110 mig welder + stainless manifold = waste of time
 

i try to weld my stainless manifold with a 110 mig welder. it doesn't work at all. bought the welder for nothing. i ended up paying this guy $60 to weld my manifold. i spend $600 on the damn welder too. i guess i can use it to weld my intercooler pipings. i have pic of the manifold if u guys wanna see it. show me how to post up the pic. i just need to cut weld the t3 flange in it. phanmy11@netscape.net

Re:110 mig welder + stainless manifold = waste of time
 

how many amps is your welder? You need SERIOUS amounts of power to weld stainless

Re:110 mig welder + stainless manifold = waste of time
 

you can post pics by going to www.pichold.com , then after you upload click on the icon next to yaBB and paste that onto your post. questions? PM me, glad to help.

Re:110 mig welder + stainless manifold = waste of time
 

ive welded stainless with my gasless 115 volt wire feeder ;)

Re:110 mig welder + stainless manifold = waste of time
 

I don't know about stainless, but I welded all my IC piping with a 85amp gasless campell-haus welder and it worked pretty damn good...

I'm going to get a gas optional welder from harbor freight, everyone told me the POS gasless welder prob. wouldn't cut it, but it worked just fine.

If the going get really tuff, I can drag it to the shop at work, them have all miller stuff. the Miller mig is like 240amps ( or close ), and has two guns, one for alum. and one for steel/iron. But not even the $2500++++ welder could help my lack of welding skill and my IC looked like crap, and I had to use JB weld to seal all the leaks...

Re:110 mig welder + stainless manifold = waste of time
 

What shielding gas were you using to weld the stainless steel? Did you know that it takes argon gas to create a zero oxygen atmosphere for perfect welds?

And yes, more current is needed to penetrate.

Re:110 mig welder + stainless manifold = waste of time
 

I too have welded my stainless manifold (SS autocrap) with a 110 MIG and it welded fine. It's held up fine so i know my welds are strong.

Re:110 mig welder + stainless manifold = waste of time
 

i got a lincoln welder. is rated at 135 amp with 25 amp output 110v. i use 100% argon gas. i set it at 15 psi at the gas regulator. i can weld stain by using flux core, but the manifold will crack in a month. this is the second manifold i'm making. i don't want it to crack this time. i'm gonna go look at the tig welder tomorrow. the guy want $1,100 for it. i will try to get the pic of asap

Re:110 mig welder + stainless manifold = waste of time
 

It really is about trial and error with anything you weld.

If the place u got your ---- from will let you upgrade to a phat TIG for $400 extra, go for it! You really need a tig and a mig in any "professional" shop, but tigs are so great, and you can perform ARC welding duty on them.

Re:110 mig welder + stainless manifold = waste of time
 

hey man, you dont really need that much argon.. i run 5 pounds at the regulator, with probably the same welder as you have. most steel works fine for me up to 1/4" anyway

Re:110 mig welder + stainless manifold = waste of time
 

I asked the question about gas pressure last week, and the concensus was 15-25 from experienced users. As an FYI Lincoln recommend 30-40, I ran 30 the other day with my 100 amp on some 1/8" steel , it didn't work very well, I'm going to turn it down and try again later this week. It was almost like the welder couldn't feed the wire fast enough, I think the gas might be cooling it too quickly.

Neil

Re:110 mig welder + stainless manifold = waste of time
 

Neil85ae86 = i have the same problem with my welder. i would try to weld my stainless with 15 psi. the wire would burn off before it touched the manifold. i have to crank up the wire speed to like 8 inorder to weld. i don't know if my welder is too weak or i'm just using the wrong gas.

i tried to return the welder to homedepot, but they don't let me. they said they can only take it back for %75 what i bought it for. i really want to get a tig, but the tig is going for like $1,100 use from miller. let me know if u know anbody sell a tig for cheap. do u think i can use a 175 amp arc welder to weld my manifold?

