MIG welding question. (CO2 canister)

[joekimtkd]

Joe I have three auto shade welding helmets here at the shop. They all have there place and all have been great to use. One thing I have found with some of the older ones is that condensation can cause them to flick in and out once in awhile. My shop is full of florescent lights but I personally haven't had any ill effects because of them in my shop. They never bothered my helmets while welding.
I will add that I believe you get what you pay for in a helmet. The ones I use are in or above the $200. mark but have always given me great service. The newest helmet which is about a year old now is a Miller DIGITAL ELITE Inferno design. Great helmet and I love the X-mode but the helmet do get a little heavy after a few hours use. The condensation don't bother this one either.

Welcome Paul~! I knew you would come...
I wonder where is the Ed and Rusty and John~???

My helmet works fine. Auto shade and all. Just my stupid mask that I'm wearing collects all the humid from my breath and throw it out to welding helmet and fogs up the display window and can't see anything~
I have to invent new wiper that cleans my helmet display window~

I'm sure I wanted to use respirator to save my lung and nasal path.
I can't wait till I go to Princess auto to buy that respirator...

Don't you guys using any respirator when you welding~~~????????

Joe.

 

[Wildfire]

Welcome Paul~! I knew you would come...
I wonder where is the Ed and Rusty and John~???

My helmet works fine. Auto shade and all. Just my stupid mask that I'm wearing collects all the humid from my breath and throw it out to welding helmet and fogs up the display window and can't see anything~
I have to invent new wiper that cleans my helmet display window~

I'm sure I wanted to use respirator to save my lung and nasal path.
I can't wait till I go to Princess auto to buy that respirator...

Don't you guys using any respirator when you welding~~~????????

Joe.

Joe I use a special fan that will draw the fumes away from me if I'm in an area where there is little to no air movement. I got it from Princess Auto. If I'm in a confined area I'll use a positive air mask by 3M that I hook up to my sand blasting air system. Works great and keeps me cool on those hot days as well. I do get a break from the welding because I do a fair bit of machining as well although I had to do seven hours of mobile welding aboard a ship a few days ago. I was glads when I got it completed. Gees I'm supposed to be an automotive repair shop and this week I'm just welding and machining

I guess the boys just sit back and read the posts like myself. I've been to busy to spend any time on the net. If you don't hear from me it's because of the work and you should be happy because I'm not hogging the place then

 

[traildust]

...I had to do seven hours of mobile welding aboard a ship a few days ago.

...If you don't hear from me it's because of the work and you should be happy because I'm not hogging the place then

Paul,
Oneth by land, twoeth by sea! Buddy you got it all covered

Remember there is no hogging space around here, there's ALWAYS more room around the burn barrel to chew the fat

Besides, we need your advice and infamous Wildfire Tractor Porn

Scott

 

[joekimtkd]

Joe I use a special fan that will draw the fumes away from me if I'm in an area where there is little to no air movement. I got it from Princess Auto. If I'm in a confined area I'll use a positive air mask by 3M that I hook up to my sand blasting air system. Works great and keeps me cool on those hot days as well.

Could you give me the link of those two items?
Princess auto is my favorite shopping stop and I go there quite often.

You are totally enjoying your work~! That is most man's wish that is like retired man's life. I envy you~!

Please, get me those links...... Thank you again.

Joe.

 

[joekimtkd]

JWB my ever so knowledgeable and helpful friend, I think you trouble shot my helmet problem!

My shop is illuminated by overhead fluorescents! I'm on the cheap so some of the hanging fixtures are purchased used. Also a few of the bulbs have been on the brink and will do that annoying blinkity blink thing sometimes.

That would explain why the helmet doesn't do it all the time. My god JWB you're a genius!

A very thankful - Scott

Hey~ you have solved your problem. Congrats...
Now you owe me a coffee.

Joe.

 

[traildust]

Hey~ you have solved your problem. Congrats...
Now you owe me a coffee.

Joe.

Joe,
Man I tell you what. I'd love to get waaaay up there and buy you a coffee with some of that Baileys Irish Cream.

The only problem is getting waaaay up there

Scott

 

[joekimtkd]

Joe,
Man I tell you what. I'd love to get waaaay up there and buy you a coffee with some of that Baileys Irish Cream.

The only problem is getting waaaay up there

Scott

Then, I will drive down with my tractor. Mine takes 1 hour and 30 minutes to go to 13 Kms. So... from here to there... How many Kilometer is it?
30 or 50 Kms~???

