Bad Argon? Fixed and it is bad.
 

I recently swapped out a bottle of Argon. I have had nothing but dull contaminated welds since I have swapped it. This is all TIG. Stainless Steel 304l fittings that I have been welding for 5 years. THis is a first. No matter what I try the welds are dark in color resembling being way too hot. The tip of the tungsten gets a raised black ring almost at the tip after welding an inch or 2.

I checked the torch for leaks and there are none.

I have tried anywhere from 15 to 30 cf of flow

I changed out the tungsten 3 times and I use a tungsten sharpener.

So, I am stuck thinking its the argon. The gas shop is closed today.....

Re: Bad Argon?
 

did you change your filler? need to replace your gas lense?

Re: Bad Argon?
 

Filler is the same 10 lbs batch I had. I have another gas lens and will try that today since I can't swap the bottle.

Re: Bad Argon?
 

sure its not a 25/75 mix? sometimes the shops accidently give us mix'ed bottles intended for the mig

Re: Bad Argon?
 

accidentally gave you a bottle of 95-5 or a tri-mix

Re: Bad Argon?
 

I been having this problem for three weeks now.

I changed the bottle once.

Changed the torch.

Changed the tungsten.

Changed the regulator.

Changed the regulator hose.

Still no help. So im going back and get another bottle.

Try welding aluminum and see how bad its going to turn out.

Re: Bad Argon?
 

Anything is possible but the bottle is marked correctly.

Re: Bad Argon?
 

so is the bottle that I got. But you never know what they put in it, or how it got contaminated.

Re: Bad Argon?
 

the bottle could have moister in it this could happen by the previous customer leaving the empty bottle outside with the valve open and it raining and ----...what company do you get your gas from??

Re: Bad Argon?
 

funny that i read this, as we have had the same problem at work with our last tanks. we have tried everything, changing tungsten, gas lense, even looked for a leak..

it sucks thats for sure.

Re: Bad Argon?
 

I looked for a leak too. Nothing there.

I got mine from Tec Welding in Auburn.

Ill have to take this one back too and ask them to give me a bottle from another batch.

Re: Bad Argon?
 

exactly. i got a bottle i know 100% was C25 one time after i bought ar.

98ctr if you're sure on the gas check polarity if DC / AC balance / leads, use a 100% new stainless brush, wipe with acetone immediately before welding.

turbod you'll find alot of places either restrict the flow to a trickle, or had it at a trickle; learned better & cranked it up. yet by canking it up the gas leaves very turbulant. Swirling air back into the mix. i got a $100 bonus on a pay check several months back by "solving" all the continual coverage problems at that particular shop lol!

Re: Bad Argon?
 

I changed out the gas lens. Its definately the bottle.

Re: Bad Argon?
 

Here what happend. I was making an CAI for a customer and my gas was low, so I thought I would replace the bottle so I don't run out over the weekend.

Same set up on the tig, new bottle and everything went to shiet.

Changed/cleaned/etc everything I could and still the same ass black crap in my aluminum puddle.

Re: Bad Argon?
 

if you get your gas from auburn go to haun welding supply in auburn ...i work for the main fill plant in syracuse and i know our ---- is 100%...

Re: Bad Argon?
 

Happens. We swap 12 bottles every two weeks we typically see 1 or 2 that weld noticeably different then the rest.

I've been looking into a manifold/purifier system to reduce these effects and I also looked into a liquid argon system but the evaporation rate from the liquid tanks exceed the usage for us.

No luck yet.

Re: Bad Argon?
 

You talking Indiana?

Re: Bad Argon?
 

no new york i dont know if hes talking about new york or whereever

Re: Bad Argon?
 

maybe argon is coming from china now too.... :-\

Re: Bad Argon?
 

Ah ok, well theres syracuse, and aubrun that are pretty close to each other in Indiana. Crazy ----.

Re: Bad Argon?
 

CONFIRMED.

I swapped out the bottle and took a smaller size bottle as to not get the same lot. Welds are crystal clear again.

Re: Bad Argon? Fixed and it is bad.
 

yeah i just went to my small welding shop and got some argon, and the welds are seriously night and day..... i hate airgas, if it is not this it is the fact that they can't even order the right torch's when you give them part numbers...... lol

Re: Bad Argon? Fixed and it is bad.
 

yah airgas dosent give a ---- about their customer because they are so big that they know their will be another customer around they corner... the smaller shops are better because they will do everything in their power to make sure their customers are happy.

Re: Bad Argon? Fixed and it is bad.
 

Airgas is love/hate. Most months out of the year they're hard to beat on gas price.

Then again if you ask them for Speedglas SL faceplates they look in their own book, see the part number match the part number you give them and tell you they can't find the part number... ------- morons.

Re: Bad Argon? Fixed and it is bad.
 

I had the same thing happen to me a few months ago.. it was frustrating because I had just changed torches that day and thought it was causing the issue... damn gas companies!

Re: Bad Argon? Fixed and it is bad.
 

So after two bottles of argon, I finally got a good bottle. I came back to the shop, connected the new bottle and welded just fine.

I called back Tec Welding and told them that it was the gas (after them telling me its imposible to get two bad bottles in a row) and all they had to say was "o ok". LOL

Next time I go, im getting a free bottle for sure.

Re: Bad Argon? Fixed and it is bad.
 

This just happened to me today- what a ------- pissoff. Lost 12 hours of work because it's sunday andf I cna't exchange it. :7

Welder worked fine friday night. Bought more gas saturday. Hook it up sunday- the tungsten contaminates with the little black ring at the tip after a few seconds of arc time, stainless welds look crusty and dark. Yes I checked everything for leaks and even tried another torch. Same ----. Sucks ass to lose so much time on a job that needs to be DONE.

This was a transfer filled tank (80cuft), either they fucked up an got air in the lines when they filled it, or they hooked it up to 98/2. Either way even though I'll get a replacemnet I won't get back the 12 hours i lost. ------- POS welding store.

Re: Bad Argon? Fixed and it is bad.
 

Actually this is mostly the retards that use the bottles, NEVER run your bottle completely empty, always leave some pressure in the bottle, if you run the bottle flat out, you often get oxygen back in the bottle that causes contamination, the only way to recover from this is to vacuum the bottle out, and most refillers never check because they assume everyone knows BASIC bottle swapping procedures.

Re: Bad Argon? Fixed and it is bad.
 

Your welding supply place sucks major nutsack if they don't vaccuum cylinders before re-filling. ::) :P

Vacuuming is standard practice, sometimes the LWS doesn't pull enough vacuum before filling though.

Re: Bad Argon? Fixed and it is bad.
 

i always run that ---- dry... im broke!


















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actually i just never knew that... sorry guys.. your probably all getting my bottles..