27 replies to this topic

[Hendred]

Morning,

 

What gas flow rate do you lot weld at on your minis?

 

On my welding course my tutor was telling us to weld at 15L/min but I think it should be lower, around 10-12L/min for the mini?

 

Any comments appreciated.

 

John

[henri1972]

normally 12 L/min is what i have always used

[Hendred]

Ok thanks

[DomCr250]

I don't go by a flow rate, I put the torch to my ear and listen to the hiss of gas (make sure it's not feeding wire!), my logic is that you need just enough gas to form around the weld.

 

So a gentle 'hiss' seems to work best for me ....also consider if you are working in windy conditions, even a gentle breeze can blow away the shielding gas. 

 

Are you using Co2 or an 5% Argon Co2 mix?

[Hendred]

93 Argon, 5 Carbon Dioxide, 2 Oxygen mix

[Captain Mainwaring]

Half that. But you'll not go wrong with too much, only too little. Get some scrap steel and practice, see what your welder works best at.. Welding position also has a bearing on gas flow.

[Hendred]

Been welding today at level 2 on my 140amp welder and 8L/min of gas seems to give the best weld.

 

Front and back of test welding, certainly penetrating.

 

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[M J W J]

I think my mig welder is set at around 12 Litres/min

[Shifty]

I use about 10 litre per minute

[sledgehammer]

Use the minimum L per min to avoid oxidization - unless you have a free supply of gas - otherwise £xpensive

 

I use 8 lpm on small welds - but remember the gauges aren't that accurate anyway - one slight tap & they are out of calibration

 

& keep the defusser , nozzle , & tip nice & clear / clean - you don't want to squirt a jet of gas , just gently cover the weld with it

 

much too high will be as bad as too low - when very high the gas draws air in from behind the nozzle & oxidizes the weld

 

watch out with cooling fans in the hot weather - it don't take much to blow the gas out of the weld area

 

best of luck

[Hendred]

Thanks for the advice, I stay between 8-10l/min

[Tamworthbay]

And that is why those tiny 110 litre bottles are so expensive to use.

[Hendred]

Tiny 110 litre?

[Tamworthbay]

Tiny 110 litre?

yeah, the crappy little disposables that small and mid range welders come with. They cost about a tenner each as well! Only good for ten- fifteen minutes continuous welding.

[Hendred]

Those are crap but they arent 110 litre, I have a big bottle that is only 9 litres unless we are getting our wires crossed