a couple of mig questions

[Rickabilly]

Re too much gas;
If you are trying to "Find your way" on a new welder, Yes you can have too much gas BUT and it's a big but, it's really easy to control that by putting a couple of scrap steel bars either side of your weld so as you are welding in a trough, this trough fills with sheilding gas and stops the swirl from picking up air, this also works if you are trying to conserve gas you can reduce your gas flow by using the trough to hold the gas in place.

I learn a machine by turning the gas right up so I know there is plenty, then reduce until I get porosity, at which point I increase by about 20 - 25% All of the "Settings" are estimations as there are too many variable factors to make it possible to give hard numbers. for example; a tapered welding shroud will create more swirl than a straight one,  a slight breeze outside can mean you need 50% more sheilding gas than working inside a still shop, something I have experienced many times yet never seen in a manual or text of any kind, they didn't even cover that when I was studyng Weld Inspection, instead they said , and I quote "When you get to a new site find an Experienced welder and pay attention to his opinions" they were not pleased when I asked what course we needed to take that would teach us what an"Experienced welder"looked like.

There's really only one way to find the right settings and that is experience with the process and time on your particular machine, sorry about that.

I hope this helps, regards
Rick

[Vinny]

Yes, it did. Thanks!

[pepi]

Splatter can be controlled, checking and  adjusting a few variables. It will never be totally free 100% of the time as TIG can be. However way better than flux core or stick, and when the stars are aligned mig will produce a clean weld.

Some things to check

The cleaner the surface the better, bright and acetone wiped. Too high of heat will cause splatter and as mentione the flow of the shielding gas matters  (SGM). My sweet spot is right at 15cfh

Regarding the flow meter, much better than a regulator for consistency. Flow meters will have multiple scales for the different blends.

If you do not want to spend the money for a flow meter there is another tool. Below a trick tool that you put on the nozzle, and adjust/check the flow there.  Shown on a TIG torch, but use it on my MIG also, disingage the wire feed first.


cheers,
Greg

[Vinny]

Never saw one of those. I did find one trick to take care of spatter. I found it on Welding Tips and Tricks. Cooking spray (like PAM). Spray, weld, wipe with rag.

[pepi]

Found this guy some 10 years ago, he sells the portable flowmeter. The only place I've found it, the guy knows about argon.

Pretty interesting fellow

http://netwelding.com/prod02.htm

I would be interested to know how the pam works. Jody knows his stuff does good work..

[Dr Stan]

(07-14-2016, 04:48 PM)Vinny Wrote: Never saw one of those.  I did find one trick to take care of spatter.  I found it on Welding Tips and Tricks.  Cooking spray (like PAM).  Spray, weld, wipe with rag.

I'd be cautious about too much cooking spray and seriously avoid getting it in the welding location.  Cooking spray = oil and oil = contamination.

If you Google "welding anti spatter spray" there are a lot of choices that do not contain oil.

[Vinny]

I sprayed away from where I was going to be welding. Afterward I just took a rag and wiped the oil and spatter off with a rag. All of the welds were good and clean (not pretty, but that's on me) and there was no spatter to be found.