Joe.

 

[handyman]

Guys I have been reading thread several days would like to jump in for a minute sorry if this is not completely on subject.You have been getting a lot of good info from several people on the forum I like this glad everyone has input and a lot of questions and good answers. I have sympathy for you wildfire I have wore the breathing apparatus and hoods a few times myself.They are hot sweaty and air circulation was not the best in the 1980s.You have a very special talent with your shop and skills. All of the people have different skills,education,jobs,and experiances and no person discredits the rest and always willing to help each other. IF ONLY THE GOVERMENT COULD GET ALONG THIS GOOD. I am retired as a certified welder I have worked in several states and also was certified as a welder on navy vessels our company provided some of the equipment for (enough on that subject.)I also worked outages at nuclear power plants over the country. ONe person is from Florida I worked outages at hutcherson Island at FT. Pierce Florida with the Pipefitters also worked with the Boilmakers we would cross in the 1980s. I have been welding since early 1970s. Some In my area know of TVA yes certified with them also. Sorry for so long but trying to give a little background of myself. Flash yes it hurts had a bunch dont like it (used sliced potatoes on in more than once some more wealthy would put a steak on it to pull out burn I used potatoes.) Guys all that to say this get the basic fundamentals down before you start spending a lot of money on very expensive helments etc.Yes I have used miller optrel etc but beleive it or not I always go back to my 40 dollar jackson I started out with in the 1970s.Practice gas settings heat settings speed control angle of wire,length to hold it from metal you are welding. Get this down pat first. Myself I like stick welding from old school.I have a Lincoln 275 amp tig welder at home and a gasoline lincoln G8000. I like migs for what they are made for .For strength I like stick. With practice you can weld a fender on a 60 or 70s model auto beleive it or not with stick . Miller and lincolnelectric both have a lot of info on their websites concerning gas settings heat or amperage setting wire speed angle of wire or rod and speed of travel just remember all of these suggestions on lincoln and miller or esab are only that(suggestions) each welder will have to see what works for them but when you get it right as someone said in another you can hear the bacon frying Wish some of you were closer to my area I enjoy working with people trying something new and watching those grins when they figure it out Sorry for so long reply.But I do enjoy seeing everyone JUMPING IN AND HELPING EACH OTHER. KEEP buring the wire. And use tanks made for your particular welding and keep it safe. handy

 

[traildust]

handy, you ARE the man! A vetted retired welder

I want so much to take you up on your offer and learn from you but you live in Tennessee, DAMN IT!

Trust me, I'd be grinn'n ear to ear with anything you could teach me. Oh, and what you would teach Joe too

My goal now is to get that bacon cook'n

Why did you wait so long handy? We needed you

Don't let this thread die out! If you have any more please toss it in. I love hearing and reading about welding.

You are right, if only the government could get along as well as the tractor drivers do on this forum. Imagine what shape we'd be in.

Scott

 

[traildust]

Then, I will drive down with my tractor. Mine takes 1 hour and 30 minutes to go to 13 Kms. So... from here to there... How many Kilometer is it?
30 or 50 Kms~???

Joe.

OK Joe, you know I am American and you tossed me for a loop with the metric thingy

Here is what I came up with and the numbers are rounded up.

Durham Ontario, Canada to Phelan, California:

3,899 km
Speed 8.7 km per hour
Driving time only - 18 Days 18 Hours (450 hours)

Fuel was averaged on 5 gallons for 8 hours
281.25 gallons

So I should be seeing you some time at the end of March

Scott

 

[handyman]

