MIG shielding gas question

[twraska]

Sounds like a gas problem check the gas diffuser (behind the tip), the whip connection to the feeder for the o-rings and that it is fully inserted and the regulator, sometimes a regulator left out will get a spider web or a cacoon in it an play havoc with flow. Gas flow rate need to match the nozzle diameter too much flow can cause turbulence and porosity. To much drag angle and can mess up the gas field. A power wire brush on the angle grinder should be enough to clean the steel but when in doubt grinding to bright metal is the way to go. Welding with the settings way out of parameters can cause issues as well. What machine are you using?

Bob

Forgot to put in OP, we put on a whole new Bernhart(sp) gun, from the welder to the tip all brand new. Normally we just wire brush to get it kinda clean and away we go. Will check hoses from regulator to gun today. Machine is a Miller 350P, running on 'regular mig' not pulse.

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Yeah i always say cfm too until i think how much gas that would be. Stick out is also important. We use ESAB dual shield with co2 and change to a small nozzle for root passes and tight access so you have to drop the flow for that some guys use the root nozzle for everything but i hate it and change to the larger nozzle as soon as possible. Argon /Co2 is a little smoother to me but co2 has deeper penetration. We use co2 gauges they are not the same and have heaters to prevent freezing.

Bob

Would co2 burn through any rust pits or flakes any better? I'm thinking maybe the metal isn't as clean as I think because of small rust pits within the metal or,,,,,bad gas or mis-labeled gas, as we tried a different welder (small one set up with 023 wire) and it had problems as well. The gas for both came from same supplier at the same time.

 

[sniggler]

Nice machine, you could push the 1/16 ESAB dual shield 710x with that miller to me it is a great all position wire maybe .045 or .052 would work better for you. For fab shop i think the dual shield is better than bare wire. We use bernard whips a lot. With our setup and a straight nozzle i run at 50+cfh. What wire size are you using?

co2 digs better but i don't think you should have a problem with the mix, with the machine at the high end of the settings, setup a nice clean fillet weld and get the voltage up into the high end of the range and dial up the speed as you weld till you hit the sweet spot should boil the impurities right out get the gas flow toward the top of the range for the nozzle size. Is it worm tracks or holes. Wire brush the grinder dust on the joint before welding. Take a picture of your setup and the welds if you can.

Bob

 

[DaveD]

Was this a new tank of gas you were using?
Have you tried a different tank of gas?

 

[larryr]

the easiest thing to do would be to try welding some clean plate using the same settings. this will tell you weather its the metal or the process. i use both co2 and the argon co2 mix and to be honest i dont see much difference, the argon mix runs a little smoother and is easier to weld thin material ,but ive had good results with either gas. if your problem turns out to be the process (man,machine,method) i would take some photos of your beads and submit them to the forum along with the settings you are using,i'm sure someone will be able to solve your problem.
larryr