Hello......first time poster here. I am looking for info on converter one of two mig welders i have, for aluminum. I have a miller 250 mig and a lincoln weldpac 100. Any suggetion on which welder would be better suited, cost effective, ease of conversion.......???????? Plus any info on parts would be greatly appreciated. Thanks
- Thread starter gtnrwdy
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shenion
Tool Pack Rat
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- 7,586
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- Stone Mountain, GA USA
You want a heavy duty welder for aluminum. The 250 will probably be better. Alum has higher short-circuit currents that can be hard on small MIGs.
There is not much to a conversion. Usually just switching to argon gas and using aluminum wire is enough.
For better feed, you can look at getting a Teflon liner for the torch and U-groove rollers. Standard V-rollers will tend to compress the wire to a triangular shape that adds drag.
The best option is to get a spool gun. That is expensive option for the 250 (and not an option on the small one.) Feeding 4043 0.030 wire is difficult with a regular MIG. It is soft and will birdsnest easily.
Using 0.035 4043 or 0.030/35 5356 can be done easily without a spool gun as they are stiff enough to feed down a long torch.
The only other change is to use a larger tip. I.e a 0.035 tip for 0.030 alum wire. The wire expands considerably when heated so a larger tip is needed.
There are tips in the tutorials on alum welding.
What do you plan on welding?
There is not much to a conversion. Usually just switching to argon gas and using aluminum wire is enough.
For better feed, you can look at getting a Teflon liner for the torch and U-groove rollers. Standard V-rollers will tend to compress the wire to a triangular shape that adds drag.
The best option is to get a spool gun. That is expensive option for the 250 (and not an option on the small one.) Feeding 4043 0.030 wire is difficult with a regular MIG. It is soft and will birdsnest easily.
Using 0.035 4043 or 0.030/35 5356 can be done easily without a spool gun as they are stiff enough to feed down a long torch.
The only other change is to use a larger tip. I.e a 0.035 tip for 0.030 alum wire. The wire expands considerably when heated so a larger tip is needed.
There are tips in the tutorials on alum welding.
What do you plan on welding?
English Steve
Senior Bumpkin
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When I was an apprentice back in the late '70s/early '80s, we manufactured transport refrigeration units. On the larger units the framework was aluminium and was mig welded. I don't remember the make of machine used but they were definately spool guns. The process was a bit like wire spraying with the arc wandering about all over the place - even the really skilled welders would end up with a bead around 20mm wide on 6mm thk material. It did work though and I don't remember any frames failing - bear in mind they carried a 4 cyl diesel and 4 cyl compressor amongst other things.
From memory, the worst bit was the sunburn on the back of your neck and tips of your ears caused by the reflection off the shiny aluminium when welding inside the framework.
From memory, the worst bit was the sunburn on the back of your neck and tips of your ears caused by the reflection off the shiny aluminium when welding inside the framework.