Re:110 mig welder + stainless manifold = waste of time
 

Home Depot has turned into a complete shithole. Fight your way, you'll get your ------- money back! Call the district manager or whatever.

Check egay out for some nice Tig 220v packages for about a grand (including shipping). One day I'm going to throw down a chunk and buy me a tig.

---- I wish I kept my plasma cutter.

Re:110 mig welder + stainless manifold = waste of time
 

Welding tip:You should spend 9/10 of the time preping the joint to be welded and 1/10 actually welding the joint.Any book or professional tig or mig welder will tell you that.

Re:110 mig welder + stainless manifold = waste of time
 

i cleaned the manifodl best as i can. well, i found out that the guy sold me the wrong type of gas for my mig. he gave me 100% argon. i was suppose to get 3 types of gas mix in the bottle. argon, co2 and hillium gas to wel stainless. i'm gonna go exchange the gas on sunday.

Re:110 mig welder + stainless manifold = waste of time
 

Damn stinky, you're absolutely right on that. I normally sand blast the area first.

Re:110 mig welder + stainless manifold = waste of time
 

I learned the hard way ;D Like exhaust piping,its aluminized steel.But you wouldn't weld it like aluminium,you have to weld to the base metal(at least with most MIG's)so i spent 2 hours just getting the joints down to the base metal.Good stuff to use is plumbers emory cloth.It's made for cleaning pipes for sodering.Its real flexable and water proof.

Re:110 mig welder + stainless manifold = waste of time
 

Sandpaper roughs it up good for me.. mostly I'm doing larger steel jobs so a quick turn with the angle grinder makes the surface weldable.

Don't forget to clean/prep the area for your ground as well.

Re:110 mig welder + stainless manifold = waste of time
 

Also the weld itself is unpretected after welding(at least mild steel) so you have to paint it with header paint or if you are getting a jet coat or something then abviously do that after all your welding.If you don't protect the bead then it will just rust out.Hey Quadnie,when you weld stainless is the joint protected by the welding compound?I mean if you just weld up stainless will the joint rust?

Re:110 mig welder + stainless manifold = waste of time
 

i don't think the joint will rust when u weld stainless, because you have to use stainless wire to use stainless.

Re:110 mig welder + stainless manifold = waste of time
 

Ya know you got me thinking on that one.. Makes me want to go look at something stainless that got outdoors use.. which gets ever narrower. I'm going to go for the long shot and say yes it will oxidize, i might research up on it later.

Man I was making some shitty welds tonight, at first my tac welds were nice - I remarked to my dad "look at those bitchin' welds" then it got dark out and I still wasn't done redoing the entire exhaust on my dad's car, and it was windy. My main welded area sounds shitty, leaking out of pinholes - not to mention I kept getting pile up. Not good.

I'm normally a better welder, I blame the nightfall and really windy atmosphere. That stock volvo piping is some thick ---- too. I had the welder at 3/4 power (mind you this a 110v capable of at most of welding .25" on single pass) and it wasn't even melting thru the pipe. It's on there now, wait till next weekend to jack it back up, grind down my fuckups and re-apply. I didn't paint that bitch either, ---- it the car has 340k+ miles, this is the last exhaust work that will ever be done on it.

Speaking that, if ya'll are insterested in what I was doing, I was gutting the cat and replacing the header/downpipe from a wrecked recent model 240GL, recently had both mufflers replaced (under midas warranty). Certain things became -----s, like the supposed "slip-on" piping to the resonator that I had to beat the ---- out of to get off. And those damn ------- O-Band hangers, if they are new they can ---- with your day hardcore. Anyways I had to cut one side of the cut to be able to knock it out, then match the pipe back up to it. Thick ---- to cut, everything seemed like it was all good until it got dark out. Was working outside till midnight! I need to finish building the shop so I can at least have lighting when doing the fucked up work.

I know, slightly rantish - hope someone can benefit from my misfortunes, no it hasn't scared me away from doing full exhausts in the future.

