Gas regulator setting?

[MAFF666]

Hi,
Could somebody please help.I'm restoring a classic mini which is pretty rotten and have been bought as a gift a Clarkes MIG 100E gas welder for the many repairs it needs.But having read the short and rather boring instructions on setting the welding up for different thickness ect it does not say anywhere about the gas settings.So i would be very grateful if somebody could please shed some light on this subject as i'm very very much a noob and hav'nt a clue.
Many thanks,
Mathew

 

[shenion]

If it is the disposable cans, open it all the way.

 

[MAFF666]

If it is the disposable cans, open it all the way.

Thanks a lot Shenion,
I'll spend a few hours practicing tomorrow now on bits of of scrap and see how i go.

 

[Robotstar5]

Thanks a lot Shenion,
I'll spend a few hours practicing tomorrow now on bits of of scrap and see how i go.

Hope you've got a lot of cans then, they only last about 10 minutes!, if you need to do a lot it will be worth investing in a big cylinder - see the sticky gas supplier thread.

 

[MAFF666]

Cheers Robotstar,will look into that m8 i only got co2/argon mix from machinemart and was told i needed a license for the large refillable bottles is this true or do ya think they just did'nt sell them?
thanks.

 

[malcolm]

Load of rubbish - there's no licence required for the big bottles.

 

[MAFF666]

Thanks Malcolm,probably cause they wanted me to buy their disposables m8.If i get hold of the larger bottles would i need a new regulator valve too?

 

[clem dog]

Am i correct in saying that it is true there is no license required but you do have to rent the bottle and depending on the size that could potentially be around 100 quid a year if you go for an argon bottle

 

[MAFF666]

The disposable bottles i bought Clem Dog cost me £11.50 each m8 and like Robotstar mentioned they only last bout 10 mins and i'm restoring an old mini that rust for fun so it's gonna be worth looking into for me i think.I suppose you would have to pay each time ya refill em too,will make enquiries .
thanks.

 

[clem dog]

I have been looking into this too and the bottle costs about £50 to get refilled. I think there may be smaller bottles though they cost a little less to fill the rental cost is not much lower!! Im saving up for a nice shiny new portamig so these costs are very realitive to me!!!!

 

[MAFF666]

Yeh that don't sound bad to me Clem Dog as i will be doing quite a lot of welding repairs and new panels ect if the chuck away bottles only last bout 10 mins it could save me a small fortune m8.

 

[clem dog]

No probs horse glad to help!!!

 

[redwine300]

Hi Guy's,
Just picked up my refillable bottle from BOC, Cost me £26.15 +vat for Argoshield Light and £48.10 +vat for a years rental. Bottle size is (X) Total £81.46 if my maths are right. On the face of it seems a lot of money but to date I have polished off 5 disposable bottles and have not got a lot to show for them. I will just have to see how it works out.

 

[Wallace]

Do you have a regulator for the X size bottle? The disposable regulator will not fit and if you need one try asking Weldequip as you will probably have it the next day like I did.

When you set the gas up, turn the wire feed down to zero and pull the trigger and adjust the regulator so you can just hear the gas coming out of the nozzle. Reset the wire feed then run a test on some scrap material and if the weld runs nice and clean you have enough gas. You can experiment by reducing the gas flow until the weld becomes poor and almost exploding and then upping it, you will save a lot of gas by learning the minimum needed!

If you are welding outside and it is windy there is no option but to up the gas flow to compensate for the wind blowing the shielding gas away. You will also notice an improvement in the quality of your welds using the BOC gas too.

Mike

 

[redwine300]

Thank's Wallace, Checked with weldequip upfront and as you said, arrived the next day. Fits a treat. Read through the rest of your post and found it very informative,Nice tips.Will be setting up tomorrow. Cheers

 

[clem dog]

Wallace,what is the difference in sizebetween the w and x size bottles? Perhaps i am being ripped off!!!

 

[redwine300]

Clem Dog. I have BOC December 2008 price list. Refill with argoshield light £44.84 and yearly rental at £94.42. (W bottle) There is a link on this site showing volume per bottle for comparison somewhere. I will try and find it and post. http://www.marknotgeorge.co.uk/weldinggas.xls Hope this helps

 

[Antsuno2]

what does everyone have the gas set at using the large boc bottles Ant!

 

[Wallace]

Wallace,what is the difference in sizebetween the w and x size bottles? Perhaps i am being ripped off!!!

I'll have to look at the listings but as a rough guide they double in capacity as you go up and work out cheaper provided you have the need for the gas usage. I have a Y for my Mig and it's ages since I changed the bottle, now I have a Tig set with a Y size Argon I have used half a bottle in 2 days!

Have you looked at the BOC website?

Mike

 

[wyn]

what does everyone have the gas set at using the large boc bottles Ant!

I'm using a "Y" size bottle at around 10 lpm at home.

Use "W" size at work but no flow gauge, probably a bit more than 10 lpm, but only because i'm not paying for it

I was told a "W" holds 1/3 more than a "Y" by BOC. Don't know about the difference compared to "X".