Dont cuss me to much but want to touch on a couple other things.Remberer learn to watch your puddle learn to tell the metal flow its watery flows with no bubbles (gas, porosity) or slag particle left behind.I have worked with a lot of GOOD welders that never was certified.I can say this remember a certified welder certifies in a controlled environment 90 percent of the time. I certified on 1G, 2G, 3G,5G,6gr they call nowdays. When I was learning a old welder told me concentrate on sides hit them burn in count to two then go to other side immediately,burn in on sides the middle will take care of itself, learned in time the old welder was right.Find a good welder let him weld with you and show you how a good puddle looks.a puddle with gas, one with slag. Do not get impatient it takes time I beleive Wildfire will agree with me on this and can add a lot to it. I myself find the difference of ac welding brings the metal to your rod or wire more if you will notice. That is why most reccomends welding on ac for rusty metals try it.Dc I have found out you can get a better looking weld but not necessarily stronger if both done correct. the dc I beleive you may get better penitration because you will notice you are going deeper instead of pulling the metal to the rod.A welder can weld with both rods or wire and show you the difference. remember knowing what you are seeing starting out is not usually what you see after you eyes learn what to notice oI am sorry this is very hard for me to put in words its hard for me to explain what I mean not educated as much as most people) Jump in wildfire you have a lot better way with words and explaining things than I do. But I sure enjoy showing people. Getting to old for that any more not as staedy as use to be if you pick up mig and stick then get to my speciality (use to be tig) a whole different ballgame. Sorry to have bored everyone and sorry If I am unclear I AM GLAD THIS THREAD WAS STARTED. Go on with your thread I will not but in anymore but remember when you learn you can weld all metals including cast alum.steel be careful with gavy.(bad stuff worse than stainless.)very little metal that cannot be welded. I like gas or acetaline also.forgive me for going on I wont do that anymore but could tell a lot of horror stories.Remember I learn something new everyday about welding and a lot from younger people THANKS AGAIN handy

 

[joekimtkd]

Thank you Handyman~!
Your fingers must be burning by now~ after that long post~!

I have to read a few more times again but it is good advice.

Have you used any fume extractor or mask to protect your lung and poor nose at all~???

Now, I'm sooooooo afraid to welding without mask or something~!

Joe.

 

[traildust]

Dont cuss me to much but want to touch on a couple other things. ....

Handy, aint nobody gonna cuss you, I'll guarantee that!
Please don't think you are posting too much or nobody cares. I CARE and so does everybody else on this forum.

I can tell how you write that you are speaking from the heart and you sincerely enjoy and care about helping other people.

I have learned that the best way to make it through life is to listen to people when they are willing to share experience. Every now and then one of those crown jewels will pop up and that's when I shut up and focus on listening and learning. Handy you are one in a million!

You remind me of a couple of people that took me under there wing when I was first starting out in my field when I knew nothing. These old timers had the patience to help me make it through my mistakes and failures and always guiding me with there experience and knowledge of how the systems work.
At first I used to wonder why they didn't do this for everybody. But I realized I was one of the only ones that would shut up and just listen to them and do my best to apply what they were teaching me.

Also please don't think that you aren't getting the point through by the way you are writing it down, you are. It's all the same. If a person is willing to listen he is willing to learn. I read what you have to say and it's getting through to me just fine.

Now I'm rambling

Thank you handy!

Scott

 

[Wildfire]

Handyman I'm sure glad you came in on this. Sure saved me a pile of typing you sir know your stuff. Not often I'm be able to agree with anyone 100% but with your post I have to say it's 100% accurate and thanks for posting a great response. I'll have to add that your far more qualified than I am at welding. This is basically a second trade for me and not one I dedicate all my time to although I do make a good living doing it and it along with the machining aspect of it is a great addition to our business.

Joe here are a few more items I use when welding. The mask is great but you need the pump like I use for sand blasting to operate it properly.


Mask link. http://www.websoft-solutions.net/product_p/alg9920.htm

For fans I use these:

They happen to be two of my biggest fans both are from Princess Auto.

This one is a real pal. I've taken it on job sites with me and it gets used for cooling or just moving air and fumes from an area. It's light and it's adjustable.

 

[handyman]

Thanks for your kind words trailduster. I dont want to see people pay a large amount of money off the bat for equipment (helmets etc. )and then find out its not their cup of tea. and lose half of investment. My old flipdown hood is great to learn with then later buy a better one then when your battery wears out or the sensor goes bad etc.you will always have old faithful (Flip down to go back in a bind and it will happen) Put most of the money in a good welder pay close attention to duty cycle. The duty cycle we will use 60% at 200 amps this means when welding at 200 amps you can weld continually for 6 minutes out of 10 minutes also single phase is household curent in the us. Mine is a idealarc lincoln it runs off 220 stick/tig. The 220 would be my preference it is also single phase and will run off 220 or your dryer connection. Thanks again Im rambling now. Most welding supply dealers can help you with argon mix or which ever gas the welding requires. handy

 

[joekimtkd]

I was cleaning snow today and found my snow blade bracket broke off.
Well~, my cheap mig welder didn't do good job at all. but then again... it is 1/4 inch angle iron and my cheap mig welder could only handle 1/8 inch.
Also I didn't know anything about the mig welder and I was just blaming myself.

