black soot

[loi]

why am i getting a lot of black carbon on my ali weld,just starting welding ali today,have change power setting as well as shielding gas flow,any ideas

 

[the snooper]

hmm are you using mig for ali or have you posted in the wrong section

 

[loi]

yes i have just install the ali to my mig,along with the argon gas,i have been welding with this unit the past few years with gasless wire, but now i whant to weld ali.

 

[Windy Miller]

Should the polarity be changed from the gasless setting? Or doesent it matter?

 

[loi]

ive just read some of the posting and it mayby the wind facter in my case, heres hopping,i will try it inside the shed tomorow and see resault ...

 

[loi]

yes i have changed it back to possitive as directed by the manual

 

[Engineer1964]

I used to ali weld with a mig and yes you do get a lot of black soot, its the downside of welding with mig i guess. I used to use WD40 and a rag to wipe it clean, Made a nice job too

 

[pedrobedro]

Soot is usually down to gas coverage. If you push the gun away from you you will get better gas cover then if you pull towards you.

 

[loi]

sooting on weld

thanks for the feedback i will do some experimenting next few days,am i right in thinking that gas flow on 10 will be enought ??

 

[loi]

today has been a better mig welding expirience,manage to get a reasanable been,and weld,still some sooting but i will live with it, can only get better from here, turned down the gas and sped up the wire,pushing and not pulling has helped along with wind shielding the area,

 

[aametalmaster]

I get some too have for the last 35 years, some jobs i get none. Here is a good article on aluminum welding...Bob
http://www.thefabricator.com/article/aluminumwelding/how-to-recognize-minimize-weld-smut