Re:110 mig welder + stainless manifold = waste of time
 

Welding is an art. It takes practise and education. Don't expect to go buy a welder and do a manifold on the first try. That's like buying a skateboard and expecting to do the best tricks at the skate park on the first try. In some ways TIG is more difficult than MIG so before you drop $1100 on a TIG maybe you should go take a course or something.

-Michael

Re:110 mig welder + stainless manifold = waste of time
 

Yeah when i bought my welder i just grabbed every peice of scrap metal i could find and would practice on that stuff.Usually before i start welding something i will do some practice welds with the same material im going to weld to make sure my welder is set right and to get my rythm down

Re:110 mig welder + stainless manifold = waste of time
 

i didn't expect to look good on my first turbo manifold. i was having problem with my welder not welding the stainless steel manifold i'm trying to make. well, i finally found out that the guy sold me the wrong gas at the welder store. i just need to go back to get the right gas. well, right now i'm trying to get a plasma cutter. just waitting to find one for a good price. cheapest at found so far is $1470 from egay ( ESAB650 )

Re:110 mig welder + stainless manifold = waste of time
 

http://www.usaweld.com/product_page/...tters/400.html

that's the plasma torch I used to have. Give them a call, excellent company to deal with. I called them after office hours and left a message the vice president returned it to me next day.. guess they were slow.

Buy direct from the manufacturer and it will be cheapest, like $100 cheaper then what they are jacking them up for on ebay. I think I paid around $1,000 that was well over a year ago.

Re:110 mig welder + stainless manifold = waste of time
 

thax Quadnie. i just call them. they want $985 for a microcut400, wich i think is a good price. the problem i'm gonna run into is that i don't have 220v at home. and the owner don't want to to convert 100 to 220v. i guess i have to buy a generator too. do u hapeen to know where i can get a generator for a good price? thax

Re:110 mig welder + stainless manifold = waste of time
 

Dude unless you live in a trailer you got 22Ovolts at home.If you got an electric dryer,oven,or central ac you got 220 volts.Just look in your electric panel and see how many spaces are available.You need 2 verticle like your dryer or a/c(one space=120v 2 space = 220-240 volt) You need to be concerned with the minimium ampacity of the plasma cutter.If its like 40amps or under you should be fine.I work as an electrician.When you get the cutter if it has a cord it will have a NEMA # on it.This info will help you purchase the right recepticle for it.If its hard wired thats even simpler.

Re:110 mig welder + stainless manifold = waste of time
 

That plasma cutter kinda had a wierd cord to it.. 3 prongs, one of them was slanted (hard to recall). Yeah, you should be able to wire your house to 220v, maybe hire an electrician to come out and do it. Otherwise, a 4.5kw generator will be your option, you can get them at sams, anywhere really.

When you order the plasma cutter, get them to throw in some extra water dryers for you, which are water filters for the air compressor. I forget the lady I was dealing with, but they are really cool and will hook u up. I hated returning the ----, but I did :'( I will get another one from them one day. Just make sure they hook u up with some free ---- while they are at it.

Re:110 mig welder + stainless manifold = waste of time
 

Yeah the weird plugs keep you from pluging in something big(50 amps) into something small(30 amps).You would melt the wire.Home depot should have the recepticle end and the breaker(depending on what panel is in the house).If not any electrical supply store will.

Re:110 mig welder + stainless manifold = waste of time
 

i know how to convert the house from 110 to 220v, but the owner just doesn't let me do it. all i need is just 2 hots and a netural maybe a ground too if i want to be safe. and i need a R G 8 wire. quadnie. r u srue a 4.5 k generator can handle a plasma cutter? (micro400) that plasma draw up to 40 amps. if it does then i'm gonna order my plasma and get the gernerator from swapmeet.

Re:110 mig welder + stainless manifold = waste of time
 

I don't think that generator is enough.watts divided by volts=amps so 4500watts divided by 220 volts=20.45 amps(unless that generator is rated at 4.5k@220volts)