Change to Ali welding

[jg1053]

Hi all, I'm teaching myself to weld. This site and the tutorials are the very best!! Thank you. I have a Uni Mig 180 which I'm more than happy with as it was a cheap start for my learning. I want to stat to try Ali and have purchased the Teflon liner and correct feed wheel in a kit. My question is do I need to change the liner to go back to mild steel wire each time?
Thanks
Jim

 

[Ragnarok]

yes you should use a standard coiled steel liner for steel wires, and the teflon one for aluminium, it isn't recommended to use the machines feed for aluminium wires really though, ideally you'd use a spool gun, i don't know the uni mig 180? is it a hobby machine? does it use a euro torch?

 

[jg1053]

Thanks Ragnarok, The uni mig is a hobby/DIY mid range. Mine doesn't have the Euro fitting (last years model) so it's a pain in the .../ to keep changing the liner as it's hard wired and a bit fiddly.
Jim

 

[Ragnarok]

you are unlikely to be able to do a good job welding aluminium with a hobby mig, also very likely to have wire feed problems, what wire are you going to be using? 5356 will feed better than 4043 and the thicker the wire the better it'll feed, assuming your welder can use it.

 

[tttonyyy]

Don't forget to oversize the tip when welding ally as it expands with heat more than steel.

 

[Ragnarok]

you can also get special tips designed for aluminium, depending on what type of torch you have.

 

[jg1053]

Thanks for the replys. I have the special tips and have .8 wire and the ali liner and roller. I have been told by the importer that the 180 is the bottom of range to allow minor ali welding. I only want to weld small areas. Will the liner used for the ali be ok with normal wire. Any comments?

 

[Ragnarok]

the teflon liner probably won't cause you much trouble while welding steel, but it'll wear faster than a steel liner, and also i imagine you may get some residue off the wire inside, some of the copper coating or minor rust that will tend to clog it and also could cause problems with the aluminium welding, some hobby migs actually have plastic liners as standard, but they cause wire feed issues after a while, the steel liner will be by far the best for steel wires (low resistance on the hard wire and don't clog fast) so personally i'd stick with that, and probably after you've had a few goes at mig welding aluminium you'll decide it's not worth doing with a hobby mig anyway.