after spending a small fortune on those pissy gas cylinders for my mig, I discovered that machine mart do a regulator that has the correct fitting to attatch a co2 fire extinguisher which i can get refilled for 6 quid, thought this might help some of you building on a budget, just make sure you get a c02 extinguisher!!!!
Jeez, that sounds aweful. I really don't imagine that the purity of fire extinguishers is anything to write home about - impure gas means crud
inclusion in your weld, which means weak welds, but hey it's your car.
The price of proper BOC argoshield really isn't that much, is it worth the risk?
One year of rental and one fill is about £60, minimum wage is £4.10 (I believe, certainly not less), Therefore depending on your rate of tax,
somewhere between 15-30 hours work, hell, that's one to two weekends or one or two weeks of working a few hours in the evening.
I've said it before and I'll say it again, if you don't have intimate knowledge of a particular area or item, don't try to adapt it for use elsewhere.
These are high performance cars, not garden gates.
Anyway, think I've made my point.
Kingr
i use the co2 that is supplied to pubs,cost me £10 a bottle the big hammer testing methop says its strong enough if a bit spitty
i used co2 and it does cause splatter.
if you can stand the cost of hiring a proper cylinder, or lots of aro mix small ones, it gives a prettyer result.
atb
steve
Kingr
you can lead a horse to water,you can't make it drink.
Al.
C02 is ok but as it has been said does create plenty of spatter, an argon/c02 mix will be easier to weld thin guage materiel because it gives a wider and not so deep penetration so with the mix you are likely to get less blow through..
I wasn't criticising CO2 as a welding gas, or saying that you have to use Argon, far from it. What I was sceptical of was using fire extinguisher
CO2.
Kingr
do sound a bit strange when pub gas is probly more pure and cheaper and you need your co2 fire extinguisher just in case,just my 2p worth
I always used to use pub gas but it is now difficult to obtain as to many people have the same idea. My local fire extinguisher company supplies
bottles modifed with a screw down valve and refills them for a tenner a time.A bottle lasts me about a year of odd jobs and i used a bit less than a
bottle to weld my chassis.It may be a bit messy compared to argo shield which i use at work, but does give good weld penetration and i can afford to
have plenty of gas flow which is handy when working outdoors.
I dont believe the purity is really a problem as it is unlikely to have many absorbed impuritys as it is liquid when in the cylinder and any other
gases would not be liquid at the same pressure.
Paul.
quote:
Originally posted by theconrodkid
do sound a bit strange when pub gas is probly more pure and cheaper and you need your co2 fire extinguisher just in case,just my 2p worth
Does this mean that i can use CO2 instead of argon mix to make up for the lack of amps that my mig puts out( only 105 amp), to get better
penertration?
Dan.
105 amp should be fine for the chassis,mine is 120 amp and burns holes no probs,i used an arc for the really heavy stuff like axle brackets,getting my
tig tommorow so ill have a full set 
quote:
Originally posted by scutter
Does this mean that i can use CO2 instead of argon mix to make up for the lack of amps that my mig puts out( only 105 amp), to get better penertration?
Dan.
Rayward,
What order code was the Machine mart Regulator & how much did it cost? Does any one know if all CO2 fire extinguisher bottles have the same thread?
Thanks, Mark
I seem to have heard this discussion at some time before. CO2 is a good gas for use with the mini mig sets generally used by buiders. Time spent
getting wire feed speed settings right will cure most spatter problems and anti spatter spray used around the weld area will cure the rest (not on the
weld area!) in any case a bloody great scraper is a welders best friend. As for the purity or not of co2 as a welding gas in its many forms I should
not worry too much. In a food application it is a pretty shitty gas as it is a bi product taken from the top of mounds of unpleasant stuff. Any
combination of gases you think you may need can be ordered direct or via an agent from firms such as cryo service or boc in quantities you require.
markD
Part code is 010120106 irc1 regulator, cost about 20 quid, you'll also need a small piece of pipe with an adapter to fit small pipe on mig set which i
can send you if your stuck!!
regards
ray
The MIG FAQ page http://www.lincolnelectric.com/knowledge/articles/content/migfaq.asp at the Lincoln Electric site has a para that addresses the
CO2/Argon issue. Short story: CO2 for (generally) best depth; add Argon for flatter welds, less spatter.
-Mr. Pete
Interesting, today i ran out of Argoshield or what ever the argon / co2 mix i use is called. Changed bottles to co2 pub gas, got some test steel to
practice on and .... I WANT ARGOSHEILD BACK.
I found it so much easier, nicer welds, easier to set up, the crackle of the weld was more consistant etc.
I was going to stick with the pub gas as most of the car is complete, now i'm heading back to the welding shop to get more proper gas - sod the cost!
Argoshield is the mutts nutts if you are welding with mig all the time, co2 is fine if you are only using the kit occasionally. BTW the co2 is in the argon to aid penetration.
Rayward - thank you for this tip.
I spent most of yesterday searching high and low for gas without any luck.
Considering the amount of welding I have to do (classic VW modification project) I was very disheartened to find that the only commercially available
gas was the disposables.
Thanks Again!
Whereabouts in the country are you VWnut ?
quote:
Originally posted by VWNut
Rayward - thank you for this tip.
I spent most of yesterday searching high and low for gas without any luck.
Considering the amount of welding I have to do (classic VW modification project) I was very disheartened to find that the only commercially available gas was the disposables.
Thanks Again!
Best thing is to get the number off the website and phone them, I got the numbers of about 3 or 4 place all within 1/2 hour of me, one of which is
practically round the corner!
Kingr