Questions about a tank for my new Mig Welder...

[brin]

I have been using flux core in my new to me mig welder and have been looking for an Oxy / Argon tank...I found this one on Craigs List..

CO2 Welding Paintball Tank

My question is can I use straight oxygen until the tank is empty( don't want it to blow up ) and then when I take it to get it filled will they put Argon in this tank ? I ask since I am wondering if there are certain tanks for oxy and then oxy /argon mix....

Thanks in advance for any advice

 

[aczlan]

I have been using flux core in my new to me mig welder and have been looking for an Oxy / Argon tank...I found this one on Craigs List..

CO2 Welding Paintball Tank

My question is can I use straight oxygen until the tank is empty( don't want it to blow up ) and then when I take it to get it filled will they put Argon in this tank ? I ask since I am wondering if there are certain tanks for oxy and then oxy /argon mix....

Thanks in advance for any advice

??? The seller says that "It is full of CO2" not O2.

Aaron Z

 

[k0ua]

Bob you can use the CO2 in Mig welding, I am not sure what connector that tank has on it, it could be CGA 320 and a normal MIG mix tank would have CGA 580. what regulator do you have? is it a CGA 580 fitting.? You normally don't use pure Argon for MIG, you normally use Mig mix. which is 75% Argon and 25% CO2. Co2 gives more splatter, and slightly deeper penetration. A lot of guys do use it instead of Mig Mix because it is cheaper. Of course you don't use O2 or oxygen at all.. wow that would be dangerous.:shocked: and not at all effective. The whole idea of a shielding gas is to shield the weld from oxygen and nitrogen in the air by displacing it with the inert gas. Of CO2 is not exactly inert. You normally use Pure Argon for TIG welding. See if your regulator and the cylinder fitting are compatible. Also I think your flow meter reading are different for CO2 vs Mig mix.

 

[brin]

??? The seller says that "It is full of CO2" not O2.

Aaron Z

So you can tell I know nothing about this welding or welding with gas....I fixed my son's rake...that went well...but I just don't want to blow myself up....Thanks...I will be careful with the use of Co2 vs 02...

Bob you can use the CO2 in Mig welding, I am not sure what connector that tank has on it, it could be CGA 320 and a normal MIG mix tank would have CGA 580. what regulator do you have? is it a CGA 580 fitting.? You normally don't use pure Argon for MIG, you normally use Mig mix. which is 75% Argon and 25% CO2. Co2 gives more splatter, and slightly deeper penetration. A lot of guys do use it instead of Mig Mix because it is cheaper. Of course you don't use O2 or oxygen at all.. wow that would be dangerous.:shocked: and not at all effective. The whole idea of a shielding gas is to shield the weld from oxygen and nitrogen in the air by displacing it with the inert gas. Of CO2 is not exactly inert. You normally use Pure Argon for TIG welding. See if your regulator and the cylinder fitting are compatible. Also I think your flow meter reading are different for CO2 vs Mig mix.

James ...I will check my regulator and see if it has any ID of any kind on it....It would help if I had a clue about what I was doing...LOL

When I bought the welder it did not include the tank...but I got the hose and regulator etc...other small parts and wire...the seller said to just look for a tank...yeah, easier said than done around here...they are hard to find even going to buy a new one...which I'd rather not do.. I will call the seller and if he still has it for sale I will see if it fits my welder regulator....

I just wanted to use up what he had in the tank before finding a place to put the argon/oxy mix in there...( hope I got that Oxy right )

Thank you guys for so much help...

 

[k0ua]

I just wanted to use up what he had in the tank before finding a place to put the argon/oxy mix in there...( hope I got that Oxy right)

No not argon oxy mix.. Argon CO2 mix.. called Mig Mix by many. a mixture of argon and carbon dioxide.. NOT oxygen.. Oxygen in Mig welding has NO place.. Big NO NO... go Boom.. catch fire burn your whiskers... :shocked:

 

[aczlan]

So you can tell I know nothing about this welding or welding with gas....I fixed my son's rake...that went well...but I just don't want to blow myself up....Thanks...I will be careful with the use of Co2 vs 02...

No problem, gotta start from somewhere

I just wanted to use up what he had in the tank before finding a place to put the argon/oxy mix in there...( hope I got that Oxy right )
Thank you guys for so much help...

Its Argon/CO2, not Oxygen (the idea behind the "Shielding Gas" is to SHIELD your weld FROM Oxygen) but otherwise if the regulator fits, you should be good to go.

Aaron Z

 

[k0ua]

here are some pictures, maybe this can help

here is a drawing of a CGA 580 fitting, the female Tank is on the left and the fitting is on the right.

The here is a CGA 580 regulator/flowmeter, like you would buy on ebay.. notice the Male threads and rounded sealing face.

here is both a CGA320 and a CGA580 fittings that would mate up to thier respective tanks.. Notice the CGA320 fitting is female and the tank would be male.


Finally here is a CGA320 regulator/flowmeter

Hopefully you have a CGA580 regulator/flowmeter and that tank is CGA580, but I cant see it well enough to know. All I am saying it would not be a good deal to buy a tank that does not match your regulator..

James K0UA

 

[Shield Arc]

Actually 98% Argon, and 2% oxygen is a very good mix for spray transfer welding. You still need a machine that can get into the high 20s for volts though.

 

[k0ua]

Actually 98% Argon, and 2% oxygen is a very good mix for spray transfer welding. You still need a machine that can get into the high 20s for volts though.

I don't believe Bob is going to be doing a lot of spray transfer with his little 110 volt Mig. though

 

[Shield Arc]

I don't believe Bob is going to be doing a lot of spray transfer with his little 110 volt Mig. though

Oh, I didn't see that part. Lot of guys come onto the welding forums thinking they're going to build bridges with their 110-volt Mig welder.