what pressure for co2/argon for mig?
 

I finally got the gas and regulator for my mig, it's a 100 amp peak, Lincoln mig-pak 10.

I mastered the flux core, but now I want to make some cleaner welds (obviously).

I hooked everything up and did a few tests, and I just wasn't able to get the control I had without gas. Lot's of popping etc. even with new clean metal. The end result looked OK, I guess.

The one thing I wasn't really sure of was what to set the regulator at, I've got a Harris regulator, I ended up with it set at about 25 ( cu/ft/hr or is it in lbs/hr ...can't remember exactly ...I'm sure they are all the same ).

What pressure are the mig welders on the board running at?

Neil

Re:what pressure for co2/argon for mig?
 

congradulations on your purchase.

what does the lincoln instruction manual call for the pressure to be? If you are running an aftermarket/generic regulator then the welder will be pressure specific.

I would have to look in my manual to see what my craftsman is set at.. but if you have to do it by eye then:

porous welds that lay down fiarly smooth means not enough gas. Adjust from there, I don't know if there is such a thing as "too much gas" - I should experiment some time.

All the shielding gas is doing is providing the welding area with a zero oxygen atmosphere & cooling the metal. Too much gas shouldn't matter, I should look into this more.

If in doubt, give it a fair amount, the popping is probably from the angle you are using on the welder, might want to look up some tactics on "how to mig weld". You can either push or pull but need to be at a 45 degree angle, get the head really close and just experiment to get the best weld.

-Ryan

Re:what pressure for co2/argon for mig?
 

I read the manual front to back and their is nothing about pressure. I found that if I cranked it up it was impossible to keep the puddle going, almost seemed like it was cooling it too fast. The sound of the gas was very very noticeable at a settings greater than 40.

At setting under 10 or so it was hard to weld... so basically I kept it in the 20-30 range for my welding, I'm thinking I might be able to run at a bit lower pressure, maybe 15? Eventually I'll have some time to experiment!

This is the genuine lincoln regulator package for my welder, it came with a Harris regulator. In the Harris instructions their wasn't any mention of pressure either.

Neil

Re:what pressure for co2/argon for mig?
 

I found this in the troubleshooting section at the lincoln website;

Porosity Problem #2: Gas Coverage
The second leading cause of porosity in welds is a problem with the shielding gas coverage. The GMAW process relies on the shielding gas to physically protect the weld puddle from the air and to act as an arc stabilizer. If the shielding gas is disturbed, there is a potential that air could contaminate the weld puddle and lead to porosity.

Remedies
Shielding gas flow varies depending on wire size, amperage, transfer mode and wind speed. Typical gas flow should be approximately 30-40 cubic feet per hour. Using a flow meter, check that the shielding gas flow is set properly. There are a variety of flow meters on the market today ranging from simple dial gauges to ball flows all the way up to sophisticated, computerized models. Some operators mistakenly think that a pressure regulator is all that is needed, but the pressure meter will not set flow.

Re:what pressure for co2/argon for mig?
 

It depends on where you weld.... Indoors... outdoors... i usually weld in my garrage... and its usually set at anywhere from 15-25 depending on the aplication... i would say i get pretty nice welds at 20.... and this is for indoors... remember you have to take into account that outdoors there is wind and ---- ------- up your gas coverage

I guess its really a matter of practice... it took my ass a bit to realize what heat and gas settings do what... and how much gas i would need to get a clean weld... I would just say read what the manual says... and just practice....

Re:what pressure for co2/argon for mig?
 

contact lincoln directly, I have found their tech support very helpful in the past. Give them a shout and see what ya get.

Re:what pressure for co2/argon for mig?
 

I keep mine around 15. Any lower and the welds look like feces.

Re:what pressure for co2/argon for mig?
 

Thats what I use for most everything. If I am welding something very thick that will be getting extra hot or something very thin that I don't want to burn or I just want an ultimatley good weld I will crank it up a bit but that shits expensive and you can lay down a good looking bead at 15 or mabey a little above.

Re:what pressure for co2/argon for mig?
 

thanks for all your input!

Neil