How much welding will 600g Co2 bottle do

[The Badger]

Hello

Just joined as I need to do some welding for my cars MOT, I need to weld in 2 full sills and a repair patch approx 200mm x 150mm.

I have a Wolf mini mig that uses disposable bottles and want to know how many 600g bottles I will require to complete the job?

The welder came with 1 x 390g bottle and that was enough to do a wing and a few other bits around the car, I was thinking 2 bottles will be enough but I have just read on here that 1 bottle will last about 10 mins, is this is a good guide to follow?

many thanks in advance for any advice

The Badger

 

[keith19]

Hi Badger, and welcome to the forums

10 mins is about right for welding with a small (60Ltr=390g) Argon/CO2 mix bottle, even less if it's on full blast. (6 or 7 mins is not uncommon).
The 110Ltr=600g should last around 15 mins, with care.
As most welding is for very short periods between prep, try to remember to turn off the gas between welding. Somewhere there's always a leak that is draining the bottle.

CO2 gas bottles last quite a bit longer, especially the 600g ones, but not so nice to use on thin metal. But cheaper because they last longer for the same price as Argon/CO2 mix.

 

[The Badger]

Hi Badger, and welcome to the forums

10 mins is about right for welding with a small (60Ltr=390g) Argon/CO2 mix bottle, even less if it's on full blast. (6 or 7 mins is not uncommon).
The 110Ltr=600g should last around 15 mins, with care.
As most welding is for very short periods between prep, try to remember to turn off the gas between welding. Somewhere there's always a leak that is draining the bottle.

CO2 gas bottles last quite a bit longer, especially the 600g ones, but not so nice to use on thin metal. But cheaper because they last longer for the same price as Argon/CO2 mix.

Hi keith and thank you for your reply.

Well I was gonna stick with Co2 as this is what came with the welder but if it makes it harder then i'll prob go with a mix, not sure of the thickness of the sills, they are on order and should be here by Tues/Weds, so will know then, but the repair in the floor will be 1.2mm sheet.

I have never welded a sill before so unsure of the time it actually takes to weld but after tacking I would have thought a good estimate would be 10/20 minutes, so if I go with co2 I should be ok with 2, or shall I go for 3 just in case? and defo need 3 if I go for a mix?

Thanks once again Keith

 

[shenion]

The 600g CO2 cans are 303L of gas. About 30-45 minutes of use.

 

[Omniata]

As well be careful if you have it maxed out as the cans can freeze if not in a warm area...
Then the CO2 can set solid and sublime slowly until the pressure in the can and the warmth allows it to liquefy again

 

[keith19]

Good advice from the other posters to take on board. As you've probably gathered, the CO2 comes in liquid form, so in effect more can be packed into the same size bottle.
How have you done so far with CO2? Some welders on here use it regularly for bodywork, but these are generally welders of considerable experience.
Without seeing what you're welding the sills to it's difficult to advise, but if it's thin metal or looks a bit pitted your best bet is with Argon/CO2 mix, tacked on first, then keep to close tacks or short runs, depending what the metal will stand before blowing through. See the thin metal technique video on here if you haven't studied this already.
CO2 gives a hotter weld, more prone to blowing through, but you can get used to it; it just takes time and lots of practice. Some even use gasless flux-cored wire for bodywork, but this takes more skill than CO2, and (In my case at least!) sometimes copper or alloy backing strips to help soak up the excess heat.

If you've never done sills before, allow yourself plenty of time, around 30-40 mins per side after tacking. There's always something that doesn't go quite right, like a bit of parent metal blowing through and needing an additional patch, or you may make a mess of the edge of a sill and need to patch that. For gas two CO2 x 600g should see you okay if you remember to turn the gas off if you prep for more than a couple of minutes between welds, but for Argon/CO2 mix I'd personally get three of the same size.