Welding aluminum

Mark @ Everlast · Jan 29, 2020

dragoneggs said:
Thanks, Steve. You got me to get out of my office chair and into the shop to take a pic of the inside cover of my 211. See the bottom for the Al spool gun settings. Says for .030 wire and 100% Argon, the settings for 1/4in thick should be 10/90. That is max volts and 90% of max wire feed. So, theoretically it can be done. I am assuming this is spray arc.

My only complaint really with this machine is I don't ever know what the actual voltage is 'volts' and wire speed in 'in/min'??? :confused3::smiley_aafz:
If I read somewhere, or someone tells me a good starting point for a particular weld it means nothing to me. I would be lost without this chart and it also makes it difficult to use someone's else's welder because I am not learning typical settings.

Yeah,
Smaller migs take up all the wire speed on smaller wire. Use .035" instead.

You could use a clamp on volt meter, and also time your wire spool out (if yours doesn't have slow run in) to figure IPM.

That's the worst things I have against our E model Migs. No indicator of volts or Amps. Our others all have them.

dragoneggs · Jan 29, 2020

Mark @ Everlast said:
Yeah,
Smaller migs take up all the wire speed on smaller wire. Use .035" instead.

You could use a clamp on volt meter, and also time your wire spool out (if yours doesn't have slow run in) to figure IPM.

That's the worst things I have against our E model Migs. No indicator of volts or Amps. Our others all have them.

I have thought about measuring and making a conversion chart. That sort of appeals to the engineering nerd in me but that sure isn't as much fun as doing some something productive (or destructive as the case may be)

BukitCase · Jan 29, 2020

I had similar (and more) gripes about the transformer 211, and was looking at getting a mm212 when I found the MM252 with dual running gear and NEVER used 30A spool gun + 3 tanks for the price of a BARE MM212 - the 252 had run about 5 lbs of wire thru it TOTAL, the spool gun had never even had a tip installed. I've since run close to 200 pounds thru the 252, including around 20# of .035 steel thru the spool gun. (the 30 foot reach comes in handy quite a bit)

My only gripe about the 252 is its (NON) portability - for some reason, Miller thought it didn't need a lifting eye (the older 250 class migs had 'em)

So, in true "I want more" fashion, I bought the newer MM211 (inverter) and built my own "lifting eye", disguised as an all-terrain welding cart

It can roll around on a shop floor, tilt it back and it becomes it's own hand truck, flip the hitch bar down and tow it with golf cart or lawn mower, and the cart also doubles as a roll cage (protects gauges/valve) and a lifting eye (which is adjustable in 2 axes for balance) - link here

https://www.tractorbynet.com/forums/build-yourself/387658-container-weld-shop-build-20.html

On a SLIGHTLY less insane note, the newer MM211 DID address every complaint I had about the older one EXCEPT the ability to keep mig gun AND spool gun connected and a REAL wire speed and volts readout - and at 42 lbs with gun it's less than HALF the weight of the transformer version.

In my world (10 acres, 4 different "shop" areas) there's NO WAY I'm gonna give up EITHER machine - fortunately I don't NEED to :thumbsup: ... Steve

dragoneggs · Jan 29, 2020

I do think I will end up eventually getting a dedicated TIG machine set up for aluminum. I am impatient when it comes to set up and having to fuss with the same tool having to completely reconfigure for a quick job. And my luck it will always be in the wrong configuration for what I want to do. The good news is I haven't 'needed' to weld aluminum. I just want to. I do have a couple of projects but obviously they are WAY down on the priority list.

BukitCase · Jan 29, 2020

Yeah, at times I wish I'd spent the extra $800 for the AC/DC version of my little Everlast TIG/Stick machine; I'm kinda in the same boat as you, but so far limited time (at least compared to the # of projects) says why bother. My 30A spool gun and MM252 can spray weld 1/4" aluminum at 100% duty cycle, so unless I wanna get "surgical" I'll probably stay with what I have. DC TIG will do anything BUT aluminum or magnesium, and with all the OTHER things I'd like to $pend on, so far it hasn't been a very high priority. I have a couple tanks of straight argon, so all I'd need to spray aluminum is a roll of wire... Steve

Motorboatin · Jan 29, 2020

dragoneggs said:
I do think I will end up eventually getting a dedicated TIG machine set up for aluminum. I am impatient when it comes to set up and having to fuss with the same tool having to completely reconfigure for a quick job. And my luck it will always be in the wrong configuration for what I want to do. The good news is I haven't 'needed' to weld aluminum. I just want to. I do have a couple of projects but obviously they are WAY down on the priority list.

Switching a TIG from steel to aluminum takes about 30 seconds

dragoneggs · Jan 29, 2020

Motorboatin said:
Switching a TIG from steel to aluminum takes about 30 seconds

Exactly... but I have a MIG with a spool gun still new in the box partly because I don't want to fuss with the change over... I know, I know... I'm lazy. Will sell that when/if I get a TIG... preferrably AC/DC. Eyeing the Everlast PowerTig 185DV. Maybe EverlastMark can tell me what the 200DV will buy me in capability (thickness) beyond the obvious much better duty cycle. I am guessing that I could easily get by with the 185 being a hobby welder.