Welding On A New Tractor

[Farwell]

Oxygen and oil don't mix to well, they have a serious fire potential even without a flame.

 

[MJPetersen]

O&A welding involves steel not brass. Brass/Bronze (alloy) is used in brazing. And no it does not mix with the steel--it does stick to it VERY well, but it is not nearly as strong. It is great for repairing pinholes in hyd tubing or wear though spots. It can be use to fill a scratch in a hyd cyl rod. It melts at a much lower temp than steel, but it does have its uses.

O&A welding involves a steel filler rod and a suitable sized torch for the job. The speed and ease factor disappear when welding anything ticker than tubing or sheet. It has its uses, but I imagine with MIG and TIG it will eventually fade away. But there is little more beautiful than a well done tube cluster of 4130 crome-moly tubing welded with O&A.

Alan is right about the problems of welding with O&A on thicker materials. It really is not practical. One additional thing would be that it would be significantly slower also.

Mike

 

[2manyrocks]

I stand corrected. Thank you all.

 

[sandman2234]

2manyrocks,
Your not wrong in it being possible, so don't go apologizing for thinking it wouldn't work. Due to the other viable options, it may not be the fastest but probably just as good as any other with the proper experience and in the right hands. The temperature of gas welding is very close to the temp of arc welding, and the steel is the same, so the results can be the same with practice.
As far as oxygen mixing with petroleum products, it becomes explosive I believe, not flamable. This is not while the oxygen is being burned, only in a gaseous state of contact. So if the flame is burning, subjecting it to oil will just cause the oil to burn faster, as the oxygen is an accelerant.
Never mix petroleum products with oxygen or it's piping/fittings.
GTAW (tig) is one of the processes that is replacing gas welding. Coupled with a high frequency box, it will allow you to weld aluminum and that I know will harm onboard electronics even with the battery disconnected. I had a pinhole in a fuel tank and they hit it with a tig torch with hi freq. The truck refused to start again, and a bad brainbox was determined to be the cause. The truck was driven into the shop to fix a fuel leak, but wouldn't drive back out.
David from jax

 

[AlanB]

Good point on the HF with the Tig Sandman, I was not thinking along the lines of Tig in the discussion but it is used somewhat, and the very reason that the HF is superimposed over the welding current is to get the arc to jump without physical contact of the tungsten.

You can really feel it when you are hot and sweaty and become part of the circuit as well

 

[sandman2234]

That electricity seems to bite some people more than others. I have a friend who comes over to weld quite often, and he is really prone to getting shocked. I can see it in his face when it happens, and it happens to him alot more than it ever happens to me. I have wondered if it is his shoes, or the level that he sweats, or maybe the nicotine in his system. Never have figured that one out, because I can weld standing on wet ground and it not bother me, but he lights up like a Christmas tree if he tries.
David from jax

 

[Soundguy]

I agree with the others.. first choice is to drop the bucket.. past that.. disconnect both bat cables.. etc.. and have your ground clamp as close to the work as possible.

soundguy

 

[dfkrug]

I am with RobJ on this one. I have been welding on cars and
tractors with electronics for many years, without any problems.
I do not disconnect the battery or computer(s), but I only use
DC welding (mostly MIG). No hi-freq TIG, and not even AC 60Hz. The
HF in TIG welding can induce currents in the frame that can damage
semiconductors. (Sandman has got that right.)

I wonder if there are actually any well-documented cases of
damaging a PCU after DC welding on a car.....

 

[MJPetersen]

Never have figured that one out, because I can weld standing on wet ground and it not bother me, but he lights up like a Christmas tree if he tries.

I may be like your friend. I have welded in the rain and if I hold the stinger in the left had everytime the slag hammer hit the weld I get a good jolt. I try to get my helper to hold it if I need to hammer on the weld.

Mike

 

[jimmer2880]

Slightly off topic... but, I have welded while standing in 4" of water. Not the smartest move, but it had to get done.

The times when I get "tickled", are when my gloves are wet. Typically, the thicker the gloves, the longer it takes before I start to get that tingling feeling.