Can anyone recommend any spool guns for the 185, for using ally wire ? Even better if they have actually used them together, and can give any tips on anything pertinent.
Quite pricey though, not something you'd want to buy for the odd bit of hobby work. I'd think a shortish torch and a teflon liner would be the better bet unless you plan on doing some serious alu fabbing?
Thanks for the replies chaps. I thought i'd seen em on fleabay for £60 or so ? Didn't some guy here get one and declare them as 'not bad' I seem to recall ?
Believe me if I could afford to drop £1200 on a half decent ac/dc transformer TIG id do it in a flash. But thought this wasn't as half assed as trying to drag a bit of straight ally through a MIG torch ?
Its just that I have had to turn several people away lately as I cant weld ally without hiring a TIG and splunking all the profit I might have made on a job. Seem to remember the guy on here made a decent job of the welds, and as I can already TIG quite neatly thought I might give it a go.
I have just bought a £69 jobby (euro fitting with 2 extra wires) from fleabay, it is 12v and my sip ideal 180 has a 24v feed motor.
The first thing I did was to take it apart to find out what the wiring was in the gun, the trigger operates the contactor and gas solinoid in the welder and the two separate wires (in a little round plug) are for the wire feed motor.
I switched the mig on and with a meter on the mig feed motor wires I found that 0-3 on the wire feed knob went from 0-12v, so I cut the wires through and put a two pin plug in to the wires where it was easy to get to and then put the same plug end on to the two wires from the spool gun. (male plug end goes to the motor on the mig and the spool gun)
Now all I do to use the spool gun is plug the euro connector in disconect the internal drive feed at the new plug and then plug the spool gun in to the feed wires. ( DOUBLE check the wire knob feed below the 12v setting on your machine ie number 3 on mine.
When welding aluminium the mig is on one setting below max and the wire feed is on about 80% and it welds absolutely great.
I have just finished repairing 10 recovery truck beds and have got more to do now due to the tidy job it does.
Pete
ps Do not do long continues runs as it will get too hot. Remember its a cheap
gun so take your time and enjoy it.