinking of getting into welding to do some basic brew stand stuff and whatever misc. things come up. However, doing tig for SS is something I'd like to tackle as well.

I have a handed down machine (Miller Dialarc HF) that I've not used before and quite honestly, this old beast looks intimidating. I'm wondering if I should just buy a small mig unit to start with or work on getting this Miller up and running. Thoughts?

Here's a pic I found on the web, but my unit is identical to this:

 

[GreenMonti]

I've been thinking of getting into welding to do some basic brew stand stuff and whatever misc. things come up. However, doing tig for SS is something I'd like to tackle as well.

I have a handed down machine (Miller Dialarc HF) that I've not used before and quite honestly, this old beast looks intimidating. I'm wondering if I should just buy a small mig unit to start with or work on getting this Miller up and running. Thoughts?

Here's a pic I found on the web, but my unit is identical to this:

Sweet!!! Another dinosaur. Just like mine. If you have it, use it. There is nothing wrong with that welder if it works proper.

Clean and set the points at .008 I believe and plug it in.

Here is mine.

 

[JonW]

Sweet!!! Another dinosaur. Just like mine. If you have it, use it. There is nothing wrong with that welder if it works proper.

Clean and set the points at .008 I believe and plug it in.

Yep - identical! I guess what is so intimidating with it is how many options there are for AC, DC, range, frequency, amperage, etc. I've been unable to find any decent information on settings for using this machine.

When would I use AC versus DC?
What is the high frequency option and when would I use that?
What range do I set it on and at what AMP level based on the materials I'm using?
If I just have an argon tank, can I do mig & tig?

 

[tigmaster]

ac welding is mainly for aluminum
high freq is also for alum
you can do alum and ss with argon with that machine or stick weld
that machine doesnt do mig...u need a machine with cv capabilities
for ref i use about 90 to 100 amps for thicker like around 1/4 thick and 30-50 for thinner gauge stuff

 

[GreenMonti]

Yep - identical! I guess what is so intimidating with it is how many options there are for AC, DC, range, frequency, amperage, etc. I've been unable to find any decent information on settings for using this machine.

When would I use AC versus DC?
What is the high frequency option and when would I use that?
What range do I set it on and at what AMP level based on the materials I'm using?
If I just have an argon tank, can I do mig & tig?

Yours and my machine can be used to stick (arc) weld or Tig weld.

AC is used for Aluminum.

The High Freq is used when you TIG weld. Though you can scratch start TIG, its better to use the HF. It keep the contamination of the tungsten down. When using the DC options, the HF is set to start. When using the AC option, the HF is set to continuous. The HF is used continuously to clean the Alum while your welding. The DC options will be used like this. DC reverse for stick (arc) welding and for balling the tip of your tungsten for welding alum. The DC straight is used for TIG.

A fair, general rule of thumb is. To set the welder amperage at, 1 amp for every .001" in material thickness. Some times you will need more then this but, its a good place to start. I would double the amps for alum. The dial in the middle is a percentage of the range that you select.

What is the SN of your welder? If you go to Miller and look up the manual by the SN. You will get a PDF of the book for your welder.

Yes, you can Mig on argon.

If you lift up the flap on the front bottom, you will see the points and the gas solenoid. You should also have one for water if you have a cooler to run a water cooled torch. There will also be a post flow time adjustment. That will set the number of seconds that the gas will flow after you let off the foot pedal.

Any more Q's just ask. Someone will answer.

Edit;
Oh yea, the "remote/standard" toggle. Is for the amperage adjustment. On remote, the amperage can be adjusted on the fly by the foot control. It also allows you to use the HF to start the arc. If its on standard, you will have to scratch start the arc, and you will get a fixed amperage. You would use the standard for stick.

 

[tigmaster]

Yours and my machine can be used to stick (arc) weld or Tig weld.

AC is used for Aluminum.

The High Freq is used when you TIG weld. Though you can scratch start TIG, its better to use the HF. It keep the contamination of the tungsten down. When using the DC options, the HF is set to start. When using the AC option, the HF is set to continuous. The HF is used continuously to clean the Alum while your welding. The DC options will be used like this. DC reverse for stick (arc) welding and for balling the tip of your tungsten for welding alum. The DC straight is used for TIG.

A fair, general rule of thumb is. To set the welder amperage at, 1 amp for every .001" in material thickness. Some times you will need more then this but, its a good place to start. I would double the amps for alum. The dial in the middle is a percentage of the range that you select.

What is the SN of your welder? If you go to Miller and look up the manual by the SN. You will get a PDF of the book for your welder.

Yes, you can Mig on argon.

If you lift up the flap on the front bottom, you will see the points and the gas solenoid. You should also have one for water if you have a cooler to run a water cooled torch. There will also be a post flow time adjustment. That will set the number of seconds that the gas will flow after you let off the foot pedal.

Any more Q's just ask. Someone will answer.

Edit;
Oh yea, the "remote/standard" toggle. Is for the amperage adjustment. On remote, the amperage can be adjusted on the fly by the foot control. It also allows you to use the HF to start the arc. If its on standard, you will have to scratch start the arc, and you will get a fixed amperage. You would use the standard for stick.

yeah u can mig with argon....but this is for me now...that macihne wont support a mig welder...correct?:rockin:

 

[GreenMonti]

yeah u can mig with argon....but this is for me now...that macihne wont support a mig welder...correct?:rockin:

I don't believe it will. I've never looked into that one. I have a separate MIG welder.

 

[user 40839]

Monti, I would appreciate it if you'd stop posting your pictures up here, you're honestly depressing me when I think about the "quality" of the welds I have on my keggles.

Seriously, if I ever win the lottery, I'm throwing cash at you to build me a few conicals and weld up fresh keggles for me. And why not, another brewstand (mine's perfectly fine, but hey... why not have one with gorgeous welds?!)