Mig-pak 140, 110 volts flux welder was handling that 1/4 inch metal welding beutifully. Well, I mean mig welder was working good. welding job wasn't that pretty.

I've learn a tons of stuff since I got this Lincoln mig welder and this post.

That mask looks good. I wish I have one...
Is that floor model fan is okay to use when you doing flux welding?
That wind will not bothered like Mig welding?

Thank you sooooooo much.

Joe.

 

[patferrell]

CO-2 will work great compared to flux core. You'll need a regulator for the tank. So you can take the tank down to a welding supply shop, to see if the regulator will fit the 20 oz bottle. If you don't allready have one. They do make adapters for various situations. So if the reg. fits, give er a try. 15psi a good starting place on your reg. setting. Good luck

 

[handyman]

Wildfire you have some nice equipment. Im drewling.Joe when I worked in nuclear some places we had to wear mask with air supply plus dressout, the equipment stayed in toolroom in hot area(RADIATION) When I first started there was no equipment that avalible except for a mask some would now use to mow yard with.A lot of the areas I had to crawl thru a opening in a waterwall 36 inches with a 18 inch opening on some of the navy stuff.WILDFIRE knows what these are. It was no room for very much equipment. Then on the reactor outages it would take 1 hour to get dressed out and 3 minutes to weld.I always liked the boilmaker and pipefitters work.In my garage I have a exhaust fans etc. I dont do as much now since retired.Let no one kid you wildfire is exactly right you need to protect yourself as much as possibe.The company I worked for most of the time had exhaust fans in ceiling and tried as best they could. When doing things at home in my shop now I try to do most outside but do have a exhaust fan in the garage in the ceiling area.The worst is gavinized material , stainless steel ,alum but you learn to stay out of the main fumes over the years.I have good lungs I have never smoked except for the welding rods. WILDFIRE is exactly right you need to protect your lungs as much as possible.NOW STARTING TO RAMBLE. In the early 70s you would know new welders they would have nosebleeds in the bathroom until they would get use to the smoke and fumes but we had to make a living 8-12 hrs a day 6-7 days a week. ONE OTHER THING I always regreted I was offered a job on the ALASKIAN pipeline always regretted not doing that but had 2 youngans and a wife. Just give welding a try but be caucious. handy

 

[Wildfire]

Wildfire you have some nice equipment. Im drewling:The worst is gavinized material , stainless steel ,alum but you learn to stay out of the main fumes over the years.I have good lungs I have never smoked except for the welding rods. WILDFIRE is exactly right you need to protect your lungs as much as possible.

Thanks Handy. Like you I've been in some bad areas to have to weld in and some very hot areas as well. I've been up to my knees in chicken poop welding conveyors as well which is not pleasant. This time of the year it gets cold welding out in the field such as you see in the pic where I'm welding the shank on an excavator bucket. That day there were ice burgs out in the water just off from the picture.

Most of the time I'm welding in the shop which is much warmer and controllable. Your right about the galvanized crap. Had that happen to me as well. Milk is good for that. Seems to naturalize the effects of the poison

As for the equipment. I built the Tig cart that I named "Crazy Cart" and I built the Miller trailer to pull behind the truck. I've gotten allot of work just because of the trailer so that worked out well. I'm just finishing up mounting a new positioner I got for some up coming pipe work. I mounted it on an adjustable hydraulic table and got a steady rest to put on the other end. Here's a few more pics. If you haven't seen the vids I did on the welding stuff I built I added the links.



http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2uLBlSThbJ0

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ceFXtSEypnY&feature=fvw

 

[handyman]

Wildfire Im drewling again.Love your equipment. If I ever get to Canada I will have to come see. Yes drunk a lot of the milk in my time gavy rough. Those buckets are cold to work on. Worked on 1 or2 of those also but it gives you satisfaction when you finish and see the thing still going years down the road. Put some cleats on a bulldozier for a friend once he was complaining about them breaking when he welded them.After I put them on I (claded the top) and used a hard surface rod and built top of cleats up I saw him several months later he said the thing beat him to death but he couldnt break the cleats or even scratch the top we both got a laugh out of that. He said he never saw that hard surface used on them before. By the way this 25 years ago. Its beautiful where you live like the pictures. JOE DID YOU GET BRACKET WELDED if not either wildfire or myself could make a suggestion or maybe someone else will jump in.handy